Quality attributes of probiotic-enriched chocolate: A preliminary study

Abstract

Research on the development of foods containing probiotics is growing, such as research in the incorporation of probiotics in chocolate. Nevertheless, the quality attributes of the probiotic-enriched chocolate have not been fully explored. This present study is a preliminary study to the impact of ingredients proportion and processing method on the quality attributes of probiotic milk chocolate, more specifically on moisture content, appearance, hardness, rheological behavior, and microstructural characteristics. In this study, four different formulations and processing methods were involved. Skim milk powder was used as a freeze-dried probiotic replacer as it has high similarity in terms of physical characteristics. The result showed that chocolate containing freeze-dried probiotic powder replacer (Choc B) tended to have the comparable hardness and L*values to the chocolate reference (Choc A). However, hardness and L* values of milk chocolates enriched with freeze-dried probiotic powder replacer formulated with milk butter (Choc C and Choc D) were lower than that of chocolate reference (Choc A). Concerning the moisture level and flow parameters, Choc C exhibited higher moisture content and flow parameters values than other chocolates. Microstructural visualization showed that all chocolates exhibited a low level of agglomeration degree with particle sizes in the range of 19-32 μm.