Scientific and practical results of a comprehensive assessment of quality indicators of cocoa processing products

Abstract

Production of chocolate products with high quality indicators is one of the most important tasks of the confectionery industry. Products of processing of cocoa beans are the main ingredients of chocolate products and a comprehensive assessment of their quality is an urgent task. In this work, we studied the qualitative indicators of various samples of cocoa liquor and cocoa butter. The analysis shows that the cocoa liquor sample №5 contained 50,1% cocoa butter compared to other samples, the mass fraction of fat which – (52,5?55,2) %. The lower the mass fraction of fat in cocoa liquor, the lower the yield of cocoa butter when it is pressed. The degree of grinding of the studied samples of cocoa liquor was (92,5?94,1) %, which will ensure the production of fine chocolate semi-finished products produced using these samples. It is also necessary to take into account the pH values of cocoa liquor. The pH level 5 will lead to a longer conching time of chocolate semi-finished products to give them optimal organoleptic properties. The best value of pH (5,6?6,2) characterized by cocoa samples №3, 4 and 6. This circumstance can adversely affect the manufacturability of the process of production of chocolate products produced using these raw components, increasing their solidification time and reducing the productivity of the line. The triglyceride composition of cocoa butter was studied, which determines the properties of fat – crystallization behavior and hardness. The melting temperature of all cocoa butter samples ranged from 33,5 ?C to 34,7 ?C, thanks to this, the finished chocolate products based on them will have good organoleptic characteristics. According to the results of the research proposed differentiation of cocoa processing products into varieties on the basis of a system of integrated assessment of their quality.