Production of Cocoa Powder

Cocoa powder contains about 24% fat, 18% nitrogenous matter, 5.5% fiber, 10.5% starch, and about 4% moisture. When permitted, commercial products may contain additives such as sucrose esters, tripolyphosphate, disodium sulfosuccinate, or alginates in order to improve wettability as well as vanillin and other flavorings to give them a more rounded profile. 

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The first important technical development in the chocolate manufacturing process occurred when water-powered mills superseded the use of manual labor to grind cocoa beans. This led to the establishment of many chocolate factories from 1804 to 1840. Early production consisted entirely of a type of chocolate beverage that was somewhat indigestible since none of the cocoa butter was removed during processing. In 1828, the Dutch firm of Van Houten invented the cocoa press, which facilitated the production of cocoa powder by partial removal of the cocoa butter from beans. 

Production of Cocoa Powder by Cocoa Mass Pressing... 

The combination of ground cocoa beans and sugar produces a very hard substance with an unpleasant mouthfeel. However, the addition of extra cocoa butter results in a product that melts easily in the mouth. Additionally, the production of cocoa butter results in a lower fat cocoa powder which can be used more readily in both beverages and foods. As the amounts of cocoa butter and other fats, milk solids, sugar, and other ingredients increase, the amount of theobromine and caffeine in the final product decreases. 

Andres-Lacueva C, Monagas M, Khan N, Izquierdo-Pulido M, Urpi-Sarda M, Permanyer J and Lamuela-Raventos RM. 2008. Flavanol and flavonol contents of cocoa powder products influence of the manufacturing process. J Agric Food Chem 56(9) 3111—3117. 

Sometimes substitute chocolate products develop soapy rancidity. This is usually blamed on the lauric fat, but in nearly every case this can be traced to defects in the other ingredients, such as the use of cocoa powder of high bacterial count or high moisture left in the product—this should be below 1.0%. 

Addition of cocoa powder to tobacco products in the quantities normally utilized for flavoring purposes would not. .. be expected to significantly enhance the phenolic content of tobacco smoke. 

Schlotzhauer, W.S. Fatty acids and phenols from pyrolysis of cocoa powder, a tobacco product flavorant Tob. 

Cocoa fat and lipids The lipid components in cocoa are extracted into petroleum ether by either the Knorr Tube method or by Soxhlet extraction. Both are adopted by AOAC, and the latter method by both AOAC and the Office International du Cacao et du Chocolat. In the Knorr Tube method, 2-3 g of cocoa powder or grated chocolate product is transferred into a Knorr Tube fitted with 6 mm of tightly packed mat of washed asbestos filter. The extraction tube is connected to suction by a two-way stopcock, and the stem of the extraction tube is connected to a preweighed Erlenmeyer flask. The extraction tube is filled up to two-thirds capacity by petroleum ether. 

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 Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) jointiy sponsor the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which conducts a program for developing worldwide food standards. The Codex Committee for Cocoa Products and Chocolate has developed standards for chocolate (Codex Standard 87-1981), and cocoa powders and dry cocoa—sugar mixtures (Codex Standard 105-1981). As a member of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the United States is obligated to consider all Codex standards for acceptance. 

The cocoa bean is the basic raw ingredient in the manufacture of all cocoa products. The beans are converted to chocolate Hquor, the primary ingredient from which all chocolate and cocoa products are made. Eigure 1 depicts the conversion of cocoa beans to chocolate Hquor, and in turn to the chief chocolate and cocoa products manufactured in the United States, ie, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and sweet and milk chocolate. 

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. 

Cocoa Powder Manufacture. When chocolate Hquor is exposed to pressures of 34—41 MPa (5000—6000 psig) in a hydrauHc press, and part of the fat (cocoa butter) is removed, cocoa cake (compressed powder) is produced. The original pot presses used in cocoa production had a series of pots mounted vertically one above the other. These have been supplanted by horizontal presses that have four to twenty-four pots mounted in a horizontal frame. The newer presses are capable of complete automation, and by careflil selection of pressure, temperature, and time of pressing, cocoa cake of a specified fat content can be produced. 

Chocolate liquor is a semifinished product commonly called "baking" or unsweetened chocolate. The average theobromine and caffeine content of liquors has been reported at 1.2% and 0.21%, respectively. Cocoa powder, which is prepared after partial removal of the cocoa butter, contains about 1.9 to 2.7% theobromine and 0.16 to 0.26% caffeine. Milk chocolate averages 0.168% theobromine and 0.022% caffeine, thus providing about 65 mg of theobromine and less than 10 mg of caffeine in a 40-g serving. The methylxanthine content of chocolate foods has received only slight attention in the literature, yet is necessary in order to obtain an accurate assessment of the total amount of theobromine and caffeine that is ingested via the diet. 

In 1990, 74% of all cocoa produced was exported.21 This figure does not include semi-processed cocoa products, including cocoa paste, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and chocolate. However, it demonstrates that cocoa is not a crop of domestic consumption within the major producing nations. Similarly to coffee, cocoa contributes to the economy of several large producing nations. 

Cocoa beans and related cocoa product imports (liquor, paste, powder) to the U.S. all declined in 1995 however, cocoa butter and chocolate rose in total imports. U.S. exports of cocoa have a large market in neighboring countries of Canada and Mexico together they account for 51% of all cocoa products exported by the U.S., or 316.8 million in value.23... 

From DSC measurements it was deduced that the crystallinity of a freshly micronized sample is about 80% and that it crystallizes in the stable polymorphic form P2. Under the operating conditions mentioned, the PGSS process caused no degradation of cocoa butter and the product was a powder with a narrow and very controllable size-distribution. 

Chocolate has antioxidant properties for low-density lipoproteins and hence could prevent heart disease. Foods and beverages derived from cocoa beans have been consumed by humans since 460 a.d. Cocoa pods from the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) are harvested and the beans removed and fermented. Dried and roasted beans contain about 300 chemicals including caffeine, theobromine, and phenethylamine. Chocolate liquor is prepared by finely grinding the nib of the cocoa bean and is the basis for all chocolate products. Cocoa powder is made by removing part of the cocoabutter from the liquor. Bittersweet chocolate, sometimes called dark chocolate, contains between 15 and 60% chocolate liquor, the remainder being cocoa butter, sugar, and other additives. Milk chocolate is the predominant form of chocolate consumed in the U.S. and typically contains 10 to 12% chocolate liquor. 

Element uptake from soil and transfer into the edible parts of plants have been addressed in several other studies. Soil-to-plant transfer factors in fruit and vegetables grown in various agricultural conditions have been determined for, for example, Pt [100], T1 [101], and various other metal contaminants [102], In a study on stable isotopes of fission product elements (Ce, Cs, Sr), an in vitro enzy-molysis method has been applied to investigate the solubilization of the analytes from fodder in a simulated ruminant digestion [103], The effect of inhibitors of fission product solubility was also considered and essential elements were determined simultaneously to evaluate potential nutrition problems for the animals from the use of such inhibitors. Selective leaching of individual classes of metal complexes with different ligands and sequential enzymolysis have been recently applied to estimate the potential bioavailability to humans of Cd and Pb in cocoa powder and related products [104]. 

Cocoa beans are roasted, ground and pressed. From this step two principal materials are obtained for the manufacture of cocoa based products cocoa butter and cocoa liquor (the press-cake, which is used to make cocoa powder) ... 

The addition of dispersed saccharides/polysaccharides to enhance the adherence of composite or fat coatings on a bakery product has been suggested in various patents (Anonymous 1979 Haynes et al. 2004 Heuvel et al. 1997 Youcheff et al. 1996). The effect of sugars, cocoa powder, emulsifier and fat type on the WVP (3.5%-100% RH, 20°C) of chocolate coatings was investigated by Gosh et al. (2005) and rmder-lined the favourable effect of sucrose on the WVP of the barrier. 

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