PROCESSING CACAO BEANS

Abstract

Processing cacao to produce a product containing all the constituents of raw cacao nibs is disclosed. The process involves: (i) a shortened period of fermentation of the cacao beans between five hours and forty eight hours. (ii) a prolonged period of drying to condition the beans so that the shells are removable by air winnowing. (iii) a two stage grinding process in which the raw (unroasted) nibs are ground, without forming or at least separating into a liquor, to a mesh size of 60 m.

Claims

1. A process for the production of a whole cacao bean nib derivative product comprising the steps of: extracting the cacao beans and mucilage from the pods; fermenting the beans and mucilage for a period of less than two days; drying the fermented beans for a period of three weeks or more in dry air; winnowing the dried, unroasted beans by blowing a stream of air through a mass of the dried beans to fragment the shells and separate the shells from the nibs; coarse grinding cacao nibs, dry and at ambient temperature in a range of 10 C. to 40 C. to a size of less than 200 m; fine grinding the dry, coarse ground nibs, at ambient temperature, to a size of 60 m or less to form a paste without separation into a liquor.

2.-7. (canceled)

8. The process of claim 1 wherein the step of fine grinding grinds the coarse ground nibs to 30 m or less.

9. The process of claim 1 comprising the step of fermenting the beans and mucilage for a period of more than five hours.

10. The process of claim 1 comprising the step of fermenting the beans for a period of more than twenty-four hours.

11. The process of claim 1, comprising the step of melting the fine ground cacao by heating at a low steady temperature.

12. The process of claim 1, comprising the step of drying the fermented beans by exposure to air and light until they turn from a reddish brown to a dark brown.

13. A cacao product produced by the process according to claim 1.

14. The cacao product of claim 13 having substantially the following constituents: TABLE-US-00004 Method Analysis Result Units TM-228 Total Polyphenols (as Gallic Acid 5.4 g/100 g Equivalent) TM-336 Monomer 3853 mg/kg TM-336 Dimer 4654 mg/kg TM-336 Trimer 3430 mg/kg TM-336 Tetramer 2059 mg/kg TM-336 Pentamer 2249 mg/kg TM-336 Hexamer 1474 mg/kg TM-336 Heptamer 669 mg/kg TM-336 Octamer 292 mg/kg TM-336 Nonamer 277 mg/kg TM-336 Decamer 56.2 mg/kg TM-336 Total Procyanidin 19013 mg/kg TM-540 Catechin 534 mg/kg TM-540 Epicatechln 2985 mg/kg Miscellaneous unidentified components 904457.8 mg/kg

15. The cacao product of claim 13 containing all the constituents present in the raw nib.

16. The cacao product according to claim 13 wherein the constituents are not modified by heating above 100 C.

17. The cacao product according to claim 13 wherein the constituents of the nib are not modified by roasting.

18. The cacao product according to claim 13 wherein the constituents have not been separated.

19. The cacao product according to claim 13 which is not treated with an alkali.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0033] A process for making a cacao product will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying illustrative figure, in which:

[0034] FIG. 1 is a flow chart describing a method for processing cacao.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035] A process flow chart is shown in FIG. 1. At step 1 the ripe cacao pods are harvested. Each cacao pod holds approximately 40 beans. These are carefully removed from the pods at step 2, ensuring that the beans are not injured in the process. The beans are scooped out of the pods and then collected together for fermenting at step 3 in one or more cocoa fermentation boxes or sweatboxes. When the beans are first removed from the pod, they are white, with mucilage like coating around each bean. This mucus coating is also included in the sweatboxes and provides the sugar needed as the basis for a fermentation process that each bean will undergo. Fermentation begins once the cacao beans are exposed to the air. Saccharomyces spores from the naturally occurring yeasts settle on the beans and mucilage and start to breakdown the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The alcohol is further oxidised to acetic acid by mycoderma aceti.

[0036] Conventional chocolate makers may remove the acetic acid generated through cocoa fermentation by adding a base such as potassium hydroxide solution later in the process. The present process does not treat the acetic acid by the addition of a base.

[0037] During step 3 the fermentation process promotes chemical changes both outside and inside the bean. The sweet mucilage-like coating on each bean feeds the fermentation that takes place outside the bean. The fermentation process causes the temperature in the sweat box to rise quickly. During the fermentation period, temperatures can climb to 48 C. (122 F.) The conditions within the sweat box are controlled so that, on the second day of fermentation, the temperature reaches 43 C. (113 F.). The temperature, concentration of alcohol and acetic acid causes the germ within the cacao bean to die. When the germ dies, important chemical changes begin as enzymes within the bean itself are released. The present process limits the fermentation period to between five hours and forty-eight hours (two days).

[0038] At the end of the fermentation process the fermented beans are laid out on trays to air and sun-dry at step 4. This process requires a prolonged drying period which ends when the colouration of the beans turns from a reddish brown to a dark brown. The period will vary depending on the ambient conditions but will be three weeks or more. The preferred conditions for this drying stage are an ambient air humidity of between 7% and 8%. Typical ambient temperatures are between 10 C. and 40 C. and more typically between 15 C. and 25 C.

[0039] The drying period adopted in more conventional chocolate manufacture is normally two weeks and is followed by a roasting step where the beans are cooked, dry at high temperatures well in excess of 100 C. The roasting step helps to make the bean shells dry and fragile facilitating a subsequent cracking and separation step but also causes changes to the kernel or nib of the bean. The present process avoids any roasting step.

[0040] At step 5 the dried beans are subject to a winnowing process where air is blown across the intact beans. The winnowing step causes the now fragile shell to fragment and separate from the nib.

[0041] The winnowed nibs are then ground in a coarse grinding mill at step 6. The coarse ground nibs are reduced to a mesh size of 200 m or less, though preferably no less than 175 m.

[0042] Step 7 delivers the coarse ground cacao to a second fine grinding step which reduces the cacao to 60 m and preferably 30 m or less. It has not been possible to grind the cacao nibs to the fine ground condition in a single stage because attempts to do so in known equipment result in separation of the liquid constituents of the nib which clog the grinding apparatus. The two grinding steps take place at substantially ambient temperature, i.e. 10 C. to 40 C. and preferably between 15 C. and 25 C.

[0043] It is at this stage that the cacao begins to change structure. As the fine grinding process proceeds the cacao oils are released and the ground cacao begins to change shape and cacao butter particles synthesise to make long cacao particles that glisten. Unlike the previously described conventional process, the fine ground cacao nibs do not form a separate or separated liquor, they instead form an homogeneous plastic paste which supports its own weight.

[0044] Conventional chocolate making processes include a grinding step which results in a separated liquor as described at stage VII in the Background of the Invention section above. By adopting a two-stage grinding process the present process avoids the production of liquor and the subsequent conventional pressing and certain other associated steps, mentioned in the Background of the Invention section, are obviated.

[0045] At step 8 the raw fine ground cacao product is heated in a Baine Marie or other suitable device in order to melt the fine ground cacao into a viscous liquid. The Baine Marie or other device serves to prevent the temperature of the fine ground cacao from rising above the boiling point of water (i.e. approximately 100 C. or its equivalent at ambient pressure) by surrounding the mass of fine ground cacao in a vessel with a jacket of water.

[0046] At step 9, once melted, the cacao product is poured or spooned and pressed into moulds, typically with a palette knife. The moulds are vibrated at step 10 to drive out air bubbles, and chilled at step 11 to cause the cocoa product to set. At step 12 the set cacao is separated from the mould and packaged.

[0047] Tables 1 and 2 below are the results of analysis of two samples of the cacao product from a single production run using a criollo bean as the raw material. One of the objects of the process is to produce a product with a particularly high epicatechin content for the source bean. In this case the process achieves a uniquely high proportion of epicatechin from a criollo bean raw material. Variations in the quality of a specific criollo bean harvest may result in an epicatechin content varying by 20% in extreme cases and more usually by 5% from the tabulated value content for the source bean.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Analysis of pure cacao Sample code P15-05062-1 Method Analysis Result Units TM-228 Total Polyphenols (as Gallic 5.4 g/100 g Acid Equivalent) TM-336 Monomer 3853 mg/kg TM-336 Dimer 4654 mg/kg TM-336 Trimer 3430 mg/kg TM-336 Tetramer 2059 mg/kg TM-336 Pentamer 2249 mg/kg TM-336 Hexamer 1474 mg/kg TM-336 Heptamer 669 mg/kg TM-336 Octamer 292 mg/kg TM-336 Nonamer 277 mg/kg TM-336 Decamer 56.2 mg/kg TM-336 Total Procyanidin 19013 mg/kg TM-540 Catechin 534 mg/kg TM-540 Epicatechin 2985 mg/kg Miscellaneous unidentified 904457.8 mg/kg components

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Analysis of pure cacao Sample code P15-05630-1 Method Analysis Result Units TM-150 Caffeine 1273 mg/kg TM-150 Theobromine 10634 mg/kg Miscellaneous unidentified 988093 mg/kg components

[0048] Trinitario beans are known to have a relatively high proportion of epicatechin. The use of a process embodying the present invention on trinitario or criollo beans is expected to produce a cacao product with a total polyphenol content of between 4000 and 5000 mg/kg and an epicatechin content of between 2800 and 3800 mg/kg. This is because the process does not modify and destroy epicatechin as do conventional cacao production processes.

[0049] Table 3 below provides an analysis of the constituents of a sample of the cacao product produced by the process from criollo beans:

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Lab Reference: CH309101 Sample Details Description: Pure Cacao Method Date received: 23 Jun. 2015 Number Test Result Units AM/C/1015 Moisture (Loss on Drying) 2.0 g/100 AM/C/224 Protein (Nx6.25) 13.8 g/100 g AM/C/1015 Total Fat (NMR) 55.1 g/100 g AM/C/803 Ash 3.3 g/100 g AM/C/901 Total carbohydrate (by difference) 25.8 g/100 g AM/C/309 Total dietary fibre (AOAC) 24.7 g/100 g AM/C/901 Available carbohydrate (by 1.1 g/100 g difference) AM/C/901 Energy 605 Kcal/100 g AM/C/901 Energy 2490 kJ/100 g AM/C/403 Total Sugars (expressed as 1.9 kJ/100 g Glucose) AM/C/1002 Calcium 82.4 mg/100 g AM/C/1002 Copper 1.94 mg/100 g AM/C/1002 Iron 2.93 mg/100 g AM/C/1002 Potassium 847 mg/100 g AM/C/1002 Magnesium 333 mg/100 g AM/C/1002 Zinc 4.74 mg/100 g AM/C/1002 Sodium (ICP-OES) 11.3 mg/100 g SUB-CON Chromium (Sub-Contracted) 0.24 mg/100 kg AM/C/107 FAME C6.0 Caproic Acid (In Fat) <0.01 g/100 g AM/C/107 FAME C8.0 Caprylic Acid (In Fat) 0.01 g/100 g AM/C/107 FAME C10.0 Capric Acid (In Fat) <0.01 g/100 g AM/C/107 FAME C12.0 Lauric Acid (In Fat) <0.01 g/100 g AM/C/107 FAME C14.0 Myristic Acid (In 0.06 g/100 g Fat) AM/C/107 Myeristoleic Acid (In Fat) <0.01 g/100 g AM/C/107 FAME C15.0 Pentadecanoic Acid 0.05 g/100 g (In Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C16.0 Palmitic Acid (In 27.22 g/100 g Fat) AM/C/107 FAME 16.1 Palmitoleic Acid (In 0.26 g/100 g Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C17.0 Heptadecanoic Acid 0.31 g/100 g (In Fat) AM/C/107 FAME 17.1 Heptadecenoic Acid 0.04 g/100 g (In Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C18.0 Stearic Acid (In Fat) 32.43 g/100 g AM/C107 FAME C18.1 Oleic Acid (In Fat) 30.57 g/100 g AM/C/107 FAME C18.2 Linoleic Acid (In 2.91 g/100 g Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C18.3 Linolenic Acid 0.19 g/100 g (omega 3) (In Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C18.3 Linolenic Acid 0.02 g/100 g (omega 6) (In Fat) AM/C/107 FAME 18.4 Octadecatetraencic <0.01 g/100 g Acid (In Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C20.0 Arachidic Acid (In 1.09 g/100 g Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C20.1 Gadoleic Acid (In 0.06 g/100 g Fat) AM/C/107 FAME 20.2 Eicosadienoic Acid (In <0.01 g/100 g Fat) AM/C/107 Eicosatrienoic Acid (omega 3) <0.01 g/100 g (In Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C20.3 Elcosatrienic Acid 0.01 g/100 g (omega 6) (In Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C20.4 Arachidonic Acid <0.01 g/100 g (omega 3) (In Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C20.4 Arachidonic Acid <0.01 g/100 g (omega 6) (In Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C20.5 Elcosapentaenoic <0.01 g/100 g Acid (In Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C22.0 Behenic Acid (In 0.18 g/100 g Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C22.1 Cetoleic Acid (In <0.01 g/100 g Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C22.4 Docosatetraenoic 0.05 g/100 g Acid (In Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C22.5 Clupanodonic Acid <0.01 g/100 g (In Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C22.6 Docosahexaenoic 0.02 g/100 g Acid (in Fat) AM/C/107 FAME C24.0 Lignoceric Acid (In 0.10 g/100 g Fat) AM/C/107 Saturated Fatty Acids (In Sample) 33.86 g/100 g AM/C/107 Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (In 17.05 g/100 g Sample) AM/C/107 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (In 1.77 g/100 g Sample) AM/C/107 Estimated Total Omega 3 (In Fat) 0.20 g/100 g AM/C/107 Estimated Total Omega 3 (In 111 mg/100 g Sample) AM/C/107 FAME C15d Pentadecenoic Acid <0.01 g/100 g (In Sample) AM/V/906 Betacarotene 121 g/100 g AM/V906 Betcarotene (as Retinol 20.2 g/100 g equivalents) AM/V/702 Vitamin A (Retinol) <60.0 g/100 g AM/V/228 Tryptophan (Total) 0.15 g/100 g