Cocoa butter is composed of a variety of fatty acids, and its composition ratio directly causes the difference from other solid oils and fats. Cocoa butter exists in a crystalline form, and the crystalline forms have different shapes and sizes at different temperatures, a characteristic known as polymorphous crystallization. There are 4 crystal types of cocoa butter:

γ-type crystal: The melting point is 16~18°C, and it transforms into α-type in about 3 seconds. It is extremely unstable and difficult to operate, so it is directly ignored.

α-type crystals (I-type and II-type): The melting point is 17~23°C, and it transforms into β’-type crystals in one hour at room temperature. Soft texture, crumbly, easy to melt is not suitable for use.

β’ type crystal (type III and type IV): the melting point is 25~28°C, and it transforms into β type crystal at room temperature for one month. The texture is firm, not brittle, and melts easily.

β-type crystals (V-type and VI-type): The melting point is 33~36°C, and the texture is hard and brittle. Among them, the V-type crystal is the most ideal high-quality structure, because it is relatively stable and has a shiny appearance; the most stable VI-type crystal with the highest melting point has coarse particles, poor taste, and oil spots will appear on the surface. After a long time, the chocolate surface will appear hoarfrost.

In addition to V-type crystals, other crystals are irregular in shape, lack the ability to effectively interlock, have loose and weak internal structures and an uneven fat network, which cannot maintain a stable state, making the finished chocolate brittle and dull, and even worse. solidifies, or melts above room temperature. The shape of the V-shaped crystal is a hexagonal Hexagon, which can be effectively arranged and combined to form a tight alignment, thus making the structure of the chocolate stable and hard. This is the key role of temperature regulation.

The purpose of chocolate tempering is to pre-crystallize the cocoa butter in the chocolate, which is crucial for chocolate processing. During the tempering process, the cocoa butter in the chocolate forms a stable polymorphous Polymorphous Crystallization. The finished product will therefore have a bright color and a harder texture. It also helps the chocolate shrink during cooling, making it easier to unmold.

If the chocolate starts to cool to the proper working temperature just after melting (40-45°C), the finished product will not have a bright color. If you take the time to properly cool the chocolate to the correct working temperature, you are sure to get the desired finish.

LST batch tempering machines and continuous tempering machines are designed according to the crystallization state of cocoa butter. The temperature adjustment effect is good, PLC control, and the temperature adjustment temperature can be set according to different products, for example, black chocolate 45-50°C to 28-29°C, back to 30-31°C, milk chocolate 45-48°C to 27- 28°C back to 29-30°C, white chocolate45-48°C to 26-27°C back to 28-29°C. The next news introduces batch tempering machines and continuous tempering machines in detail.