Cacao—Theobroma cacao

Abstract

Cacao originates from the rainforest regions of tropical America from Peru to Mexico. Cacao has about 80% of its constitution in the bark and the remaining 20% includes seeds, pulp and other constituents. The main use of cocoa is in the production of chocolate. Other products, such as cosmetics, also use this fruit as raw material. In the chocolate industry, the process begins with fruit picking, pulp and seed removal, fermentation (a series of reactions leading to the development of chocolate flavor and aroma), drying and roasting. The main byproducts are bark, pulp and “Cacao honey”. The cocoa bark presents reasonable levels of minerals, such as K, Ca, P, and Mg. The pulp presents pH of 3.32, acidity of 1.84%, soluble solids of 14.81°Brix, and sucrose of 7.42%. “Cocoa honey” consists of water, fermentable sugars (10%–18%), nonvolatile acids (0.77%–1.52%), pectin (0.9%–2.5%), and fibers (0%–7%). The seeds present high levels of glucose (41.51mgg−1), phenolic compounds (148.5mg 100g−1) and low acidity. On the other hand, dry and roasted seeds, denominated cocoa beans after fermentation, present high levels of lipids (31%), proteins (8.4%), polyphenols (5.2%), and carbohydrates (13.7%).