Chocolate Tempering: A Perspective
- PMID: 40352747
- PMCID: PMC12063059
- DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00269
Chocolate Tempering: A Perspective
Abstract
Tempering is a critical step in chocolate production, ensuring desirable properties such as gloss, snap, and bloom resistance. Traditionally, tempering has been understood through the lens of cocoa butter polymorphism, with a predominant focus on achieving Form V crystals, due to their sharp melting profile and associated macroscopic physical properties. However, this Perspective challenges the notion that Form V alone guarantees high-quality, bloom-resistant chocolate. Recent research suggests that polymorphism is only one aspect of chocolate quality. Multiscale structural analyses-including small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), ultrasmall-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS), small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and microcomputed tomography (μCT)-reveal that nanostructural to microstructural properties are key indicators of bloom susceptibility and can vary significantly, despite identical polymorphic phases. This Perspective proposes that tempering should be viewed as a hierarchical crystallization process, where nucleation rate, structural homogeneity, and microstructural organization play critical roles. A broader approach to tempering assessment-integrating microstructural probes alongside traditional solid-state characterization-may provide deeper insights into chocolate's mechanical stability and long-term bloom resistance. As supply chain fluctuations increasingly impact cocoa butter composition, this multiscale perspective could help manufacturers mitigate quality inconsistencies and adapt to cost-driven formulation changes that may otherwise compromise bloom resistance in tempered chocolate.
© 2025 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
Figures















References
-
- Venter M. J.; Schouten N.; Hink R.; Kuipers N. J. M.; de Haan A. B. Expression of cocoa butter from cocoa nibs. Sep. Purif. Technol. 2007, 55 (2), 256–64. 10.1016/j.seppur.2006.12.003. - DOI
-
- Windhab E. J.Tempering. In Beckett’s Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use; John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2017; pp 314–355. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118923597.ch13. Accessed Nov. 15, 2021.
-
- Lutton E. S. Review of the polymorphism of saturated even glycerides. J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 1950, 27 (7), 276–81. 10.1007/BF02634906. - DOI
-
- Manning D., Dimick P.. Crystal Morphology of Cocoa Butter. Food Struct. 19854 ( (2), ). Available via the Internet at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/foodmicrostructure/vol4/iss2/9.
Publication types
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Research Materials