Chocolate flavor products

Cocoa powder production today is an important part of the cocoa and chocolate industry because of increased consumption of chocolate-flavored products. Cocoa powder is the basic flavoring ingredient in most chocolate-flavored cookies, biscuits, symps, cakes, and ice cream. It is also used extensively in the production of confectionery coatings for candy bars. 

Substitutes and Equivalents. In the past 25 years, many fats have been developed to replace part or all of the added cocoa butter ia chocolate-flavored products. These fats fall into two basic categories commonly known as cocoa butter substitutes and cocoa butter equivalents. Neither can be used ia the United States ia standardized chocolate products, but they are used ia small amounts, usually up to 5% of the total weight of the product, ia some European countries. 

Cocoa butter substitutes of all types enjoy widespread use ia the United States chiefly as ingredients ia chocolate-flavored products. Cocoa butter equivalents are not widely used because of their higher price and limited supply. 

Soybean-based ice cream products, technologically feasible, are generally not in use because of flavor problems. An acceptable ice cream has been made by replacing 50% of the nonfat milk soHds with a dried soy protein isolate made up of cheese whey (21). Chocolate flavor has been widely used to mask the flavor of soybean proteins in ice cream (see Flavors and spices). 

Uses. The main application of vanillin is the flavoring of foods (e.g., ice cream, chocolate, bakery products, and confectioneries). Small quantities are used in perfumery to round and fix sweet, balsamic fragrances. Vanillin is also used as a brightener in galvanotechnical processes and is an important intermediate in, for example, the production of pharmaceuticals such as L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-DOPA) and methyldopa. 

However, there are two related classes of products which do depend, more or less, on Maillard technology chocolate flavors, and cocoa substitutes (or extenders, as they are more realistically called). 

Alex Fries Bro., Inc. Cincinnati, Ohio, make meat, cheese, and chocolate flavors based on Maillard technology. They have no information to release on these products other than that in their general brochure. 

Rusoff, 1.1. Process of producing an artificial chocolate flavor and the resulting product. US Patent, 1958, 2,835,590, assigned to General Foods. 

The use of cocoa and chocolate products as flavoring materials is described by Minifle [9] and Beckett [10]. Key volatiles responsible for the characterizing aroma of chocolate have been reported by Schnermann and Schieberle [11] and Schieberle and Pfhuer [12] (briefly summarized in section 8.2.2.7.2 Cocoa/Chocolate Flavor). 

Benefat ) Science, USA 4 0, 18 0 intended for use in oven-baked French fries, baked and dairy products, dressings, dips, sauces, cocoa butter substitute, chocolate-flavored coatings of hydrogenated vegetable oils with triacylglycerols containing acetic and/or propionic and/or butyric acids... 

Chocolate represents a highly complex flavor system for which no single character impact has been identified. Vanillin and Furaneol contribute to the sweet, caramel background character of milk chocolate (57). 5-Methyl-2-phenyl-2-hexenal provides a deep bitter, cocoa note, and is the aldol reaction product from phenylacetaldehyde and 3-methylbutanal, two Strecker aldehydes formed in chocolate (58). 2-Methoxy-5-methylpyrazine and isoamyl phenylacetate have chocolate, cocoa, nutty and cocoa-like notes, respectively, and both are used in synthetic chocolate flavors (59). Systematic studies of key odorants in milk chocolate were performed using aroma extract dilution analysis however, character impact compounds unique to chocolate flavor were not reported (57,60). 

A more complex flavor development occurs in the production of chocolate. The chocolate beans are first fermented to develop fewer complex flavor precursors upon roasting, these give the chocolate aroma. The beans from unfermented cocoa do not develop the chocolate notes (84—88) (see Chocolate and cocoa). The flavor development process with vanilla beans also allows for the formation of flavor precursors. The green vanilla beans, which have Htfle aroma or flavor, are scalded, removed, and allowed to perspire, which lowers the moisture content and retards the enzymatic activity. This process results in the formation of the vanilla aroma and flavor, and the dark-colored beans that after drying are the product of commerce. 

A wide variety of special malts are produced which impart different flavor characteristics to beers. These malts are made from green (malt that has not been dried) or finished malts by roasting at elevated temperatures or by adjusting temperature profiles during kilning. A partial Hst of specialty malts includes standard malts, ie, standard brewers, lager, ale, Vienna, and wheat caramelized malts, ie, Munich, caramel, and dextrine and roasted products, ie, amber, chocolate, black, and roasted barley. 

The food flavor industry is the largest user of vanillin, an indispensable ingredient in chocolate, candy, bakery products, and ice cream. Commercial vanilla extracts are made by macerating one part of vanilla beans with ten parts of 40—50% alcohol. Although vanillin is the primary active ingredient of vanilla beans, the full flavor of vanilla extract is the result of the presence of not only vanillin but also other ingredients, especially Httle-known resinous materials which contribute greatly to the quaUty of the flavor. 

In flavor formulations, vanillin is used widely either as a sweetener or as a flavor enhancer, not only in imitation vanilla flavor, but also in butter, chocolate, and aU. types of fmit flavors, root beer, cream soda, etc. It is widely acceptable at different concentrations 50—1000 ppm is quite normal in these types of finished products. Concentrations up to 20,000 ppm, ie, one part in fifty parts of finished goods, are also used for direct consumption such as toppings and icings. Ice cream and chocolate are among the largest outlets for vanillin in the food and confectionery industries, and their consumption is many times greater than that of the perfume and fragrance industry. 

Flavorings. Various spices are employed to provide distinctive flavors in many bakery foods. Similarly, flavors and colors, both natural and artificial, are used to enhance bakery products in terms of both eating properties and appearance (6,15). Cocoa, chocolate, and many varieties of fmit, as well as some vegetables, (fresh, frozen, canned, and dried) are used in the food product or in fillings or icings. 

Blending. Most chocolate and cocoa products consist of blends of beans chosen for flavor and color characteristics. Cocoa beans may be blended before or after roasting, or nibs may be blended before grinding. In some cases finished Hquors are blended. Common, or basic beans, are usually African or BraziUan and constitute the bulk of most blends. More expensive flavor beans from Venezuela, Trinidad, Ecuador, etc are added to impart specific characteristics. The blend is deterrnined by the end use or type of product desired. 

Problem definition A colleague from the cookies product development department of your company has come to your office to describe what appears to be a significant business issue. Complaints of an off-flavor in your chocolate chip cookies, sold throughout the country, are being reported. Samples of the product are being shipped from the plant by overnight air. Production has been stopped. A recall of all product is under consideration Identification of the off-flavor and its cause are now your top priority ... 

Unsaturated fats, as noted in Section 13.3, tend to be liquids at room temperature. They can be transformed to a more solid consistency, however, by hydrogenation, a chemical process in which hydrogen atoms are added to carbon—carbon double bonds. Mix a partially hydrogenated vegetable oil with yellow food coloring, a little salt, and the organic compound butyric acid for flavor, and you have margarine, which become popular around the time of World War II as an alternative to butter. Many food products, such as chocolate bars, contain partially... 

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