Systematic analysis of cacao for sensomics profile

Isaac Ekblad
12/04/14 01:17:05PM
@isaac-ekblad

I was wondering if anyone has analyzed samples of cacao/liquor using on-line liquidchromatographygaschromatography or olfactometry to isolate the acids, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, esters, sulfur compounds, furans, lactones, terpenes, phenols,epoxides, etc etc responsible for flavor and smell. I think it would be interesting to see how, for example, the amount of terpenes present might change in relationship to different roast temperatures/durations or conche time/method.

I've been noticing very different flavor profiles from the same bean if I change just a tiny step in the chocolate making process. For example, the other day I was conching a few pounds of ghana beans in my little premier wonder grinder. It had been going for about 48 hours without any drastic changes in flavor. A little mellowing out, less acidity, but nothing more than that. It tasted great save for a bit of grittiness, so I decided to increase the tension for a few minutes. I came back 15 or 20 minutes later and was shocked by how much the flavor had changed. It seemed like a significant amount of the flavor had just vanished. It would be interesting to see these changes in a more objective way. I know of one food scientist who has done something like this , but I would be interested in seeing profiles done for cacao at different stages in the chocolate making process and profiles from different origins and fermentations.Has anyonethought about this or sent out samples to a local lab for testing?