Guzmán-Armenteros Tania María, Ruales Jenny, Cuesta-Plúa Cristina, Bravo Juan, Sinche Marco, Vera Edwin, Vera Edison, Vargas-Jentzsch Paul, Ciobotă Valerian, Ortega-Ojeda Fernando E, Proaño Andrés, Echeverría Armando, Ramos-Guerrero Luis
Departamento de Ciencia de Alimentos y Biotecnología, Facultad de Ingeniería Química y Agroindustria, Escuela Politécnica Nacional (EPN), Quito 170525, Ecuador.
Agencia de Regulación y Control Fito y Zoosanitario (AGROCALIDAD), Av. Interoceánica km 14 ½, Tumbaco 170184, Ecuador.
Foods. 2023 Oct 26;12(21):3924. doi: 10.3390/foods12213924.
Cocoa liquor is the primary precursor of the worldwide highly appreciated commodity chocolate. Its quality depends on several factors, such as the type of cocoa, the fermentation process, and the control of the contaminants in the fermented beans. This study aims to evaluate whether the induced magnetic field treatment during the fermentation process or the pathogen reduction with gamma irradiation after the fermentation affect the characteristics of the cocoa liquor obtained from Ecuadorian cocoa beans. For this purpose, liquor samples from controls (standard process), from beans treated with an induced magnetic field up to 80 mT, and from beans irradiated with nominal doses up to 3 kGy were characterized through Raman spectroscopic analysis and sensorial evaluation. The most relevant bands of the cocoa liquor were assigned according to reports from the literature, spectroscopic data, and chemometrics. The spectra corresponding to different treatments and doses were visually very similar, but they could be discriminated using OPLS-DA models, where the most intense Raman signals were attributed to the lipid components. The sensorial evaluation rated the presence of floral, fruity, almondy, acid, and bitter flavors, along with astringency and intense aroma, and these attributes exhibited variable behavior depending on the dose of the irradiation or magnetic treatment. Therefore, both treatments may exert an influence on cocoa beans and, therefore, on the cocoa liquor quality.
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