Real-time X-ray powder diffraction investigations on cocoa butter. II. The relationship between melting behavior and composition of β-cocoa butter

The melting behavior of twelve different cocoa butter samples, in the β-phase, has been investigated with real-time X-ray powder diffraction. The melting trajectory of each sample is characterized by three temperature values: a starting point, a point of maximum melting, and a point of complete melting. These points are determined by an analysis of the subsequent X-ray diffraction patterns. A least-squares analysis has been developed which allows the observed melting points to be related to the composition of the cocoa butter. This analysis shows that the melting behavior of cocoa butter can be described as a function of certain binary combinations of its major components.