Bhartiya Krishi Anusandhan Patrika

Chocolate is commercially made from the nut of Theobroma cacao. It has a bitter nutty taste, therefore many additives such as sucrose, milk, butter, etc are added to improve its taste and quality. The processing of cacao is an important step in the production of chocolate. It includes the fermentation of cacao beans using various microorganisms. In the present study, Aspergillus oryzae isolated from pea coffee leaves was characterised and was used to ferment cacao beans and the resulting change in its properties was studied.

In this study, we isolated Aspergillus oryzae from pea coffee leaves, using cooked rice medium. The isolated Aspergillus oryzae was then morphologically characterized, confirmed using molecular techniques by PCR-based amplification of ITS genes and was used to ferment cacao beans, to improve its flavour and quality. The changes in the flavour and other traits/attributes such as reducing sugar, protein, polyphenols, calcium, potassium and iron content of cacao beans before and after fermentation were estimated biochemically. The results were then compared with those of unfermented cacao beans and those fermented with yeast.

The colour, smell, pH and taste of fermented cacao beans have considerably changed after fermentation. Quantitative analysis revealed that the contents of sugar, protein and polyphenols have decreased, while those of nutrients such as iron, calcium and potassium increased after fermentation.