Bioprospecting of indigenous yeasts involved in cocoa fermentation using sensory and chemical strategies for selecting a starter inoculum.

Cocoa fermentation is the key and most relevant process in the synthesis of aroma and flavor precursor molecules in dry beans or raw material for producing chocolate. Because this process occurs in an uncontrolled manner, the chemical and sensory quality of beans can vary and be negatively affected. One of the strategies for the standardization and improvement of the sensory quality of chocolate is the introduction of microbial starter cultures.

Effect of the solar drying process on the sensory and chemical quality of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) cultivated in Antioquia, Colombia.

The quality of Theobroma cacao L. is influenced by different variables both in the crop and in the processes of postharvest, the latter it includes the fermentation and the drying, fundamental for the formation of aroma and flavor precursors, determinants in the characteristics of quality and differentiation of cocoa in the chocolate industry. The objective of the present research was to evaluate the effect of the solar drying process using a plastic roof solar dryer on the sensory and chemical quality of a mixture of cocoa cultivated in a region of Antioquia, Colombia.