Butter, Brazilian

Mohamed RS, Saldana MDA, Zetzl C, Mazzafera P and Brunner G. 2002. Extraction of caffeine, theobromine, and cocoa butter from Brazilian cocoa beans using supercritical CO2 and ethane. Ind Eng Chem Res 41(26) 6751-6758. 

Cocoa butters have a natural variation in physical properties related to the triacylglycerol structure Malaysian, Indian and Indonesian butters are harder than those from Africa, and Brazilian butters are the softest. The hardness of typical butters from some continents has changed over the years (Timms and Stewart, 1999). Because the hardness affects the processing required for chocolate manufacture, suppliers of cocoa butter to that trade blend butters to attempt to produce a uniform product. 

Figure 8.7. Isosolid diagram of cocoa butter (CB) (Malaysian/Brazilian blend) with anhydrous milk fat (AMF) (Reproduced with permission from Hartel, 1996).

There is a good correlation between the triacylglycerol composition and solid fat content of these cocoa butters. Malaysian, Sri Lankan, and Indian cocoa butters are the hardest, and Brazilian is the softest, whereas others lie in between. The quality of the Brazilian cocoa butter can be unproved by mixing it with Malaysian cocoa butter, which will result in higher solid fat content at various temperatures. 

The results of thermorheographic experiments presented in Table 7 show very high correlation with the pulsed NMR data in Table 2. Thus, Malaysian cocoa butter crystallizes quickly, and Brazilian is the slowest crystallizing, which correlates with the hardness of these cocoa butters as measured by pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance technology. 

This stearin is extremely hard and can be used effectively to improve the quality of soft cocoa. Attempts have been made to improve the quality of Brazilian cocoa butter by fractionation. 

Pedroso DL, Dogenski M, Thomazini M, Heinemann RJB, Favaro-Trindade CS (2013) Microencapsulation of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis. and Lactobacillus acidophilus in cocoa butter using spray chilling technology. Brazilian Journal of Microbiology 44(3) 777-783. 

In Brazilian butter samples a great variability was observed in organoleptic characteristics. To find out what might be the reason for this, the butter samples were investigated by metabolomic techniques, in this case NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance). A method based on H NMR has been developed to obtain quantitative profiles of both the aqueous and the fat phase of the butter. To achieve this the butter was separated in a polar (soluble in water) and apolar fraction (soluble in chloroform). From both these fiactions the h NMR spectra were obtained, providing in this way the profiles. Compounds which can be observed and quantified in these profiles include the preservatives benzoic and sorbic acid, the organic acids formic, acetic lactic, citric and butyric acid, the carbohydrate lactose and the fatty acids rumenic and linoleic acid. In the present paper the results obtained with this method are further explored. 

Preservatives were detected in various butter samples as well as in all margarine samples. In six of the thirteen Brazilian butter samples preservatives were found In five brands sorbic acid and in two brands benzoic acid. The presence of these compounds in butter is not allowed according to the Brazilian legislation. However, in margarine the presence of these compounds is normal and allowed. In three brands of butter the sorbic acid levels were similar to those found in margarine (see Table 1), indicating that these compounds were added to the butter as preservative. In the other three butter samples the low levels of... 

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