Investigating the physicochemical properties, sensory profile and consumer acceptability of beetroot dark chocolate.

Background: The incorporation of functional food ingredients in chocolate that seek to eliminate, if not completely, most of the added sugar content, as well as the use of alternative chocolate production techniques, have gained popularity in recent years. This study aimed to incorporate red beetroot powder into dark chocolate and investigate the effect of red beetroot powder concentration and processing time in a melanger on the physicochemical properties, sensory profile and consumer acceptability of beetroot dark chocolate.

Results: The addition of red beetroot powder increased the moisture content, particle size distribution and hardness of the chocolates, while the opposite was true for processing time with no effect on the colour.

Investigating the effect of red beetroot powder concentration and processing time on the bioactive compounds composition and antioxidant capacity of beetroot dark chocolate.

Background: The development of functional foods is receiving increased recognition as a result of the general interest in healthy diets as part of a healthier lifestyle. This project sought to incorporate red beetroot in dark chocolate and investigate the effect of beetroot powder concentration and processing time on the chocolates' bioactive compound composition, antioxidant capacity, and sugar content.

Results: The results showed the presence of bioactive compounds such as betalains and vitamin C in the red beetroot with relatively high antioxidant capacity.

Anchovy powder enrichment in brown rice-based instant cereal: a process optimization study using Response Surface Methodology (RSM).

There is a need for expanding the utilization of small fish as they constitute an undervalued and important source of protein and micronutrients in many developing countries suffering from micronutrient deficiencies. One way to increase consumption and health benefits is to add nutrient-rich fish meal into staple food ingredients. In this study, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the processing of an instant rice-based cereal enriched with anchovy powder.

Relationship of sensory and instrumental aroma measurements of dark chocolate as influenced by fermentation method, roasting and conching conditions.

The investigation was undertaken to establish a relationship between key odorants and perceived flavor attributes of dark chocolate as influenced by cocoa fermentation method, roasting and conching conditions, using multivariate data analysis in an attempt to use one variable to predict the other. Eight of the sixteen flavor attributes used by a trained sensory panel to describe and quantify the intensity of attributes in the samples were significantly different (p < 0.05).

Ghanaian cocoa bean fermentation characterized by spectroscopic and chromatographic methods and chemometrics.

Export of cocoa beans is of great economic importance in Ghana and several other tropical countries. Raw cocoa has an astringent, unpleasant taste, and flavor, and has to be fermented, dried, and roasted to obtain the characteristic cocoa flavor and taste. In an attempt to obtain a deeper understanding of the changes in the cocoa beans during fermentation and investigate the possibility of future development of objective methods for assessing the degree of fermentation, a novel combination of methods including cut test, colorimetry, fluorescence spectroscopy, NIR spectroscopy, and GC-MS evaluated by chemometric methods was used to examine cocoa beans sampled at different durations of fermentation and samples representing fully fermented and dried beans from all cocoa growing regions of Ghana.