Cocoa properties

There are physical—chemical differences between fats of the same fatty acid composition, depending on the placement of the fatty acids. For example, cocoa butter and mutton tallow share the same fatty acid composition, but fatty acid placement on the glycerin backbone yields products of very different physical properties. 

Another group of natural flavoring ingredients comprises those obtained by extraction from certain plant products such as vanilla beans, Hcotice root, St. John s bread, orange and lemon peel, coffee, tea, kola nuts, catechu, cherry, elm bark, cocoa nibs, and gentian root. These products are used in the form of alcohohc infusions or tinctures, as concentrations in alcohol, or alcohol—water extractions termed fluid or soHd extracts. Official methods for their preparation and specifications for all products used in pharmaceuticals are described (54,55). There are many flavor extracts for food use for which no official standards exist the properties of these are solely based on suitabiUty for commercial appHcations (56). 

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. 

Composition and Properties. Cocoa butter is a unique fat with specific melting characteristics. It is a soHd at room temperature (20°C), starts to soften around 30°C, and melts completely just below body temperature. Its distinct melting characteristic makes cocoa butter the preferred fat for chocolate products. 

Lecithin (qv), a natural phosphoHpid possessing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties, is the most common emulsifier in the chocolate industry (5). The hydrophilic groups of the lecithin molecules attach themselves to the water, sugar, and cocoa soflds present in chocolate. The hydrophobic groups attach themselves to the cocoa butter and other fats such as milk fat. This reduces both the surface tension, between cocoa butter and the other materials present, and the viscosity. Less cocoa butter is then needed to adjust the final viscosity of the chocolate. 

Cocoa butter has the desired "melt in the mouth property and is of high commercial value in comparison with palm oil. On the other hand, palm oil is more abundant than cocoa butter. The question is, can we convert palm oil to a product which has the desired properties of cocoa butter The answer is yes, by using lipases. 

Maleyki A, Jalil M and Ismail A. 2008. Polyphenols in cocoa and cocoa products is there a link between antioxidant properties and health Molecules 13 2190-2219. 

Reference spectra catalogs, 23 140 Reference states, for thermodynamic properties, 24 687-688 Re-fermented wines, 26 301 Refined brown sugars, 23 453 Refined cocoa butter, 6 359... 

Gupuacu is an Amazonian forest tree from Para state, Brazil. The fruits are 15-25 cm in length, 10-12 cm in diameter, and weigh between 0.8 and 2 kg. They are oblong fruits with a hard skin. The seeds contain caffeine and theobromine, alkaloids with stimulant properties. The seeds contain about 48% of a white fat similar to cocoa butter. The creamy-white pulp has an attractive and characteristic aroma and flavour. The fruits are consumed mainly as juice. 

An important property of ccooa-nut oil is its power of combining with more water than can even be incorporated with tallow soap, and this property frequently loads to dishonest practices. Cocoa-nut oil actually produces no greater quantity of soap than an equal weight of tallow but tho soap from the former can easily be made to absorb one-third more water or lio, and, at the same time, exhibit no want of consistence or softness, as would be the case with other soaps. The more rancid cocoa-nut oil be, the more readily is it saponified. 

Theobromine is an alkaloid found in the cocoa shell, tea (only in very small amounts), and kola nuts, but it is not found in coffee. In cocoa, its concentration is generally about seven times as great as CF. Although CF is relatively scarce in cocoa, it is mainly because of TB that cocoa is stimulating. TB is considerably weaker than CF and TP, having about one-tenth the stimulating effect of either. Its diuretic properties are well known (253), however, and it is also used in other applications in the pharmaceutical field. 

The purine alkaloids caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline (Figure 6.135) are all methyl derivatives of xanthine and they commonly co-occur in a particular plant. The major sources of these compounds are the beverage materials such as tea, coffee, cocoa, and cola, which owe their stimulant properties to these water-soluble alkaloids. They competitively inhibit phosphodiesterase, resulting in an increase in cyclic AMP and subsequent release of adrenaline. This leads to a stimulation of the CNS, a relaxation of bronchial smooth muscle, and induction of diuresis, as major effects. These effects vary in the three compounds. Caffeine is the best CNS stimulant, and has weak diuretic action. Theobromine has little stimulant action, but has more diuretic activity and also muscle relaxant properties. Theophylline also has low stimulant action and is an effective diuretic, but it relaxes smooth muscle better than caffeine or theobromine. 

Their presence has only been reported in a limited number of foods coffee, cocoa, meat products, barley and soy sauce. Very few sensory properties have been reported for oxazoles and oxazolines. 

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