Cocoa butter was steam refined in a packed column at temperatures ranging between 170 degrees C and 260 degrees C, with 1-3% steam injected, in order to verify the impact of refining conditions on the crystallization properties. Even at 260 degrees C, no significant changes in the TAG-distribution of the cocoa butter could be detected. The observed FFA-removal during packed column stripping can be well predicted by the simplified Bailey equation, however, for very high vapor pressures, an extended Bailey equation can be considered. Based on crystallization experiments with SAXS/WAXD and DSC, it has been suggested that the removal of FFA invokes marginally higher crystallization of both the meta-stable polymorphs (alpha and beta) of cocoa butter at 20 degrees C. The amounts of solid fat at equilibrium. and the induction time of the isothermal crystallization showed a strong linear correlation with the residual acidity. Upon tempering at 24 degrees C, the generally observed crystal structures evolved from feathery spherulites to larger platelet crystals as more FFA was been removed by the refining, but this could not be unambiguously related to the polymorphic behavior. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.