Influence of roasting conditions on procyanidin and flavor contents in cocoa beans

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Along with the attractive flavor and taste, the health benefits of chocolates are being accepted by consumers due to a high amount of procyanidin in cocoa beans. Cocoa bean roasting is a critical step to impact on both flavor profile and antioxidant activity of chocolate products. Along with roasting, aroma patterns of cocoa beans will change and the level of antioxidants will generally decrease. An understanding of the balance between flavor profile and antioxidant activity during roasting step is therefore of high value to chocolate company. The objectives of this collaboration between UBC Food Science and a chocolate company located in Vancouver, Zimt Artisan Chocolates Ltd., are as follows: 1) to determine antioxidants of cocoa beans after different roasting conditions; 2) to determine flavor profiles of cocoa beans after different roasting conditions; 3) to study the relationship between antioxidants and flavor patterns after roasting and optimize roasting condition. The cocoa beans will be roasted in a forced airflow drying oven for different times at different temperatures. High performance liquid chromatographic analysis will be conducted to determine procyanidin content in cocoa beans after different roasting conditions. Solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry will be applied to extract and quantify the contents of selective aroma compounds in beans after different roasting conditions. The balance between antioxidants and flavor profiles will be investigated and the optimum roasting conditions will be further investigated. This study is positioned to benefit the chocolate manufacture industry in BC and Canada by understanding the optimal roasting conditions to provide chocolate products with both satisfied flavor profile and relatively high antioxidant activity.