The antioxidant capacities and the total phenolic content in cocoa liquor directly manufactured chocolate from an artisan manufacturer were measured using different in vitro methods (BR, TEAC, and Folin– Ciocalteu Reagent). These parameters were then compared with those of a chocolate made by a leading manufacturing company producing chocolate and cocoa-containing products. A statistical analys...

The compressive properties of premium quality cocoa beans from Ghana considering the effect of moisture content in the moisture range of 7% to 22 % (w.b) were studied. The results of the study demonstrated that the displacement at maximum load or the deformation and the crushing energy had more positive linear function with moisture content and increased significantly from 0.80 mm to 1.87 mm an...

The present work was carried out to study the mycobiota of cocoa beans from farm to chocolate. Four hundred and ninety-four samples were analyzed at various stages of cocoa processing: (i) primary stage at the farm (fermentation, drying, and storage), (ii) secondary stage at processing (testa, nibs, liquor, butter, cake and powder) and (iii) the final chocolate product (dark, milk, white and po...

The present study reports on the natural mycobiota occurring in cocoa beans, paying special attention to the incidence of fungal species that are potential producers of mycotoxins. The results show that predominant fungi were different species of the genus Aspergillus belonging to section Flavi and Nigri. Of the 214 strains of Aspergillus section Flavi collected from cocoa beans, 120 were ident...

The aim of this study was to evaluate several cocoa sources to obtain a rich phenol extract for use as an ingredient in the food industry. Two types of phenolic extracts, complete and purified, from different cocoa sources (beans, nibs, liquor, and cocoa powder) were investigated. UPLC-MS/MS was used to identify and quantify the phenolic composition of the extracts, and the Folin-Ciocalteu and ...

Chocolate has become a part of everyday life throughout the world. Many enjoy different chocolate selections such as cake, ice cream, chocolate bars, etc. as desserts. Furthermore, chocolate has solidified itself as a common gift during many holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas, making it a highly lucrative industry, valued at over $80 billion a year. Europeans, spe...

Fermentation is a key step in obtaining fine cocoa through the formation of potent aroma precursors. The fermentation level of cocoa beans is traditionally assessed by measuring the amount of ammonia nitrogen (NH₃) using the time-consuming Conway technique. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), a rapid and efficient tool, was used to analyze NH₃ levels in several hundred cocoa samples at different...

Cocoa fermented products in Indonesia generally produce poor quality fermentation. This study was conducted to compare the of cocoa beans with addition mixed and single cultures Saccharomyces cerevisiae. used a randomized block design (RAK) method 7 treatments, namely control, culture (KT5%), (KT10%), (KT15%) (KC5%), (KC10%), (KC15%). Observation parameters include pH, temperature, water conten...

UNLABELLED Cocoa beans were alkalized before or after roasting and made into cocoa liquor before analyzing by SIFT-MS. In both alkalized-before-roasting and alkalized-after-roasting samples, there were significantly higher concentrations of alkylpyrazines for the samples with pH above 7 than pH below 7. At pH 8, the concentrations of 2,3-, 2,5-, and 2,6-dimethylpyrazine (DMP), 2,3,5-trimethylpy...