Spherical particles, agglomerates of spherical particles, methods of producing spherical particles, food suspensions and consumable masses which have spherical particles, and food products which contain a food suspension and/or a consumable mass are disclosed. The particles contain a matrix material composed of an amorphously solidified biopolymer, preferably having a dextrose equivalent greater than 20 and having an equilibrium water content preferably less than 10 wt %. The solid particles and/or liquid and/or gas volumes are embedded in the matrix material. The food suspension contains a substantially homogeneous carrier material in which spherical particles are embedded. A consumable mass comprises an agglomerate of particles where some of the particles are spherical particles. Use of embedded cocoa particles reduces the roughness of the cocoa particles and a flow point white eliminating the need for emulsifiers. This allows up to a 50% reduction of the fat phase and production of a low-calorie chocolate product.

Disclosed is a method for processing cocoa beans or nibs comprising the steps of: (a) adding water to cocoa beans or nibs to form a suspension; (b) wet grinding said suspension; (c) subjecting said suspension to a heat treatment at a temperature of 70° C. or less; (d) separating the suspension into: a water phase (heavy phase), a fat phase (light phase) comprising cocoa butter, and a solid phase comprising cocoa powder and fluid components; (e) continuously separating the fluid components from the solid phase obtained in step (d) to obtain cocoa aroma and cocoa powder by supplying a flow of said solid phase to a mixing device; wherein the mixing device comprises: a cylindrical, tubular body with a horizontal axis having an inlet opening for the solid phase, an outlet opening for the dried solid phase and an optional outlet opening for a vapor phase comprising cocoa aroma; end plates closing the tubular body at its opposite ends; a coaxial jacket heating or cooling the internal wall of the tubular body to a temperature of from 55° C. to 150° C.; and a bladed rotor, which is supported for rotation in the tubular body, its blades being arranged as a helix and oriented for centrifuging the solid phase and simultaneously transporting it towards the outlet opening.

The present disclosure relates to a solid coffee product for oral administration or dissolution whose preparation comprises, roasting the coffee beans, grinding the coffee beans into a granular form, charging dissolvent for extraction, extracting the available composition, filtering to remove coffee dross, spray-drying or freeze-drying the coffee extract, charging flavorings, mixing homogeneously, palletizing, drying, pressing into solid coffee product of various shapes, suitable for oral administration, through mechanical means.

The present disclosure is directed to a novel food ingredient, namely spray dried cacao pulp and spray dried cacao pulp on a carrier and methods of preparing and using the same.

The present disclosure is directed to a novel method of preparing fat-based confectionery products.

The invention relates to a continuous process for producing a dark cocoa powder, comprising: mixing a cocoa product with water in an amount of up to 50% by weight, based on the total weight of the mixture; heating the cocoa product and the water to a temperature of 90-160° C. until a moisture content of 5% by weight, based on the total weight of the mixture, or less is achieved; and recovering a cocoa powder; wherein the cocoa powder recovered in step (d) has an L value which is lower than that of the cocoa product of step (a). The invention further relates to cocoa powders produced by this method and to their use in food or beverage compositions.

The present invention aims to provide a lyophilized powder of a cacao pulp juice, and a food containing the powder, and to provide a method of producing a lyophilized powder of a cacao pulp juice and a method of producing a food containing a cacao pulp juice. The present invention provides a lyophilized powder of a cacao pulp juice including a dietary fiber component and an oil or fat component, and a food including the lyophilized powder of the present invention. The present invention also provides a method of producing a cacao pulp juice powder, the method including the step of subjecting a cacao pulp juice base containing a dietary fiber component and an oil or fat component to lyophilization treatment, and a method of producing a food containing a cacao pulp juice, the method including the step of mixing the lyophilized powder of the present invention with another/other raw material(s). The food of the present invention can be provided as oil or fat-based confectionery.

The current invention relates to a free-flowing cacao pulp powder obtainable from cacao pulp material, wherein said cacao pulp material is fresh cacao pulp, cacao pulp juice, cacao pulp concentrate or any mixture thereof, characterized by a moisture content less than 8 wt %, preferably less than 5 wt %, most preferably less than 3 wt %. The invention relates to a cacao pulp juice, obtainable from fresh cacao pulp substantially devoid from cacao pod husks and cacao beans, characterized by a Brix value of 10-35. The invention relates to a method for producing cacao pulp juice, from fresh cacao pulp substantially devoid from cacao pod husks and cacao beans. In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for obtaining a free-flowing cacao pulp derived powder from cacao pulp material.

The invention provides cocoa pod husk powder having a concentration of insoluble dietary fibre of at least 55 wt. % of the total weight of the cocoa pod husk and/or having a concentration of total fibre of at least 68 wt. % of the total weight of the cocoa pod husk, and wherein the total ash content of the powder is no more than 6.0 wt. %. The invention further provides methods of making cocoa pod husk powders of the invention comprising the steps of: reducing cocoa pod husk in a wet-milling process to a paste; and drying the paste at a temperature of at least 80° C., or at least 85° C.

The present invention related to a method of producing an alkalized cocoa material, comprising the steps of: (a) mixing a cocoa material with water and an alkalizing agent; and (b) reacting the mixture of step (a) at a pressure of up to 12 bar and a temperature of 85 to 180° C., for 10 to 500 min; wherein step (b) is performed and under continuous air flow.