Research of the role of Amazon cocoa pulp in fermentation: microbiome and chocolate quality

• Grant number: 22/10179-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: August 01, 2023 - July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Technology
• Convênio/Acordo: CONFAP - National Council of State Research Support Foundations
• Principal Investigator: Priscilla Efraim
• Grantee: Priscilla Efraim
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Paulo Túlio de Souza Silveira ; Valdecir Luccas
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/16427-8 - Characterisation of pulp, cocoa beans and Amazonian chocolates to investigate the role of cocoa pulp in the evolution of the fermentation process, BP.TT

Abstract

The recent interest in the use of cocoa pulp for other applications besides serving as substrate for the fermentation process of cocoa beans motivates research to answer its real influence on microbial succession, metabolite formation during fermentation and the quality of the products generated. This proposal will be developed jointly by four institutions. The Federal University of Pará (UFPA), together with cocoa producing partners in the state of Pará, will collect cocoa fruits and partially pulp the pulp that surrounds the seeds. Then, controlled fermentative experiments will be conducted with variation of the pulp content that involves the cocoa seeds: 25, 50, 75 and 100%. During the fermentation process, samples of the cocoa beans and cocoa honey (pulp that liquefies during fermentation and drains out of the fermentation boxes through the existing orifices) will be collected for isolation and characterization of the microbiota present. The cocoa pulp will be frozen for further characterization analysis regarding the centesimal composition in the State University of Campinas. Part of the pulp will be sent to the Fraunhofer Institut für Verfahrenstechnik und Verpackung, in Germany for the development of fermentative projects to obtain beverages based on this raw material (another project to be submitted in a specific EU call for proposals). The fermented and dried cocoa beans will be processed to obtain cocoa mass and cocoa butter at the State University of Campinas. Together with sugar and emulsifier, those cocoa derivatives will be used to formulate bitter chocolate. The chocolates will be characterized regarding physical and chemical determinations. The chocolates will be processed and characterized at the Food Technology Institute, in Campinas. Finally, the bitter chocolate will be sensorially evaluated by acceptance test with consumers. (AU)