Blog Four

Today I conducted ‘Scientific Research’ on my experiment. However, this was challenging and time consuming because I found it difficult to understand complex terms of crystallisation and polymorphism. I know for a fact that polymorphism is when an object is able to occur in many different forms. From my Research I have found that Cocoa Butter is a polymorphic fat from chocolate that has the ability to melt chocolate due to its six different crystal forms. Further information is as follows.

Does the amount of Cocoa Butter affect the Melting Speeds of Different Types of Chocolates?

 

What is Chocolate made From?
Chocolate is made from Cocoa Beans, derived from a Cocoa Pod. Together, they are found on the Cacao Tree; renowned for the growing of ripe fruits. At the end of the long production process including harvesting and roasting, the cocoa beans are ground into cocoa powder, built from seeds that are dry from the pod.  Other components including Fat, Vanilla, Sugar, Vitamin E, Calcium, Iron, and Caffeine are found within chocolate too.

Why does Chocolate Melt?
Chocolate melts because it contains cocoa butter. This is the natural vegetable fat that is found within the bean itself. The known temperature of its melting point is approximately 36 Degrees Celsius (97 Degrees Fahrenheit), that is usually however not always, and becomes automatically sensitive to the changing of a state of matter when temperatures are raised even somewhat.

What is Cocoa Butter? /The introduction of Polymorphism
Cocoa Butter is a polymorphic fat of the Cocoa Bean. What this means is that it changes into a fluid state when exposed to heat because it is made up of six different crystal forms, meaning that the atoms within the chocolate are constant but positioned differently. This often calls for the chocolates’ distinguished properties, such as smoothness, strength, texture, melting point and glossy attraction. So accordingly, when chocolate is heated the particle bonds inside begin to vibrate and move around as they have gained more thermal energy, causing them to reform in shape; the crystal structure of the cocoa butter in the chocolate has changed, making the difference between solid chocolate and one that has started to melt easy to pinpoint. This is because cocoa butter has formed small Beta Crystals found within chocolate bars making them stable as they are, for extended periods of time.   

The table displays the polymorphism of Cocoa Butter and its six different crystal forms. It indicates that the degree of the melting temperature/point of chocolate is determined through various states of solidifying, cooling and melting, which helps in determining whether Cocoa Butter affects the melting speeds of different chocolates. This is so because when chocolate melts the Beta Crystal loosen and spread further apart making them no longer of a solid form but rather that of a fluid appearance, meaning that the more cocoa butter in a chocolate, then the higher chance of melting will take place.

 

 

SOURCE ONE: INTERNET
RSC, (n.d.). Retrieved: March 1, 2014, from http://www.rsc.org/Education/Teachers/Resources/Inspirational/resources/4.1.4.pdf
Sefcik, L. 2014, How does Chocolate Melt?. Retrieved: March 1, 2014, from http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5006509_chocolate-melt.html
Ask.com, Why Does Chocolate Melt?. Retrieved: March 1, 2014, from http://www.ask.com/question/why-does-chocolate-melt
Deakin University Australia. 2013,Chocolate. Retrieved: March 1, 2013, from http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Chocolate
Thomson, W. 2014, How Does the Type of Chocolate Affect the Melting Time?. Retrieved: March 1, 2014, from  http://www.ehow.com/info_8319971_type-chocolate-affect-melting-time.html

SOURCE TWO: VIDEO
Science: An Easier Way to Temper Chocolate (FLV Picture), 2013, America’s Test Kitchen., America. Producer America’s Test Kitchen.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5_kheJtQO4

SORUCE 3:COMPANY
Mondelez International Group. 2014, Cadbury Dream Ingredients. Retrieved: February 17, 2014, from https://www.cadbury.com.au/Products/Blocks-of-Chocolate/Cadbury-Dream-Block/Cadbury-Dream-Ingredients.aspx
Mondelez International Group. 2014, Cadbury Milk Chocolate Ingredients. Retrieved: February 17, 2014, from https://www.cadbury.com.au/Products/Blocks-of-Chocolate/Cadbury-Milk-Chocolate-Block/Cadbury-Milk-Chocolate-Ingredients.aspx
Mondelez Internation Group. 2014, Cadbury Old Gold Original Ingredients. Retrieved: February 17, 2014, from https://www.cadbury.com.au/Products/Old-Gold-Blocks/Cadbury-Old-Gold-Original-Block/Ingredients.aspx

 However, through heavy investigation and research the formula for finding the exact amount of Cocoa Butter in a block of Chocolate as a percentage is as follows.

-First, you must divide the ‘Total Fat Content by the ‘Serving Size’ (Fat/Size).
-Next, you multiply this result by 100. This gives the amount of Cocoa Butter Present as a Percentage.
For example;
Cadbury Old Gold Original Chocolate: 7.4g/25g=0.296 x 100=29.6%
Cadbury Milk Chocolate: 7.4g/25g=0.296 x 100=29.6%
Cadbury Dream Chocolate: 8.7g/25=0.348 x 100=34.8%

SOURCE ONE: INTERNET
Gordon, C. 2014, The Chocolate Life. Retrieved: March 1, 2014, from http://www.thechocolatelife.com/profile/LB