Fatty acid profile and rheological properties of cocoa paste from north-eastern Peru

Abstract

This study evaluated the fatty acid profile and the physicochemical and rheological properties of cocoa mass obtained from twenty cacao accessions from the department of Amazonas, Peru. Eight types of fatty acids were identified: four saturated (palmitic, margaric, stearic and arachidic) and 4 unsaturated (palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic, α-linolenic). The INDES-37 accession had the highest percentage of fat in dried beans with 55.25%, while INDES-53 had the highest fat content in mass with 70.57%. Accession INDES-53 had higher linoleic acid content, CAP-92 had higher palmitic acid content, CAP-125 had higher stearic and arachidic acid abundance, and TSH-565 had higher oleic acid content. The cocoa mass from accession CAP-74 had higher viscosity (4.6 Pa·s), and those obtained from INDES-37 and CAP-125 had higher yield strength (17.36 and 19.64 Pa respectively). Cocoa mass hardness also varied according to the accession (from 1 099–8 829 g in TSH-565 and CAP-39, respectively). Palmitic acid content was negatively correlated to oleic, stearic, and linoleic acid content. Positive correlations were also observed between α-linolenic acid and cocoa mass hardness, and viscosity was positively correlated with arachidic acid. Cacao grown in Amazonas, Peru, has a diverse range of physicochemical and rheological characteristics that can be exploited for chocolate industrialization.