Maillard reactions chocolate

Wm. M. Bell Co., Melrose Park, Illinois, is one of the companies active in this technology. They incorporate Maillard reaction products into a variety of flavors, including chocolate. 

Fritzsche-Dodge Olcott, Inc., New York City, incorporates Maillard reaction roducts on a rather broad scale into their meat, chocolate, bread, and malt flavors. 

Numerous y- and 8-lactones were identified in Tokaji aszu grapes (Miklosy and Kerenyi, 2004 Miklosy et al., 2004). The odor notes of the y-lactones were described as resin- and caramel-like, roasted, or honey, while the 8-lactones exhibited characteristic notes of coconut, chocolate, and peach. The same lactones had been identified earlier from botrytized wines but not from normal wines (Schreier et al., 1976). Lactones are mostly found in oxidatively aged wines but seem to develop in fruit due to the oxidizing effect of B. cinerea, water loss, or Maillard reactions (Miklosy et al., 2004). 

Special flavor formation for crumb chocolate takes place in the plant shown schematically in Fig. 14.28, left. In this system, so-called Maillard reactions between amino acids and reducing sugars occur in 1 to 2 minutes at 130°C, producing the classic flavors usually found in Great Britain, Scandinavia, and Japan. The process requires a few percent of moisture, which is added separately and removed in the vacuum after the reaction. The ZSK process saves on expensive vacuum dryers requiring several hours residence time. 

Nearly all foods are made up of a complex mixture of components, including carbohydrates, amino acids, and proteins. When these foods are heated, the Maillard reaction occurs resulting in the formation of a large variety of volatile flavor compounds (1-3). The Maillard reaction is responsible for both desirable and undesirable aromas in foods. The aroma of bread, chocolate, coffee, and meat are all examples of desirable aromas resulting from the Maillard reaction. The aromas of burned food, canned products, stale milk powder, cereal, and dehydrated potatoes are typical examples of the undesirable aspects of this reaction. 

For chocolate production, the raw cocoa is stored, shipped, and processed. The processing steps are roasting and liquor production. The heat treatment induces Maillard reactions, caramelization of sugars, protein degradation, and formatiiMi of volatile aroma components [85, 89]. An often applied step to cocoa is the dutching, the alkali treatment of cocoa powder in order to modify the color, and other physiochemical properties. The pH values of cocoa powders are adjusted from ph 5.3-5.8 in natural powders to higher than 7.6 in heavily dutched materials. The total flavanol contents are reduced from more than 34 to 3.9 g kg In the same way, the antioxidative properties of the powders are diminished [90]. 

The formation of the characteristic aroma of cocoa depends on a number of factors, such as good harvest, fermentation, drying and roasting of cocoa beans. Precursors of aromatic compounds are produced mainly by anaerobic fermentation of cocoa beans. The aroma of roasted beans is created largely by the Maillard reaction and caramehsation, and is represented by more than 400 compounds. The major components are aldehydes, sulfides, heterocyclic compounds, carboxylic acids and terpenoids. Important aldehydes are 2-methylpropanal and 2-methylbutanal, which recalls the smell of cocoa and malt, and ( )-2-phenyl-5-methylhex-2-enal (8-201), which resembles chocolate. The latter aldehyde is formed by aldol condensation of another important aroma component, 3-methylbutanal with phenylacetaldehyde, and dehydration of the aldolisation product. Linalool and 2-phenylethanol... 

An alternative source of characteristic heated flavor compounds is via the Maillard pathway, the thermally induced reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars. Aroma constituents in chocolate, coffee, toasted bread, and popcorn are products of Maillard reactions, in addition to flavors in roasted nuts and meats, which are discussed in Sec. II.E and 11.E. Guaiacols occur as pyrolysis products of carbohydrates or lipids in smoked or char-broiled meats. 

---