Llano Sandra, Vaillant Fabrice, Santander Margareth, Zorro-González Andrés, González-Orozco Carlos E, Maraval Isabelle, Boulanger Renaud, Escobar Sebastián
Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria (Agrosavia), Process & Quality Cocoa Laboratory, Centros de Investigación La Selva, Palmira and La Libertad-Km 14 Mosquera-Bogotá, Mosquera 250047, Colombia.
Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement-CIRAD, UMR QualiSud, 1, F-34398 Montpellier, France.
Foods. 2024 Aug 20;13(16):2614. doi: 10.3390/foods13162614.
The market for fine-flavor cocoa provides significant benefits to farmers. However, identifying the sensory qualities of chocolate under specific environmental conditions and measuring how its chemical compounds may be affected by climate differences and postharvesting practices remain a challenge. This study investigates how fermentation time and agroclimatic conditions in Colombia's fine cocoa-producing region of Arauca influence the sensory profile and volatile compound composition (volatilome) of chocolate derived from cocoa beans. Sensory evaluation was conducted on chocolates fermented for 48, 72, 96, and 120 h, revealing that fermentation time critically affects the development of fine-flavor attributes, particularly fruitiness and nuttiness. The optimal fermentation period to enhance these attributes was identified at 96 h, a duration consistently associated with peak fruitiness under all studied climatic conditions. Analysis of 44 volatile compounds identified several key aroma markers, such as acetoin, 1-methoxy-2-propyl acetate, and various pyrazines, which correlate with desirable sensory attributes. These compounds exhibited varying amounts depending on fermentation time and specific agroclimatic conditions, with a 96 h fermentation yielding chocolates with a higher quantity of volatile compounds associated with preferred attributes. Our findings highlight the complex interaction between fermentation processes and agroclimatic factors in determining cocoa quality, providing new insights into optimizing the flavor profiles of chocolate.
优质风味可可市场给农民带来了巨大益处。然而，确定特定环境条件下巧克力的感官品质，以及衡量其化学成分如何受到气候差异和收获后处理方式的影响，仍然是一项挑战。本研究调查了哥伦比亚阿劳卡优质可可产区的发酵时间和农业气候条件如何影响源自可可豆的巧克力的感官特征和挥发性化合物组成（挥发物组）。对发酵48、72、96和120小时的巧克力进行了感官评估，结果表明发酵时间对优质风味特征的形成至关重要，尤其是果味和坚果味。提高这些特征的最佳发酵期确定为96小时，在所有研究的气候条件下，这一时间段始终与最高果味相关。对44种挥发性化合物的分析确定了几种关键的香气标记物，如乙偶姻、1-甲氧基-2-乙酸丙酯和各种吡嗪，它们与理想的感官特征相关。这些化合物的含量因发酵时间和特定的农业气候条件而异，96小时的发酵产生的巧克力含有与优选特征相关的较高数量的挥发性化合物。我们的研究结果突出了发酵过程和农业气候因素在决定可可质量方面的复杂相互作用，为优化巧克力的风味特征提供了新的见解。
