GB2452972A

GB2452972A - Chocolate incorporating cryogenically milled cocoa beans

Info

Publication number: GB2452972A
Application number: GB0718461A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Albert Zumbe
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-09-21
Filing date: 2007-09-21
Publication date: 2009-03-25
Also published as: GB0718461D0

Abstract

A chocolate product comprising cocoa and one or more chocolate making ingredients is further blended with an additional cocoa component which contains a higher concentration of cocoa polyphenols in order to raise the total level of polyphenols of the mixture. The additional cocoa component is cryogenically milled whole full fat cocoa beans. These cocoa beans may be predominantly unfermented, with or without their shells and lightly roasted or not roasted at all.

Description

Description.

Field of invention:

This invention relates to increasing the amount of total polyhenol content in traditional chocolate compositions. It includes full fat cocoa liquor and cocoa powder with higher levels of cocoa solid polyhenols as compared to traditional cocoa powder.

Background to the invention:

It is known that the highest content of polyphenol is in the unfermented cocoa bean. The polyphenol content is reduced during fermentation and processing ( namely excessive heat encountered principally during the de-shelling process and roasting of the cocoa bean or nibs and/or excessive pressure encountered during the expeller press or hydraulic press process) and/or during conching.

Polyphenols are antioxidants and they are reputed to be beneficial for health. Cocoa contains particulalty powerful antioxidants of which the main active polyphenol compounds include epicatechin, catechin and polymers thereof containing two, three, or up to ten of the catechin or epicatechin units linked. Their properties in human health are widely reported in peer refereed medical journals and include beneficial roles in atherogenesis, platelet reactivity, inflammation and nitric oxide mediated endothelial changes, not to mention a sparing effect on other antioxidants such as vitamins C and E. Unfortunately the total polyphenol content is greatly reduced in the cocoa bean fermentation and the traditional chocolate manufacturing process. This invention is basically about limiting and/or restoring some or all of the polyphenol content that would be encountered in chocolate if the cocoa solids in chocolate composition were unfermented and unprocessed cocoa.

Manufacturing chocolate froni unfermented beans, from which there has been little r no excessive heat or pressure is possible from a process engineering standpoint but undesirable because it would be organoleptically unacceptable to the majority of consumers. This invention is about enriching traditionally manufactured chocolate with a cocoa component that contains a higher concentration of cocoa polyphenols per unit weight. The traditional (preferably chocolate) chocolate will improve the taste qualities of the mixture.

Traditional process methods of manufacture of chocolate are described in " Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery (1970); S Beckett Industrial Manufacture and Use (1982).

The cocoa and chocolate regulations are amply described in the following documents: Codex Standard for cocoa mass, cocoa liquor and cocoa cake CODEX STAN 141-.

1983, Rev. 1-2001; CODEX Standard for chocolate and chocolate products CODEX STAN 87-1981. Rev 1-2003; The EC Directive 2000/36 relating to cocoa and chocolate products intended for human consumption; and The cocoa and chocolate Poducts ( England) regulation 2003 (SI 2003 / 1656).

Objective of the Invention: The objective of this invention is about enriching chocolate compositions with cocoa components that are higher in cocoa polyphenol than chocolate compositions that have been manufactured using traditional chocolate manufacturing processes. The principal objective is therefore to achieve a higher level of total polyphenol towards that which could be encountered in the chocolate if the cocoa solids in the chocolate composition were both non fermented and/or non processed.

This invention is also about putting into place a reliable and relatively economic supply chain to ensure the mass production of chocolate compositions with carefully controlled and quantified amounts of cocoa polyphenol without unduly revolutionising the basic chocolate manufacturing process. Manufacturing pleasant tasting and hygienically safe and acceptable chocolate, from optionally predominantly unfermented beans from which the shells are optionally partially all entirely not removed or the cocoa beans or nibs are not subject to a heat treatment or non roasted, is not a realistic option without having to make major modifications and/or additional investments to traditional cocoa processing and chocolate manufacturing plants.

The use of cryogenic technology is an important part of this invention. a-

Detailed description of the invention and preferred embodiments thereof: Cocoa polyphenols are antioxidants and weight for weight are considered to be amongst the most powerful in the Western style food supply. Cocoa has been associated with a long list of effects beneficial to human heath and are most frequently related to cardiovascular health and anti-aging.

Commercially available cocoa beans come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, different Genetic origins and including various degrees of fermentation. Polyphenols (including the procyanidin flavenoids,catechin and epicatechin) have long since been identified in cocoa although the highest concentrations are associated with unfermented beans.

Generally commercial fermented cocoa beans are about 80% fermented or less as quantified in a traditional "cut test" and lots of fermented cocoa beans above 90% are increasingly rare.

Predominantly unfermented cocoa beans are quite common and are commercially available from countries such as Mexico and especially the Sanchez cocoa beans from the Dominican Republic. Ideally for the highest levels of polyphenol it is advisable to import from companies in the origin countries that completely control the drying process of cocoa bean. Beans that are left to dry on the floor and not protected from the rain are very problematic and one cannot rely on a continual sustainable supply chain with a similar level of fermentation.. It is much preferable to purchase unfermented beans that have been freshly taken out of their pods (fresh here is defined as within 8 hours of braking open the pods), immediately washed in water to remove the mucilage and dried either in a machine whereby the beans are continually stirred and flushed with hot then left to dry on specially protected tables with a roof with occasional stirring. Alternatively the washed beans are dried and left to dry on specially tables with roofs to keep out eventual rain; with occasional stirring in a warm environment or fed hot air or UV heating system to drive off residual humidity. The unfermented beans should preferably contain less than 5% residual humidity.

It is therefore recommended to use unfermented cocoa beans if the objective is to retain the maximum possible level of cocoa polyphenols and it is perhaps fortunate that the cocoa regulations do not distinguish between the necessity for fermented and non fermented beans.

Removing the shells from the cocoa powder requires the need for a heat process and a number of publications and patents describe how this kept to an absolute minimum, just enough to heat the surface and detach the shell from the bean. This can damage and destroy polyphenol activity so optionally the de-shelling process can be omitted altogether, especially as the residual amount of shell in the final chocolate product after blending will greatly reduced. indeed in certain geographic areas such as the European Union cocoa regulations there is no specified maximum shell content for chocolate compositions.

A mechanical heavy brushing system of the dried beans and winnowing has been attempted to remove shell and it been relatively successful.

The roasting of cocoa is specified in the chocolate regulations and as heat does destroy polyphenol activity the option is to lightly roast the beans ( as there is no formal definition which describes the exact miriimuii required exposure to quantities amounts of heat).

Traditional convective roasting is the most commonly used method of thermal processing of raw cocoa beans or nibs which are exposed to temperatures of 130 -1 50 C for 15 -45 minutes. In this invention the roasting is optionally omitted altogether or limited to the minimum heat required to remove the shells.

The beans may be partially defatted by physical and/or chemical means ( i.e.solvent extraction) and as the polpyhenols are associated with the non fat component of the bean, this in itself will normally increase the polyphenol content of the cocoa component.

In order to drastically reduce the particle size of the cocoa component with increased polyphenol activity by far the simplest process is to cryogenically kibble and cryogenically mill the cocoa beans. For the kibbling process it possible to simply treat the beans with liquid nitrogen which will make them brittle enough to pass through a traditional kibbling machine to reduce the particle size to Ca. 1 -3 mm. The use of cryogenic technology is particularly important as traditional hammer mills, pin mills and classifier mills commonly used in the cocoa industry and operated at room temperature will not function properly with materials which are relatively high in fat (usually above 15% fat) as the fat will begin to seep out of cocoa bean cell structure as heat is created by frictional heat during the milling process, and the liberated melted liquid fat builds up and blocks the mill. The use of cryogenic technology enables the required particle size reduction for the cocoa component to be blended into chocolate compositions. Ideal particle size would be predominantly less than 30 microns which can easily be achieved with modern cryogenic milling technologies. Alternatively the kibbled cocoa bean, preferably can be reduced in particle size using traditional roll refine technology commonly used in the chocolate manufacturing process.

Alternatively, the full fat cocoa bean and/or partially fast reduced cocoa described above using cryogenics can be further extracted to further concentrate the total polyphenol content. There are an exhaustive number of processes that can be used and these include classical solvent extraction preferably with food grade solvents including for example water, ethanol and/or ethyl acetate either alone or in different mixtures thereof. Acetone aiid methanol have been used either alone or in mixtures with the previous list of solvents but acetone and methanol are not considered be food grade solvents even if they can be removed by virtually completely removed additional distillation. The fat component is then separated off from the extraction mixture by centrifugation and/or cooling ( whereby most of the cocoa butter will solidify) and the insoluble cocoa solids are removed by filtration using traditional techniques such as a filter press. Using full fat cocoa beans either as kibbled small pieces or milled powder greatly enhances the polyphenol extraction yield as this greatly increases the surface area of extraction. Heating the cocoa material to above the melting point of cocoa butter will also liquefy the full fat cocoa mass thus enabling the solvent(s) to infiltrate the cocoa better and this increase the yield of extraction. The liquid extract containing cocoa polyphenols is then dried preferably by spray drying or using freeze drying techniques so as to limit the exposure to excessive heat that will damage the phenol ic compounds.

The cocoa components described above are then blended into chocolate compositions. The ratio of cocoa component and chocolate will depend largely on the required ployphenol content in the finished blended or mixed product. The total polyphenol content can be quantified using analytical tools widely available for example the Folin Cioc!teau test (Singleton, V., J. Colorimetry of total polyphenols with phosphomolybdic-phosptotungstic acid reagents. Am J. Enol.

Viti 16, 144-158. 1965) with pure catechin as a reference standarard and the individual phenolic compound can be quantified using widely published HPLC chromalography methods with an Array diod detector.

It is perfectly possible therefore to set the required polyphenol content in a chocolate by regulating the amount of cocoa component that is mixed into traditional regular chocolate compositions. The objective is to fortify the total polyphenol content to up to levels that would be obtained if the chocolate composition was made with unfermented and unprocessed cocoa solids.

The liquefied cryogenic gases used to freeze the cocoa bean, cocoa nib, cocoa powder or chocolate can be liquid nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, air or even argon or helium.

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Examples:

1. Dried ( preferably less than 6 % humidity) whole predominantly non fermented Sanchez non de-shelled cocoa beans are debacterised by placing in an acid and rust resistant stainless steel autoclave (for example.Steamline) and the thermal heat is set at 121 C for 4 minutes. The excess humidity is optionally further drawn off by vacuum drying to a humidity content of less than 6% but preferably 3%.

The beans are then frozen with liquid nitrogen and shattered into small pieces with a kibbling machine to between I -4 mm diameter. The small kibbled pieces are then pulverised in a cryogenic classifier mill to the required particle size where by 99% less than 75 micrometers This powder is then blended into melted plain chocolate couverture at SOC with 27% total fat by weight at a ratio of I part of powder to 4 parts of liquid chocolate by weight. The resulting mix is tempered, moulded into 20 g tablets, de-moulded and wrapped. The resulting chocolate contained 6% wt total polyphenol as measured using a Folin -Ciocalteau with catechin as the control.

2. Dry Fermented cocoa beans ( with less than 6% humidity) from the Ivory Coast (Ca. 70% fermented as measured using a cut test were debacterised as in example 1. The beans are subjected to infra red heat a micronizer ( from Micronizer Company UK Ltd) at 100 -110 C at sufficient temperature and time to loosen the shell, then the shells are removed by a winnowing process. The de-shelled beans are then frozen with liquid nitrogen and shattered into small pieces in a kibbling machine to between 1-2 mm.

The kibbled cocoa is then mixed with crystal sugar at a 1:1 ratio by weight; further refined in a 3 cylinder Buhler roller followed a 5 cylinder Buhler roller to a particle size of 95% less than 30 micro meters.

This cocoa sugar mix is then blended into melted plain, milk or white chocolate couverture at SOC at a ratio of I part of cocoa sugar mix to 3 parts of liquid chocolate by weight. The resulting mix is tempered, moulded into 50g tablets, de-moulded and wrapped. These chocolate recipes contain an enhanced level of cocoa polyphenol as compared to a traditional chocolate recipe with a similar level of total cocoa solids.

3. Dried whole predominantly non fermented non de-shelled Sanchez cocoa bean is processed into cocoa powder as described in example I. This cocoa powder which contains ca. 54% total fat is kept cool at 5 C to avoid it melting and clumping. This powder is then mixing into powdered sugar and spray crystallised plain chocolate to produce a chocolate powder enriched in cocoa polyphenols. The recipe here is cocoa powder, powdered sugar and spray crystallised chocolate at a ratio of 55: 35: 10 respectively by weight and the resulting chocolate powder has a total fat content of 19.5 % by weight with 7.5 % total polyphenol.

4. Dried whole predominantly non fermented non de-shelled Sanchez cocoa bean is processed into cocoa powder as described in example I. This special polyphenol enriched cocoa powder is mixed with a traditional chocolate powder (comprising traditional reduced fat natural cocoa powder 10/12 fat and sugar; with 35% cocoa solids) in recipe with a ratio of 1: 2 by weight of special cocoa powder to chocolate respectively by weight. The resulting chocolate powder contained a total of 20% fat by weight and 6.5 % total polyphenol by weight.

5. Dried whole predominantly non fermented lion shelled Sanchez cocoa beans are de-bacterised using ethanol, the ethanol is then driven off and the beans are pressed in classical hydraulic press ( of a design than enables the pots to be loaded with whole bean) used in the cocoa industry. The beans are partially defatted (down to 22 % total fat) and formed into whole bean cakes at typical pressures but for longer periods of time as typically practised for pressing cocoa liquor.

The pressed cake is then cryogenically kibbled, and pulverised as in example I above to form a high polyphenol cocoa bean powder with typically 22 % total fat and 10-20 % of cocoa polyphenols (the latter depending largely on the polyphenol content of the dried bean prior to processing).

This powder is blended with melted plain chocolate as also described in example I. As chocolate is extremely difficult to process (i.e temper and mould) at less than ca, 27 % total fat by weight as it is very viscous, the total chocolate mix used in this example needs after blending needs to have a minimum of Ca. 27% total fat.

Chocolate with a typical recipe of I part of partially defatted cocoa bean powder and 4 parts of traditional plain chocolate can contain a total polyphenol Content in excess of 5.5 % polyphenol by weight.

6. Cyrogenic kibbled cocoa is made as described in example I or 2 to particle sizes 2 -4 mm. The fat is then removed by hexane or super critcal C02 technology. The dc-fatted cocoa is then milled in a classifier mill to the required particle size where by 99% is less than 75 micro meters.

Virtually fat fee Cocoa extract ( with less than 1.5 % fat weight) enriched with cocoa polyphenol is blended into melted plain chocolate couverture at SOC with 35% total fat at a ratio of I part of cocoa extract to 4 parts of liquid chocolate respectively by weight. The resulting chocolate is tempered, moulded, de-moulded and wrapped. With a cocoa extract of a min.22 % total polyphenol and a typical commercial plain chocolate couverture with 50% solids, 30% total fat by weight and 1.5% total polyphemol by weight, the resulting mix had a 6 % total cocoa polyphenols by weight.

7 Reduced fat cocoa powder manufactured in example 5 or virtually fat free cocoa powder in example 6 is extracted with ethanol! water in a ratio of I: I respectively at 40C for 3 hours with one part powder to ten parts liquid. The extracted liquid is then separated from the insoluble particles with a filter press with a 25 micrometer partice size and the liquid extract is spray dried.

The cocoa extract ( which contains contains in excess of 20% total cocoa polyphenol depending on the level in the original dried cocoa bean prior to processing) is then blended with plain chocolate couverture at 50C with 35% total fat at a ratio of I part of cocoa extract to 4 parts of liquid chocolate by weight. The resulting chocolate is tempered, moulded, de-moulded and wrapped. The level of total polyphenol in the final mixed choclate recipe is greatly enhanced.

Claims

Claims: 1. Cryogenically kibbled or milled cocoa bean (hereby called the "cocoa component") is blended into "chocolate" ( which is defined as a mixture of cocoa and one or more chocolate making ingredients including sugar and/or a sugar replacement ingredient (including polyols). The chocolate can be plain chocolate and! or milk chocolate and /or white chocolate of a mixture there of.

2. The "cocoa component" that is blended into chocolate as described in claim I has a higher polyphenol content than an equivalent amount per unit weight of the sum of all the other ingredients comprising the "chocolate" into which it is blended.

3. The cryogenically kibbled and/or milled cocoa beans in claims I & 2 can be predominantly urifermented cocoa bean 4. The cryogenically kibbled and/or milled cocoa beans in claims 1 & 2 can be made from predominantly fermented cocoa bean.

5. The cryogenically kibbled and/or milled cocoa beans in claims 1 -4 can be made with cocoa beans that have de-shelled cocoa.

6. The cryogenically kibbled and/or milled cocoa beans in claims 1 -4 can be made with cocoa from which there has been no de-shelling process step.

7. The cryogenically kibbled and/or milled cocoa beans in claims 1-6 can be lightly roasted cocoa.

8. The cryogenically kibbled and/or milled cocoa beans in claims 1-6 are made from non roasted cocoa.

9. The cryogenically kibbled and/or milled beans in claims 1-8 can made from full fat whole cocoa beans 10. The cocoa component in clainis I & 2 can be made from partially defatted cocoa bean pellets made using an expeller press, which is then kibbled and milled prior to blending to the chocolate.

11. The cocoa component in claims I & 2 can be made from partially defatted cocoa bean cake using an hydraulic press to produce pressed cake, which is then kibbled and milled prior to blending to the chocolate.

12. The cocoa component in claims I & 2 can be partially defaued cocoa bean from which part or all the fat is removed using solvent extraction. The solvent extraction the full fat cocoa bean is first reduced in particle size by cryogenic kibbling and/or milling. Solvents can include but are not limited to hexane, carbon dioxide, propane and butane. The residual fat reduced material is then kibbled and milled to a finer particle size prior to blending into the chocolate.

13. The cocoa component in claim 2 that is blended with chocolate, is a cocoa extract which is enriched in polyphenols using a process of solvent extraction.

14. The cocoa component in claim I & 2 can be blended into the chocolate mix at various stages including, into the mix prior to roll refining, in the conch or into melted liquefied chocolate.

15. The cocoa component in claim I & 2 can be mixed into reduced fat chocolate powder or low fat chocolate powder 16. The cocoa extract mentioned in claim 13 is enriched in cocoa polyphenols by solvent extraction of whole cocoa bean that has been cryogenically kibbled and/or milled 17. The cocoa extract mentioned iii claim 13 is enriched in cocoa polyphenols by solvent extraction of fat reduced cocoa manufactured as described claim 10-12.

18. The cocoa component in claims I or 2 represents less than 5% by weight of the total blend.

19. The cocoa component in claims I or 2 represents less than 50% by weight of the total blend.

20. The cocoa component in claims I or 2 represents more than 50% by weight of the total blend.

21. The chocolate in claims I or 2 can be replaced by sucrose and/or any other sugar and/or mixtures of sugar there of.

22. The cocoa solids in component in claims I or 2 is has a reduced particle size of less than 1 50 micrometers and preferably less than 75 micro meters in diameter.

23. The cocoa beans or the fat reduced beans in the form of cake or pellets or nibs or powder, with or without shells, used to make the cocoa component in claims 1 to 23 are optionally treated in an autoclave system (with or without vapour) to reduce the viable microbes ( which include bacteria and/or moulds and/or yeasts).

24. The cocoa beans or fat reduced beans in the form of cake or pellets or nibs or powder, with or without shells, used to make the component in claims I to 23 are optionally treated with ethanol or ethylene oxide, or cold pasteurisation by gamma irradiation or plasma gas (including a combination of hydrogen peroxide vapour and low temperature gas plasma) or any other lower temperature system (less than 100 C) to reduce the viable microbes ( which include bacteria, and/or moulds and br yeasts).

26 The cocoa component enriched in polyphenols is a cocoa liquor or reduced fat cocoa liquor ( with more than 25% total fat by weight) optionally made with or without shells and with or without a roasting process step, which has been manufactured using spray crystalline technology ( whereby the melted cocoa mass is spray crystallised into a cold chamber of temperature less than the melting point of cocoa butter). Cryogenic technology is not used for the manufacture of the cocoa liquor but the cocoa beans or reduced fat beans in the form of pressed cake or expeller cake or nibs optionally go though a de-bacterisation process as in claims 24 & 25.

27. The liquefied cryogenic gas used to freeze the cocoa bean, kibbled cocoa bean, cocoa nib, cocoa powder or chocolate to preserve the polyphenol content (including epichatechin, catechin and polymers there of) and the biological activity in cryogenic process in the preceding claims including claims 1, 2 & 26 can be liquid nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, air or even argon or helium.

28. Cocoa extract enriched in cocoa polyphenols ( as compared to the not extracted cocoa solids of equivalent weight) is mixed into traditional chocolate (defined as cocoa and one of more chocolate making ingredient) or sugar.

29. As in claim I or 2 except that the cocoa shells in the cocoa component of the dried beans or nibs are removed by an abrasive physical step or vigorous brushing and optional additional vibration and winnowing that does not require heat above 60 C and preferably 40C. as the relatively low temperature as compared to traditional roasting temperatures will further preserve the total cocoa polyphenol content.