Emulsifier in chocolate

In chocolate, the primary emulsifiers used is lecithin, whereas numerous other

emulsifiers may be found in compound coatings. For the most part, emulsifiers provide control
over flow properties when used in chocolates and coatings, although they may have other effects
as well. For the lecithin, lecithin is commercially extracted from either soybean or sunflower
seeds or eggs by solvent extraction and precipitation. It is a light brown fluid that contains
approximately 65% acetone insoluble phosphatides and 35% soybean oil. Geisler (1991) lists
nearly thirty different components of soy lecithin and generally differentiates the components
based on their acetone solubility. The acetone soluble portion contains primarily soybean oil,
fatty acids, glucosides and sterols. The acetone-insoluble fraction contains the phospholipids as
well as any carbohydrates bound to the phospholipids. The surface-active components of lecithin
are amphiphilic molecules that exhibit both lipophilic and hydrophilic properties.The
phosphatidyl group, the hydrophilic component of the lecithin molecule, prefers to be in the
aqueous phase, whereas the two fatty acid chains are lipophilic and orient into a lipid phase of a
food. Depending on the source, the fatty acid chains may be either saturated (palmitic or stearic)
or unsaturated (oleic or linoleic). In chocolate and coatings, the hydrophilic part of the lecithin
molecule orients at the hydrophilic sugar crystal surface, with the fatty acid chains oriented into
the continuous fat phase. Due to its surface-active nature, particularly at the hydrophilic sugar
crystal surface, lecithin provides a significant reduction in viscosity of chocolate and coatings.
For example, addition of 0.5% lecithin to a coating gives the same viscosity reduction effect as
addition of 5% cocoa butter or vegetable fat (Minifie, 1980). Lecithin allows coating users to
operate efficiently at much lower fat contents than would otherwise be the case

Futheremore,lecithin is usually added late in the chocolate or compound-making process

since it can be absorbed by cocoa particles during grinding and mixing, thereby losing its
effectiveness. In some cases, a small amount of lecithin is added to the mixed ingredients prior to
roller refining to aid in the grinding process, but the remaining portion is added just before the
end of the conching process. Hence,this provides the maximum liquification of the chocolate or
compound coating at minimum fat content. Moreover,Lecithin also has the benefit of protecting
coatings against moisture invasion and sugar granulation, which may occur at temperatures
above 60 C when stored in bulk form.
Reference:

Geisler, A. (1991). The magic of lecithin. 45th PMCA Production Conference, Pennsylvania
Manufacturing Confectioners Association, pp. 116119.

Minifie, B.W. (1980). Manufacturing Confectioner, 60(40): 4750

Hasenhuettl, G. and Hartel, R. (2008). Food Emulsifiers and Their Applications. New York, NY:
Springer New York, pp.285-305.