Palm kernel oil blends

The present invention provides oil blends suitable for use as cocoa butter substitutes. These oil blends are based on palm kernel oil and its derivatives, and include palm kernel oil, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, palm kernel stearin and hydrogenated palm kernel stearin. Also disclosed are edible food products such as confectionery products and chocolate alternative compositions made from these palm kernel oil blends.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to novel oil blends suitable for use in 
edible products. More specifically, the invention is directed to oil 
blends including palm kernel oil, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, palm 
kernel stearin and hydrogenated palm kernel stearin. The palm kernel oil 
blends of the present invention have flavor release and texture properties 
similar to those of cocoa butter. They are particularly useful as cocoa 
butter substitutes in edible food products such as confectionery products 
and chocolate alternative compositions. 
2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Cocoa butter is a widely used and much appreciated fat composition produced 
from cocoa beans. Cocoa butter is used for its flavor and texture 
properties in a variety of edible products, particularly in combination 
with sugars and other ingredients to make chocolate. The desirability of 
the characteristic cocoa butter flavor and texture have long assured a 
strong demand for cocoa butter and products which are made from cocoa 
butter. The worldwide cocoa bean supply, however, suffers from significant 
variability, due to constant and often unpredictable changes in the 
ability of different cocoa bean supplying regions to deliver enough beans 
at a consistent price and quality to meet the demand. 
The uncertain availability of cocoa beans and the associated fluctuations 
in price have led to much effort to formulate alternative fat compositions 
which can be used in place of or in conjunction with natural cocoa butter. 
These alternative fats are generally classified into three types, based on 
their chemical composition and compatibility with cocoa butter. Cocoa 
butter equivalents (CBE) are fats which have chemical and physical 
properties compatible with cocoa butter, and can be used to supplement 
cocoa butter in confectionery products. Cocoa butter substitutes (CBS) are 
generally lauric fats which are incompatible with cocoa butter. Cocoa 
butter replacers (CBR) are partially compatible with cocoa butter. CBRs 
are primarily non-lauric fats which have properties intermediate those of 
CBEs and CBSs, and are sometimes referred to as non-lauric cocoa butter 
substitutes. Detailed discussions of these different types of alternative 
fats can be found in a variety of sources; see, for example, Traitler, H. 
et al., Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society, 62(2), 417-21 
(1985); Shukla, V., in Developments in Oils and Fats, 66-94 (1995); 
Berger, K., Food Technology, 40(9), 72-79 (1986), the disclosures of which 
are incorporated herein by reference. Among these three principal types of 
alternative fats, cocoa butter equivalents are relatively more expensive, 
while cocoa butter substitutes are relatively less expensive. Typically, 
cocoa butter substitutes cost only one-third to one-fourth as much as 
cocoa butter, making products which use these alternative fats 
economically especially attractive to consumers. 
One particular area in which cocoa butter substitutes are widely used is in 
compound coatings for confectionery products. In fact, most of the 
compound coatings now used in commercial confectionery are made of these 
cocoa butter substitutes. Cocoa butter substitutes are often characterized 
as "lauric" or "non-lauric", depending on the chemical nature of the 
component fats. Most lauric cocoa butter substitutes are based on palm 
kernel oils. Oil industry suppliers subject palm kernel oils to several 
processing and modifying steps, such as fractionation, hydrogenation and 
interesterification, and these fractions and derivatives are further 
blended together in various proportions to produce cocoa butter 
substitutes with different properties. Examples of commercial suppliers of 
these fats are Fuji Vegetable Oil Inc., Aarhus Inc., and Loders and 
Croklaan. These various fats show differences in flavor, texture, bloom 
stability and processing characteristics. 
Cocoa butter is particularly desirable in part because of its unusual 
melting characteristics. Cocoa butter is a solid at temperatures close to 
room temperature, but rapidly melts at body temperatures. Thus, unlike 
most oils or fats, cocoa butter maintains its solid shape at room 
temperature, around 20.degree. C., but quickly melts as it is warmed in 
the mouth to temperatures above 30.degree. C. As a result, cocoa butter 
has a unique and desirable texture and feel in the mouth, which contribute 
to its wide demand. 
Recognizing that the melting characteristics of cocoa butter are desirable, 
much work has been done to mimic these melting characteristics in 
substitute fat compositions. Thus, oils can be chemically modified, such 
as by hydrogenation or interesterification, to modify their melting 
characteristics and hence increase their similarity to cocoa butter. 
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,527 to Galenkamp et al. describes lauric 
fats which are selectively hydrogenated to provide a trans acid content of 
at least 25%. These modified fats reportedly show melting and other 
characteristics resembling those of coconut stearin, a high quality cocoa 
butter substitute. 
Alternatively, oils can be chemically modified so that their triglyceride 
composition more closely matches that of cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is 
composed largely of 1,3-disaturated-2-unsaturated triglycerides. Thus, a 
number of U.S. patents attempt to provide cocoa butter substitutes by 
controlling the triglyceride composition of the component fats. For 
example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,109 to Tanaka et al. discloses cocoa butter 
substitute compositions containing at least 80% 1,3-disaturated-2-oleoyl 
glycerols which are up to 10% 1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoyl glycerol, 25-45% 
1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-3-stearoyl glycerol, and 45-70% 
1,3-distearoyl-2-oleoyl glycerol. 
Other workers have tried to provide cocoa butter substitutes by blending 
different oils to produce an oil composition with the desired properties. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,430,350 to Tressler describes coatings for frozen 
confections containing an oil blend which can include palm kernel oil. The 
oil blend contains an interesterified mixture of 75-90% lauric acid or oil 
(including palm kernel oil) and 10-25% non-lauric oil. Coatings made with 
these oil blends reportedly show good brittleness, flavor and mouth-feel 
properties. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,514 to Maruzeni et al. discloses a cocoa butter 
substitute composition obtained by removing as completely as possible the 
high melting point fraction of a palm oil. The composition thus contains a 
medium melting point palm oil fraction which, because of the lack of a 
high melting point component, shows very sharp melting characteristics. 
None of these references, however, provides an oil blend of palm kernel 
oil, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, palm kernel stearin and hydrogenated 
palm kernel stearin, which is suitable for use as a cocoa butter 
substitute, well-characterized, and possesses the flavor and texture 
release properties of cocoa butter. 
3. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to edible blends of palm kernel oil. The 
invention is based on the surprising discovery that certain palm kernel 
oil blends have flavor release and texture properties similar to those of 
cocoa butter, despite being significantly different from cocoa butter in 
solid fat content and melting characteristics. 
The oil blends of the invention are based on palm kernel oil as well as 
several well-known palm kernel oil derivatives. These derivatives include 
hydrogenated palm kernel oil, palm kernel stearin, and hydrogenated palm 
kernel stearin. Thus, an oil blend in accordance with the invention 
includes about 10 to about 16% by weight of palm kernel oil, about 6 to 
about 12% by weight of hydrogenated palm kernel oil, about 55 to about 75% 
by weight of palm kernel stearin, and about 7 to about 13% by weight of 
hydrogenated palm kernel stearin. 
Another aspect of the invention relates to edible food products which 
include the palm kernel oil and palm kernel derivative oil blends. The 
edible food product may be, for example, a confectionery center, a 
confectionery coating, an ice cream coating, a bar, a morsel or a creamer. 
In still another aspect of the invention is provided a chocolate 
alternative composition including the palm kernel oil blends of the 
invention. In this aspect, a chocolate alternative composition of the 
invention may also include cocoa powder, milk powder, sugars, emulsifiers, 
and other components suitable for use in chocolate alternatives. 
The palm kernel oil blends of the invention, and edible food products and 
chocolate alternatives including these palm kernel oil blends, provides a 
reliable source of appropriate confectionery fats that does not suffer 
from the variability in availability and in price associated with cocoa 
beans. Further and surprisingly, these palm kernel oil blends offer 
alternatives to cocoa butter which possess highly desirable flavor and 
texture release properties similar to cocoa butter, despite differing from 
cocoa butter in solid fat content and melting characteristics. 
Still other aspects of the invention will become readily apparent to those 
skilled in the art from the following detailed description.

5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
In one embodiment, the present invention relates to palm kernel oil blends 
having flavor release and texture properties similar to those of cocoa 
butter. The oil blends include mixtures of palm kernel oil and modified or 
derivatized palm kernel oils. In particular, the palm kernel oil blends 
include palm kernel oil, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, palm kernel 
stearin, and hydrogenated palm kernel stearin. It has been surprisingly 
found that oil blends including these four components in particular weight 
percentages provide fat compositions having highly desirable flavor and 
texture properties similar to cocoa butter. 
The palm kernel oil blends of the present invention include about 10 to 
about 16% by weight of palm kernel oil, about 6 to about 12% by weight of 
hydrogenated palm kernel oil, about 55 to about 75% by weight of palm 
kernel stearin, and about 7 to about 13% by weight of hydrogenated palm 
kernel stearin. These palm kernel oil components individually are well 
known and are commercially available from various sources, such as Fuji 
Vegetable Oil Inc., Aarhus Inc., and Loders and Croklaan. 
The various oil components of the palm kernel oil blends are miscible. 
Thus, an oil blend of the present invention can be produced by simple 
mixing of the components in the proper weight ratios. Preferably, in order 
to more easily obtain a homogeneous blend, the components are melted and 
stirred together. 
In a preferred embodiment, an oil blend of the present invention includes 
12 to 14% by weight of palm kernel oil, 8 to 10% by weight of hydrogenated 
palm kernel oil, 60 to 70% by weight of palm kernel stearin, and 9 to 11% 
by weight of hydrogenated palm kernel stearin. In a most preferred 
embodiment, an oil blend includes 13.8% palm kernel oil, 9.4% hydrogenated 
palm kernel oil, 66.5% palm kernel stearin, and 10.3% hydrogenated palm 
kernel stearin. 
The palm kernel oil blends of the present invention possess highly 
desirable texture and flavor properties. Thus, in another embodiment, the 
invention relates to edible food products which include these palm kernel 
oil blends. The edible food products including the palm kernel oil blends 
are not particularly limited. The food product may be, for example, a 
confectionery center, a confectionery coating, an ice cream coating, a 
bar, a morsel, a creamer or the like. 
In this embodiment, the food product contains a palm kernel oil blend, the 
oil blend including by weight: about 10 to about 16%, preferably 12 to 14% 
and most preferably 13.8% palm kernel oil; about 6 to about 12%, 
preferably 8 to 10% and most preferably 9.4% hydrogenated palm kernel oil; 
about 55 to about 75%, preferably 60 to 70% and most preferably 66.5% palm 
kernel stearin; and about 7 to about 13%, preferably 9 to 11% and most 
preferably 10.3% hydrogenated palm kernel stearin. 
In still another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a 
chocolate alternative composition containing the palm kernel oil blends of 
the invention. The chocolate alternative compositions of the present 
invention include about 24 to about 33% and preferably 25 to 30% by weight 
of a fat component which is a palm kernel oil blend. The palm kernel oil 
blend can be any of the palm kernel oil blends described herein. Other 
components which are preferably contained in the chocolate alternative 
composition are those which are well known in the art. These additional 
components include, for example, cocoa powder, various sugars or sugar 
substitutes, milk powder, emulsifiers, and other components known to one 
of skill in the art, such as stabilizers, preservatives, flavoring and 
coloring agents, and the like. Particular examples of chocolate 
alternative compositions according to the invention are given in the 
Examples. 
Thus, a chocolate alternative composition of the present invention 
includes, by weight: about 24 to about 33%, preferably about 25 to 30%, of 
the palm kernel oil blends described above; about 30 to about 60% sugars; 
about 2 to about 25% cocoa powder; about 1 to about 20% milk solids; and 
optionally up to about 0.5% of an emulsifier. 
Within these approximate ranges, preferred amounts and specifically 
preferred components vary with the nature of the chocolate alternative 
desired, and are readily determined by one skilled in the art. For 
example, the specific sugars chosen, and the amount of sugar used, are 
readily determined by the desired taste and texture of the product. For 
typical compound coating applications, a preferred sugar is sucrose. The 
cocoa powder can have from 0 to about 15%, and preferably no more than 
about 10 or 12%, fat content. At higher fat amounts, the ingredient 
mixture may undesirably soften. Similarly, the milk powder can be non-fat 
milk powder, full-fat milk powder, or anything in between, depending on 
the taste and texture desired. The emulsifier can be any emulsifier 
suitable for use in food products, and these are well known in the art. 
For example, typical emulsifiers suitable for use in the chocolate 
alternative compositions of the present invention include lecithin, 
polyglycerol polyricineolate (PGPR), sorbitan monostearate (SMS), 
polysorbate 60, sorbitan tristearate (STS), lactic acid esters (LAE), 
distilled monoglycerides (DMG), mono-diglyceride (MDG), diacetyl tartaric 
acid esters of mono-diglycerides (DATEM), and commercially-available 
emulsifier blends, such as BETTRFLOW.TM., a blend of monosodium phosphate 
derivatives of mono- and diglycerides. Mixtures of these emulsifiers are 
suitable as well. A preferred emulsifier is lecithin. Various other 
ingredients and additives well known to one skilled in the art can also be 
added, as desired. 
Thus, the invention described herein encompasses palm kernel oil blends, 
edible food products containing the palm kernel blends, and chocolate 
alternative compositions made therefrom. The palm kernel oil blends of the 
present invention, and the products made from them, provide highly 
desirable flavor and texture release properties similar to those of cocoa 
butter. 
Certain embodiments and features of the invention are illustrated, and not 
limited, by the following working examples. 
6. EXAMPLES 
6.1. Example 1: Solid Fat Content Comparison 
The solid fat content of several fat compositions was measured using a 
pulsed NMR (Oxford QP.sup.20). The procedure used conformed to the 
American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS) method Cd 16b-93. Cocoa butter was 
tempered as described in the AOCS method, prior to testing. Since the 
other fat compositions tested were considered to be non-polymorphic fats, 
these compositions were not tempered. 
The compositions tested were cocoa butter, Cebes 21-16, and a preferred 
palm kernel oil blend of the present invention. Solid fat content was 
measured at 0, 10, 20, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5, 35, 37.5 and 40.degree. C. Once 
the solid fat content for a particular composition reached 0, no further 
measurements were made for that composition at higher temperatures. The 
solid fat content at each temperature is reported in Table 1. 
TABLE 1 
______________________________________ 
Solid Fat Content 
T (.degree. C.) 
Cocoa Butter CEBES 21-16.sup.a 
PKO Blend 
______________________________________ 
0.0 87.5 94.1 93.7 
10.0 78.8 93.4 80.5 
20.0 66.0 83.3 80.5 
25.0 54.8 68.0 62.8 
27.5 47.2 52.2 45.2 
30.0 31.6 30.0 19.2 
32.5 9.5 3.1 0 
35.0 1.0 0.8 
37.5 0.4 0 
40.0 0 
______________________________________ 
.sup.a available from Aarhus, Inc. 
In the Table, CEBES 21-16 is a common commercially available lauric fat 
which contains up to about 90% palm kernel stearin. The PKO Blend in the 
Table is a preferred blend of 13.8% palm kernel oil, 9.4% hydrogenated 
palm kernel oil, 66.5% palm kernel stearin and 10.3% hydrogenated palm 
kernel stearin. As shown in the Table, the PKO blend has a higher solid 
fat content than cocoa butter at temperatures up to 25.degree. C., and a 
lower solid fat content thereafter. 
The data presented in the Table are also shown graphically in FIG. 1. FIG. 
1 clearly shows that the solid fat content of the PKO blend differs from 
that of cocoa butter in both the lower and the higher temperature regions. 
In fact, the commercial blend CEBES 21-16 appears to match the solid fat 
content profile of cocoa butter more closely at temperatures above 
25.degree. C. than does the PKO blend. These results illustrate the 
surprising and unexpected finding that the PKO blend exhibited texture and 
flavor release properties similar to those of cocoa butter, despite the 
different solid fat content profiles. 
6.2. Example 2: Cooling Characteristics 
The properties of the PKO blends of the present invention were further 
investigated by measuring Shukoff curves. The Shukoff method is used to 
determine the cooling curves of fats. The procedure is based on the 
principle that phase transitions are accompanied by thermal changes. In a 
typical experiment, a sample of a fat or fat blend is heated to a 
temperature above its melting point range, so that all of the sample is in 
the liquid state. If necessary, the sample is filtered to give a clear, 
non-cloudy liquid. The sample is then immersed in a bath of uniform 
temperature, such as an ice bath enclosed in an insulated flask. The 
sample is then allowed to cool, and the temperature is recorded at uniform 
intervals. The Shukoff curve is a plot of temperature versus time as the 
sample cools. 
In a pure, ideal sample that undergoes no phase changes within the measured 
temperature range, the cooling curve show follow an exponential decay. As 
the sample cools, the surrounding bath absorbs the heat released by the 
sample. Since the cooling rate is proportional to the temperature 
difference between the sample and the bath, it is convenient to keep the 
bath temperature constant to simplify data analysis and to enable 
reproducible and comparative results to be obtained. 
A sample of liquid soybean oil is typically used to approximate the 
behavior of a simple, ideal system. This sample is used as a reference. In 
a pure, ideal, single-component sample that undergoes a single phase 
change (i.e., solidification) in the measured range, the temperature would 
fall until the phase change temperature is reached, remain constant while 
the phase change occurs, then continue falling after the phase change is 
complete; i.e., the cooling curve would show a plateau. 
In practice, real systems show much more complex behavior, due to such 
factors as imperfect heat transfer, multiple crystalline phases, 
supercooling and the presence of complex mixtures of different fat 
components. Many cooling curves, in fact, show distinct minima, as the 
heat released by a crystallizing component is initially absorbed by the 
remainder of the sample that is not undergoing a phase change at that 
temperature, rather than by the surrounding bath. As a result, cooling 
curves are highly distinct for different fat mixtures, and can serve as a 
"fingerprint" for different systems. 
The cooling characteristics of several fat blends were measured, using the 
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IU) method. The 
Shukoff tubes were custom made by a glass blower. Each of the tubes was 
standardized before the samples were tested, to eliminate differences 
caused by different heat transfer characteristics of the tubes. The 
standardization procedure was as follows. Each tube was filled (by weight) 
with approximately 30 mL of refined, un-oxidized soybean oil, then heated 
at 60.degree. C. for one hour. The tubes were then introduced into an ice 
bath (temperature 0.+-.0.5.degree. C.). The temperature of the sample in 
each tube was recorded every 30 seconds, using a Datatrace data logger, 
and plotted against time. No significant difference in the cooling curves 
was observed for the different sample tubes. 
Samples of the cocoa butter and a PKO blend of the present invention were 
melted completely and filtered, if necessary, to get rid of any solid 
fraction. Each sample was run alongside a soybean reference sample, to 
ensure the integrity of the data. FIG. 2 shows the Shukoff cooling curves 
for cocoa butter and a PKO Blend of 13.8% palm kernel oil, 9.4% 
hydrogenated palm kernel oil, 66.5% palm kernel stearin and 10.3% 
hydrogenated palm kernel stearin, with the cooling curve of soybean oil 
included as a reference. 
From the Shukoff cooling curves, the following values were determined: 
Prime Stay Temperature (T.sub.prime): the temperature at which the sample 
and the soybean oil reference curve begin to diverge. This temperature 
corresponds to the temperature at which components in the sample begin to 
crystallize. 
Minimum (T.sub.min) and maximum (T.sub.max) temperatures: following 
T.sub.prime, the cooling curve of most fats shows a minimum followed by a 
maximum. The temperatures at the minimum and maximum in the cooling curve 
are T.sub.min and T.sub.max, respectively. The temperature difference 
between T.sub.min and T.sub.max, and the time difference between these two 
temperatures, were also determined. The data are summarized in Table 2. 
TABLE 2 
______________________________________ 
Shukoff Cooling Characteristics 
Sample 
T.sub.prime (.degree. C.) 
T.sub.min (.degree. C.) 
T.sub.max (.degree. C.) 
.DELTA. T 
.DELTA.time (min) 
______________________________________ 
PKO 45.3 22.1 26.8 4.7 9.0 
Blend 
Cocoa 45.6 16.4 17.6 1.2 21.5 
Butter 
______________________________________ 
As shown in the Table and in FIG. 2, the PKO blend begins to crystallize at 
about the same temperature as cocoa butter, 45.3.degree. and 45.6.degree. 
C., respectively. The PKO blend, however, has a minimum and a maximum at 
temperatures considerably higher than the corresponding minimum and 
maximum for cocoa butter. In addition, the temperature difference between 
T.sub.min and T.sub.max for the PKO blend is quite large, 4.7.degree. C., 
compared to the corresponding temperature difference for cocoa butter, 
1.2.degree. C. In fact, in contrast to the distinct minimum and maximum of 
the PKO blend, cocoa butter shows a broad and indistinct phase transition 
region which is very nearly a true plateau. These results illustrate the 
surprising finding that the PKO blend exhibits texture and flavor release 
properties similar to those of cocoa butter, despite the different cooling 
characteristics. 
6.3. Example 3: Texture Measurement of Chocolate Alternative made with PKO 
Blend 
In this Example, texture measurements were made for a chocolate alternative 
made using the PKO blend described in Example 1. The measurements were 
made with a TA-XT2 texture analyzer equipped with XTRAD software. A 
chocolate alternative was prepared from the following ingredients (% by 
weight): 
______________________________________ 
Sucrose 49.8% 
Non-fat dry milk 14.6 
Cocoa (10-12% fat) 
5.1 
PKO Blend 30.3 
Lecithin 0.2 
______________________________________ 
The texture of the PKO-based chocolate alternative was compared to the 
texture of two representative chocolates, A-194 (Nestle) and German 
chocolate (Red Label Nestle). Each sample was formed into pieces of 
dimension 37.times.19.times.6 mm by melting the sample and cooling it in a 
mold. These pieces were then supported on a hollow testing surface. A 2 mm 
diameter punch probe (TA-52) was used for the test. A pre-test speed of 
5mm/s, followed by a test speed of 1 mm/s was used. The probe penetrated 
to a depth of 5 mm, with a force threshold of 0.05 N, and returned to its 
original position at a rate of 10 mm/s. 
FIG. 3 shows force (in grams) versus time for the three samples. Each data 
curve is the average of ten measurements. In the Figure, greater peak 
height, or greater force, corresponds to a harder composition. The Figure 
clearly shows that both the A-194 and German chocolates are considerably 
harder than the chocolate alternative made with the PKO blend. The width 
of a peak, or the time corresponding to the peak width at a particular 
force value, corresponds to the brittleness or flexibility of the 
composition. A short time, or a narrow peak, indicates a relatively 
brittle composition, since the sample breaks easily during the analysis. 
Conversely, a long time, or a broad peak, indicates a relatively flexible 
composition, since the sample more easily bends or flexes before breaking 
or cracking. As can be seen in the Figure, both the A-194 and German 
chocolates are much more brittle than the PKO-based chocolate alternative. 
Table 3 shows the average hardness and brittleness measurements for each of 
the three samples. The data in the Table correspond to the measurements 
shown in FIG. 3 using a different averaging procedure. The peak widths 
listed in the Table were measured at a force of 200 g. Due to the 
differences in the averaging procedures, the peak widths in the Table are 
all somewhat smaller than the graph shows. The error bars give the 
standard deviation of the ten measurements. 
TABLE 3 
______________________________________ 
Texture Measurements for Chocolate and 
PKO-Based Chocolate Alternative 
Sample Max. Force (g) 
Peak Width (s) 
______________________________________ 
Chocolate A-194 
2312 .+-. 88 
0.74 .+-. 0.05 
German Chocolate 
1946 .+-. 47 
1.12 .+-. 0.24 
PKO-Based Chocolate 
1420 .+-. 55 
1.94 .+-. 0.49 
Alternative 
______________________________________ 
As the data show, the PKO-based chocolate alternative is about 40% and 30% 
softer than the A-194 and German chocolates, respectively. In addition, 
the PKO-based chocolate alternative is 160% and 70% more flexible than the 
A-194 and German chocolate samples. This combination of a soft and 
flexible texture makes PKO-based chocolate alternatives particularly 
useful in, for example, confectionery coatings, where a decreased tendency 
to crack or fracture are especially desirable. 
6.4. Example 4: Chocolate Alternative made with PKO Blend 
A chocolate alternative was made using a PKO blend of 13.8% palm kernel 
oil, 9.4% hydrogenated palm kernel oil, 66.5% palm kernel stearin and 
10.3% hydrogenated palm kernel stearin. The composition of the chocolate 
alternative was as follows (% by weight): 
______________________________________ 
Sucrose 49.8 
Mon-Fat Dry Milk 14.6 
Cocoa (10-12% fat) 
5.1 
PKO blend 30.3 
Lecithin 0.2 
______________________________________ 
6.5. Example 5: Chocolate Alternative made with PKO Blend 
A chocolate alternative was made using a PKO blend of 13.8% palm kernel 
oil, 9.4% hydrogenated palm kernel oil, 66.5% palm kernel stearin and 
10.3% hydrogenated palm kernel stearin. The composition of the chocolate 
alternative was as follows (% by weight): 
______________________________________ 
Sucrose 53.5 
Cocoa (0% fat) 
17.7 
PKO blend 
28.7 
Lecithin 0.1 
______________________________________ 
The invention described and claimed herein is not to be limited in scope by 
the specific embodiments herein disclosed, since these embodiments are 
intended as illustrations of several aspects of the invention. Any 
equivalent embodiments are intended to be within the scope of this 
invention. Indeed, various modifications of the invention in addition to 
those shown and described herein will become apparent to those skilled in 
the art from the foregoing description. Such modifications are also 
intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. 
All references cited in the present application are incorporated by 
reference in their entirety.