Cocoa powder, defatted

For the processing of cocoa powder the finely ground roasted cocoa nuts are defatted in hydraulic presses. After pressing ll-12%wt. cocoa butter still is in the powder. For some purposes it is necessary to reduce the butter content below l%wt. The defatting of cocoa powder is one of the few defatting processes by means of C02 which is already done on industrial scale. 

The best conditions were found at 480 bar and 100°C. A residual butter content below one per cent can be reached in 1,5 hours. The extraction temperature is limited at about 100°C. At higher temperature the content of free fatty acids increases, because it seems that a part of the triglycerides is splitted to fatty acids. The aroma losses are low and the defatted cocoa powder is of high quality. 

Today, continuous screw-presses dominate the mechanical extraction of fats. The only applications still favoring hydraulic presses are those requiring gentle handling, for example, pressing cocoa butter from cocoa beans where the defatted residue is to be fine-ground to make cocoa powder. The development of continuous screw-presses will be outlined in Section 4.2. The development and technology of hydraulic presses was covered in detail in previous editions of this book (109). This edition briefly summarizes the early development of hydraulic presses and then focuses on modern, continuous cocoa butter hydraulic presses used today. 

The attractiveness of supercritical carbon dioxide extraction is shown by the already existing industrial applications of hop extraction, decaffeination of tea and coffee, defatting of cocoa powder, and extraction of herbs and spices and is also demonstrated by the large number of patent applications and scientific publications in recent years. 

Partially defatted cocoa powder (fat content 20%), treated with alkali. 

VCR (Viobin Cocoa Replacer) is ".pressure-roasted defatted wheat germ, ground to a fine powder which is similar in color and texture to processed cocoas...The toasting process develops aroma and taste characteristics that complement...cocoa..." Such aroma as it has, and it would not be mistaken for cocoa, can be attributed to Maillard reactions taking place during toasting. It is manufactured and sold by the Viobin Corporation, Monticello, Illinois. 

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