Applications of milk‐fat fractions in confectionery products

Abstract Incompatibilities between fats limit the use of modified milk fat in confectionery applications. To further enhance the use of milk‐fat fractions in chocolates and compound coatings, a better understanding of mixed crystallization effects between lipids is required. Recent work documents that highmelting fractions incorporated into chocolates drastically reduce bloom formation and cause less softening than anhydrous milk fat. Isosolids diagrams for mixtures of cocoa butter and milk‐fat fractions show that softening occurs due to both dilution effects and a slight eutectic formation. Incorporation of milk‐fat fractions into palm kernel oil‐based coatings shows some differences with results in chocolates. Milk fat and its fractions cause significant bloom formation in these coatings, as compared to the control, and cause significant softening. However, both milk fat and milk‐fat fractions are fully compatible with palm kernel oil, based on isosolids diagrams. Softening occurs only because of dilution effects, rather than eutectic formation. Further work is necessary to understand the effects of milk‐fat fractions on bloom formation in compound coatings.