Chocolate aroma: Factors, importance and analysis
Introduction
Chocolate as one of the most popular foods is consumed by people of all ages. Higher consumption of chocolate was associated with significantly higher antioxidant properties, which have beneficial impact on human health (Aktar, Chen, Ettelaie, Holmes, & Henson, 2017). Unique sensory experience that chocolate creates is related with the melting profile in the mouth as well as specific odor and taste (aroma properties). For chocolate aroma, the cocoa present in the formulation and production process is very important for manufacturing the product with desired quality characteristics (Braga et al., 2018). The factors that are responsible for the aroma development in cocoa beans and chocolate are, cocoa cultivation (genetic origin, climatic conditions), post-harvest treatments (including fermentation and drying stages), chocolate processing (roasting and conching) (Da Veiga Moreira, Da Figueiredo Vilela, Santos, Lima, & Schwan, 2018).
Cocoa specific aroma can be defined as the aromatic properties that form during the cocoa processing and by the help of enzymatic reactions that mostly occur during the fermentation process of the cocoa beans. This fermentation process is complex transformation of the chemical reactions which contains: formation of organic acids, degradation of proteins, formation of insoluble compounds and hydrolization of glycosides. Fermentation is followed by drying, steam pre-treatment (debacterization step) and roasting processes where Maillard reaction takes place between amino acids/peptides and reducing sugars formed during fermentation and also some organic acids are removed from the cocoa. Effective debacterization can be performed by adding water and assuring the presence of steam in the equipment. Roasting temperatures, holding times and amount of water added vary according to the applied equipment and the desired flavor profile of the product. Usually, the final roasting temperature is between 110 °C and 140 °C. Microbiological tests must be carried out for each specific roasting profile to ensure that it kills all pathogens for example Salmonella and reduces the total bacterial content (Beckett, 2009). Many odor substances involving pyrazines, furans, aldehydes, ketones, pyrroles and aldols are formed during Maillard reactions (taking place during drying, roasting and conching) which are important for the aroma characteristics of cocoa and chocolate (Crafack et al., 2014).
Type and amount of ingredients (cocoa, sugar, fat, milk powder, emulsifiers) and production process of the chocolate, especially conching are also crucial factors for chocolate aroma. Aroma is influenced by the volatile components and behavior of the continuous fat phase, affecting the liberation of volatiles into the mouth headspace and taste perception (Khairy, Saadon, Zzaman, Yang, & Easa, 2018).
Evaluation of aroma components is one of the most interesting studies in the food research area since chocolate has been commercialized. This a big challenge because significant attention has been given to chocolate and chocolate products. The use of analytical tools and sensory analysis offers interesting opportunities for quality control of cocoa-based products, enabling a great understanding of the relationship between aroma compounds and sensory attributes. Instrumental methods are needed to better characterize the levels of these important aroma compounds and understand the evolution of this parameter after harvest, according to the cultivar and the pre-and post-harvest factors. Sensory evaluation has been stated to be a good way to assess consumer preferences. Therefore, a sensory guided approach is needed to differentiate those volatiles being crucial for cocoa flavor from those having low or no impact.
In this study, factors affecting aroma composition of the chocolate and methods performed for determination of volatile compounds profile is provided.
Section snippets
Main aromatic components in chocolate
Cocoa products (e.g. cocoa mass, powder, butter) and chocolate have a complex flavor (Da Veiga Moreira et al., 2018) and many researches have recognized more than 600 various volatile components in cocoa and chocolate products (Da Veiga Moreira et al., 2018; Engeseth & Pangan, 2018; Reineccius, 2006; Taylor, 2002; Taylor & Roberts, 2004) mainly aldehydes, pyrazines, alcohols, carboxylic acids, esters, ketons, furans, amines, amides, acids, phenols, terpenes and hydrocarbons (Braga et al., 2018
Marker compounds of cocoa
Pyrazines are the main volatile and the key odor compounds in cocoa and chocolate aroma (Braga et al., 2018). Pyrazines originating from Maillard reaction are the most important compounds that contribute to the final chocolate flavor. Pyrazine concentration depends on the weather conditions, varieties of cocoa, ripeness and chocolate processing (Da Veiga Moreira et al., 2018). Well-fermented cocoa from Ghana has higher levels of pyrazines (698 μg/100 g) than Mexican cocoas (142 μg/100 g) (
Relation between chocolate processing and chocolate aroma
Usage of cocoa with desired aroma profile is very important for the end product preference. In addition, processes employed for chocolate production have also great impact on the aroma characteristics of the chocolates. As known, conventional chocolate process is composed of mixing, refining, conching and tempering stages. However, the influence of applying alternative processing on flavor formation will be discussed.
Evaluation of aromatic compounds
Determination of aromatic compound profile of the end product is required for routine quality control and also for formulation and process developing and research studies, which is indispensable for production of the end products with desired quality characteristics. Therefore, selection of appropriate, reliable and fast test method is very important for the chocolate science and technology.
Conclusion
Flavor development in chocolate is associated to many factors, such as cacao growth conditions, the formulation and processing of the chocolate (refining and conching). There are several key compounds (nonvolatile and volatile chemical compounds) that specify the final flavor character. Several chemical, biological, and physical factors affect the formation and the development of flavor. Cocoa bean fermentation is necessary for the formation of key flavor precursors contributing to chocolate
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Omer Said Toker: Conceptualization, Writing - original draft. Ibrahim Palabiyik: Conceptualization, Writing - original draft. Haniyeh Rasouli Pirouzian: Conceptualization, Writing - original draft. Tugba Aktar: Conceptualization, Writing - original draft. Nevzat Konar: Conceptualization, Writing - original draft.
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2022, Food Research InternationalCitation Excerpt :Aroma is mainly refined during the plastic phase of the conching process (Albak & Tekin, 2016), since the strongest shear forces occur in this phase (Danzl & Ziegleder, 2014). Aroma refinement is probably initially based on a redistribution of aroma substances within the chocolate mass (Toker et al., 2020; Ziegleder et al., 2003; Ziegleder et al., 2005). Further studies describe the evaporation and formation of aroma-active volatile substances during conching (Counet et al., 2002).