Fatty acid composition, rheological properties and crystal formation of rambutan fat and cocoa butter

The study was conducted to investigate fatty acid composition, rheological properties and crystal formation of rambutan fat and cocoa butter. The results showed that lauric acid, palmitic acid, and stearic fatty acid in rambutan fat were less than cocoa butter, but oleic acid found almost the same. The crystal formation of cocoa butter was not complex at 25°C, while rambutan fat and their mixture shown complicated network of crystal form. The Newton, Bingham and Casson plastic rheological models was used to describe fat flow in this experiment and the result showed that rambutan fat had higher viscosity than cocoa fat. Based on the results the study recommended that mixture proportion up to 30% rambutan seed fat can be used as a cocoa butter substitute whereas higher proportion completely alters original cocoa butter properties. Therefore, there is feasibility of using the rambutan fat to substitute cocoa butter and the mixtures of the two fats in suitable proportion in chocolate manufacturing.