JP2009278938A - Method for improving aroma of cocoa powder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for improving aroma of cocoa powder which enables production of cacao mass and cocoa powder each reinforced in aroma: and to provide food and drink containing the cacao mass or the cocoa powder. <P>SOLUTION: The method for improving aroma of cocoa powder includes conducting a step of roasting cacao beans or its processed product at least twice in a cacao mass production method having a step of pulverizing cacao beans or its processed product and the step of roasting cacao beans or its processed product. The cacao mass and the cocoa powder are each produced by the method. The food and drink contain the cacao mass or the cocoa powder. In the method, an alkali treatment is preferably performed in a cacao mass condition, and the heating temperature after addition of an alkali agent preferably reaches 100°C or more under normal pressure. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to cocoa mass and cocoa powder with improved flavor.

  In general, the production of cocoa mass and cocoa powder is according to the following procedure. Separation of cocoa bean seed coat (also referred to as cocoa shell, hereinafter referred to as shell) and endosperm (also referred to as cocoa nib, hereinafter referred to as cocoa nib) by wind selection of cocoa beans as raw materials (also referred to as winnowing, hereinafter referred to as winnowing) To do. Next, only cacao nibs are collected and ground to obtain cacao mass (also called cacao liquor).

In addition, when producing cocoa powder, the cocoa mass obtained as described above is heated and pressed to squeeze cocoa butter (also referred to as pressing, hereinafter referred to as pressing or pressing process). The cocoa cake obtained as a result of pressing is crushed to obtain cocoa powder.
And in order to obtain cacao mass and cocoa powder, a roasting process is also required in addition to the above processes. Furthermore, when manufacturing cocoa powder, in addition to the above processes, alkali treatment is often performed.

  In this way, to produce cacao mass and cocoa powder, we perform winnowing, roasting, grinding treatment, press (press is only for cocoa powder production), and alkali treatment. There are four roasting methods. That is, a method of performing a roasting process in the state of cacao beans before winnowing (this is called a bean roast method), a method of performing cacao nibs obtained after winnowing (this is called a nibroast method), grinding cacao nibs, and cacao mass The method of roasting in this state (this is called the recur roast method) and the method of roasting after making cocoa powder (this is called powder roasting).

  Thus, there are at least four roasting methods, and roasting is possible in each state of cacao beans, cacao nibs, cacao mass, and cocoa powder, but roasting is performed only once. This is considered to be due to the fact that roasting a plurality of times makes the process complicated.

  On the other hand, if attention is paid to the alkali treatment, the production methods are roughly classified according to the process in which the alkali treatment is performed. Typically, cacao nibs obtained after winnowing are subjected to an alkali treatment, followed by roasting, grinding treatment, and pressing (this is called a nib alkali treatment method). As a modification to this nib alkali treatment method, there is a method in which roasting and grinding treatment are performed immediately after winnowing to give cocoa mass, followed by alkali treatment, and then press treatment (this is called liquor alkali treatment method). Furthermore, there is a method of performing alkali treatment after obtaining cocoa powder by performing winoing, roasting, grinding treatment, and pressing (this is called powder alkali treatment method), but it is not so common.

The purpose of the alkali treatment when producing cocoa powder is mainly the following four points, all of which are important for the production of cocoa powder and its quality.
1. Increase dispersibility of cocoa powder in water (including hot water and hot milk).
2. Cocoa beans are weakly acidic (pH around 4-6), so they should be neutralized and easy to eat.
3. Make the color dark brown.
4). It makes it easy to squeeze cocoa butter in the pressing process.

  The alkali treatment is a method in which an alkali agent is dissolved in water to prepare an alkali solution in advance, and this alkali solution is added to cacao nibs, cacao mass, and cocoa powder.

  Many studies have been made so far to improve the flavor of cocoa. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for reducing unpleasant taste by oxygenating roasted cacao mass. Patent Document 2 discloses a method of reducing unpleasant astringency by causing polyphenol oxidase to act on cacao mass. Patent Document 3 discloses a method for reducing the unpleasant taste of cocoa powder by adding one or more selected from fruit juice, tea and coffee during alkali treatment or roasting.

Although these studies have greatly contributed to the improvement of the flavor of cocoa, cocoa powder is still less fragrant compared to roasted coffee beans, etc., and it is also a reason why cocoa products are somewhat unattractive, which can increase them It was an issue.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-15344 WO00 / 72694 JP 2005-261391 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide cacao mass and cocoa powder with enhanced aroma, and foods and drinks containing them.

  Cocoa, which is a raw material for chocolate, generally has a lower aroma compared to coffee. The present inventors speculated that one of the causes is that cacao is less roasted than coffee and the fragrance component is not sufficiently expressed. And as mentioned above, as a result of earnest examination paying attention to the point that cacao was roasted only once, it was found that the flavor was greatly increased by roasting at least twice, and the present invention was completed.

That is, the present invention includes the following.
(1) A method for producing a cocoa mass comprising a step of atomizing cocoa beans or a processed product thereof and a step of roasting, wherein the roasting step is performed at least twice.
(2) The production method according to (1), wherein the alkali treatment is further performed in a cacao mass state.
(3) The manufacturing method according to (2), wherein in the alkali treatment step, the heating temperature after adding the alkali agent reaches 100 ° C. or higher under normal pressure.
(4) A cocoa mass obtained by the production method according to any one of (1) to (3) above.
(5) Cocoa powder obtained by degreasing and pulverizing the cocoa mass according to (4) above.
(6) Food / beverage products containing the cacao mass as described in said (4).
(7) Food / beverage products containing the cocoa powder as described in said (5).

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide cocoa mass and cocoa powder with enhanced preferred flavor.

In the present invention, cocoa beans are those dried in the production area.
The roast in the present invention is a case where cacao mass or cocoa powder is produced from cacao beans, and the cacao beans, cacao mass or cocoa powder and an intermediate product (such as cacao nibs) are strictly controlled at least twice. It is defined as roasting (heating). Here, cacao beans, cacao mass or cocoa powder and intermediate products (such as cacao nibs) are usually called cacao beans, cacao nibs, cacao mass, cocoa powder, or cacao mass or cocoa using cacao beans as raw materials. Includes any state produced when producing powder. For example, the state which does not grind cacao nib completely (what should be called the intermediate state of cacao nib and cacao mass) is also included.

In addition, when manufacturing cacao mass and cocoa powder, in addition to the roasting process, the cocoa mass and cocoa powder have been heated in the following situations.
1. Preheating before cocoon beans winoing To facilitate exfoliation of the nibs and shells during winoing, the cocoa beans are heated to expand the shells with the steam contained in the cocoa beans and to remove the shells from the nibs. . In the case of liquor roast or powder roast, it is performed for the purpose of drying to reduce the moisture of the cacao mass.
2. Product temperature rise when grinding cacao nibs When cacao nibs are ground, heat (rotational energy, etc.) and frictional heat given to the grinder are given to cacao nibs, and the cacao mass becomes hot.
3. Heating before pressing process When manufacturing cocoa powder, heat is applied to facilitate the degreasing of cocoa butter from cocoa mass.

  However, such heating is not aimed at the development of a fragrance, and is out of control of strict temperature conditions and the like. In the present invention, heating that is out of control of such a strict temperature condition is not regarded as roasting.

(Manufacturing method)
A typical production method of the present invention is as follows. First, the cacao beans are collected by winning the cacao beans. Then roast cacao nibs. The degree of roasting is desirably 3% or less, more desirably 2% or less. After that, the cocoa mass is obtained by grinding.
Next, an alkali agent is added to the previously produced cacao mass and allowed to react with stirring well. The temperature at the time of stirring and reacting may be set so that water evaporates and the total moisture becomes 3% or less, preferably 2% or less, but it is desirable that the product temperature reaches 100 ° C. or more. The stirring / reaction time may be set so that the acid contained in the cocoa mass is neutralized by the added alkaline agent, but it is preferably performed for 20 minutes or longer. Preferable conditions for the stirring / reaction process are a product temperature of 100 to 140 ° C. and 20 to 25 minutes.

  Next, the cocoa mass after the reaction is heated again and pressed (oil extraction), and pulverized to obtain cocoa powder. Oil removal is usually performed by a press, but may be degreased by a method other than pressing.

Here, the manufacturing method of the present invention will be described in more detail.
In the above-described typical production method of the present invention, roasting is performed twice, but the roasting is performed at least twice. Roasting can be performed in two or more different states of cacao beans, cacao nibs, cacao mass, and cocoa powder, or it can be roasted twice or more for the same state (eg cacao mass) It is. In this case, the same method, for example, roasting with hot air may be performed a plurality of times, or different methods, for example, roasting with hot air and roasting with electromagnetic waves may be combined.

  The roasting method is not particularly limited, but some examples are as follows. In other words, roasting by direct fire (direct fire roast), direct hot air to cacao (direct heating hot air roast), roasting by heating around cacao pipes and drums (indirect heating) Hot air roasting or indirect heating type direct-fire roasting), roasting by electromagnetic waves, roasting by radiant heat, etc., and more detailed classification according to differences in heat sources (gas, electricity, microwaves, etc.).

  The degree of roasting is such that the maximum product temperature is 100 ° C. or higher, preferably 120 ° C. or higher, and more preferably 140 ° C. or higher. In view of the essence of the present invention, the roasting more than three times is not excluded.

In addition to the above steps, alkali treatment can be performed. The alkali treatment can be performed in a cacao nib state, but is preferably performed in a cacao mass state. As the alkali agent, potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, ammonium salt or hydroxide can be used. More specifically, potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, magnesium carbonate and the like. And when the heating temperature after adding an alkaline agent is a normal pressure, it is desirable to reach 100 degreeC or more.

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples, but these are illustrative and do not limit the present invention (unless otherwise specified,% is% by weight).

After cacao beans were woned to obtain cacao nibs, the cacao nibs were heated to a maximum reached product temperature of 140 ° C. with a roaster (Burt drum type) and subjected to a first roast. Next, the roasted cacao nibs were ground with a ball mill to obtain cacao mass. A second roast was performed while stirring the cacao mass, and the heating was terminated when the product temperature reached 140 ° C. Using the obtained cocoa mass, a chocolate composed of 50.0% cocoa mass, 37.5% sugar, 12.0% cocoa butter and 0.5% lecithin was prepared.
The chocolate was a fragrant chocolate with a rich cacao scent.

A first roast was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 to obtain cacao mass. Next, the cocoa mass was heated with microwaves for a second roast, and the roast was terminated when the maximum product temperature reached 140 ° C. The cocoa mass was used to prepare a chocolate composed of 50.0% cocoa mass, 37.5% sugar, 12.0% cocoa butter and 0.5% lecithin.
The chocolate was a fragrant chocolate with a rich cacao scent.

  After cocoa beans were woned to obtain cacao nibs, the cacao nibs were heated to a final product temperature of 130 ° C. with a roaster (Burt drum type), and the first roast was performed. On the other hand, potassium carbonate is added to 985 g of the obtained roasted cacao nibs so that the amount added as potassium carbonate is 15 g, and the mixture is heated with stirring and grinding until the final product temperature reaches 140 ° C. to perform alkali treatment and roasting. Done and obtained cocoa mass. The obtained cacao mass was pressed so as to have an oil content of 22%, and pulverized to obtain cocoa powder. The obtained cocoa powder had a rich cacao flavor.

The cocoa mass roasted twice in Example 1 was pressed and ground to an oil content of 22% to obtain cocoa powder. Using this cocoa powder, a chocolate cake was prepared by the following procedure.
Add 15cc of milk to 70g of melted milk chocolate and mix well. Meanwhile, add 120 g of butter and 60 g of powdered sugar, mix well, and add 2 eggs. This was added to the chocolate with the milk added and mixed well. Furthermore, 120 g of weak flour and 30 g of the cocoa powder were added and mixed well, and this was placed in a mold and baked in an oven at 190 ° C. for 40 minutes.
The chocolate cake containing cocoa had a black color, a very rich chocolate flavor, and a strong flavor.

Comparative Example 1
After cacao beans were woned to obtain cacao nibs, the cacao nibs were roasted to a final product temperature of 130 ° C. with a roaster (Burt drum type). The roasted cocoa nibs were ground to obtain cocoa mass. The cocoa mass was used to prepare a chocolate composed of 50.0% cocoa mass, 37.5% sugar, 12.0% cocoa butter and 0.5% lecithin. The obtained chocolate had a cacao scent but a slightly weak scent.

Comparative Example 2
A cocoa powder was prepared by pressing and pulverizing the cacao mass of Comparative Example 1 so that the oil content was 22%, and using this cocoa powder, a chocolate cake containing cocoa powder was prepared according to the formulation of Example 4.
The chocolate cake containing cocoa had a black color and a chocolate flavor, but the cacao fragrance was slightly weak.

Comparative Example 3
In Example 1, in the process of performing the second roast while stirring the cocoa mass, the process was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the maximum product temperature was changed from 140 ° C. to 90 ° C., to obtain the cocoa mass. The cocoa mass was used to prepare a chocolate composed of 50.0% cocoa mass, 37.5% sugar, 12.0% cocoa butter and 0.5% lecithin. The obtained chocolate had a cacao scent but a slightly weak scent.

After cacao beans were woned to obtain cacao nibs, the cacao nibs were roasted to a final product temperature of 130 ° C. with a roaster (Burt drum type). Next, the roasted cacao nibs were ground with a ball mill to obtain cacao mass. Potassium carbonate was added to 985 g of this cacao mass so that the amount added as potassium carbonate was 15 g, and the mixture was heated with stirring until the final product temperature reached 140 ° C. to perform alkali treatment and roasting. Next, the obtained cocoa mass was pressed to an oil content of 22% and pulverized to obtain cocoa powder.
4 g of sugar was added to 6 g of the cocoa powder, and 90 g of 75 ° C. hot water was poured and stirred well to prepare cocoa for sensory evaluation.
The cocoa for sensory evaluation was cocoa with a rich cacao scent.

A cocoa powder for sensory evaluation was prepared in the same manner as in Example 5 except that sodium carbonate was used instead of potassium carbonate as an alkaline agent, and the same treatment as in Example 5 was performed to obtain cocoa powder.
The cocoa for sensory evaluation was cocoa having both a coffee-like scent and a rich cacao scent.

A chocolate cake was prepared by the procedure of Example 4 using the cocoa powder of Example 5.
The resulting chocolate cake with cocoa was dark in color and rich in chocolate flavor.

A cocoa for sensory evaluation was prepared in the same manner as in Example 5 except that pressing was performed to obtain a cocoa powder having an oil content of 10%.
The cocoa for sensory evaluation was cocoa with a rich cacao scent.

Comparative Example 4
In Example 5, roasting while stirring cacao mass was performed in the same manner as in Example 5 except that the ultimate product temperature was changed from 140 ° C. to 80 ° C., to produce cocoa for sensory evaluation.
The cocoa for sensory evaluation had an alkaline odor and was difficult to drink.

Comparative Example 5
The cocoa beans were obtained by winning the cocoa beans. Potassium carbonate was added to 985 g of the obtained cacao nibs so that the amount added as potassium carbonate was 15 g, and an alkali treatment was performed. Next, it was roasted to a final product temperature of 130 ° C. with a roaster (Burt drum type). The roasted cacao nibs were ground with a ball mill to obtain cacao mass. Thereafter, the oil was pressed to 22% and pulverized to obtain cocoa powder.
4 g of sugar was added to 6 g of the cocoa powder, and 90 g of 75 ° C. hot water was poured and stirred well to prepare cocoa for sensory evaluation.

Test example 1
The effect of roasting twice was examined by comparing the aroma components of the cacao masses obtained in Example 1 and Comparative Example 1.
(Sample preparation method)
2 g of each sample was sealed in a 20 ml vial, held at 37 ° C. for 15 minutes, and then the headspace portion was adsorbed and concentrated with SPME for 30 minutes for analysis.
(Analysis method)
SPME / GC / MS method SPME: Gray fiber (DVD / carboxen / PDMS)
GC: HP6890 MS: HP5973
Column: TC-WAX (0.25 mm × 60 m × 0.25 μm)
Inlet temperature: 250 ° C. AUX temperature: 250 ° C. Ion source temperature: 150 ° C. 230 ° C.
Temperature rise: 40 ° C (5 minutes) → 3 ° C / minute → 220 ° C (5 minutes)
Flow rate: He 0.7ml / min (Result)
The results are shown in Table 1. Numerical values are shown as relative values. The roast index increased by 40% or more by roasting twice.

Test example 2
The aroma components of the cocoa powders obtained in Example 5 and Comparative Example 5 were compared. The sample preparation method and analysis method were the same as in Test Example 1.
(result)
The results are shown in Table 2. Compared with the comparative example 5 which is a conventional manufacturing method, Example 5 which performed the alkali treatment and the second roast in the cacao mass state has increased the total aroma, mainly in the roasted tone and the nut tone, In terms of percentage, roasted and nutty have increased significantly.

Test example 3
By comparing the aromatic components of the cocoa masses obtained in Example 1 and Example 5, the effect of performing alkali treatment in addition to roasting twice was examined. The sample preparation method and analysis method were the same as in Test Example 1.
(result)
The results are shown in Table 3. Numerical values are shown as relative values. By performing alkali treatment in addition to twice roasting, the index of roasting degree further increased by about 20%.

Claims (7)

  A method for producing cocoa mass comprising a step of atomizing a cocoa bean or a processed product thereof and a step of roasting, wherein the roasting step is performed at least twice.   Furthermore, the manufacturing method of Claim 1 which performs an alkali treatment in a cacao mass state.   The manufacturing method according to claim 2, wherein in the alkali treatment step, the heating temperature after adding the alkali agent reaches 100 ° C. or higher under normal pressure.   The cacao mass obtained by the manufacturing method as described in any one of Claims 1-3.   A cocoa powder obtained by degreasing and pulverizing the cocoa mass according to claim 4.   The food / beverage products containing the cacao mass of Claim 4.   Food / beverage products containing the cocoa powder of Claim 5.