A literature review on cocoa fermentation techniques to shorten fermentation time

Abstract

Indonesia’s cocoa processing industry has a high demand for fermented cocoa but only about 49% of the fermented cocoa is available. Fermentation is critical because it kills the cotyledons and generates aroma precursors. Indonesian farmers, on the other hand, are hesitant to ferment due to the lengthy fermentation process (6-7 days). The purpose of this study is to conduct a review of several modified cocoa fermentation techniques to determine how they can be used to shorten the fermentation time. The database was compiled from articles published in peer-reviewed journals on cocoa fermentation. The literature search was conducted using the website openknowledgemaps.org, which utilized Pubmed (life science) to discover full-text articles published in English between January 1990 and January 2021. The results indicated that fermentation time could be decreased by (1) adding inoculum, (2) determining the pH and temperature required to activate an intracellular enzyme, (3) Addition of external enzymes during fermentation, and (4) reducing the pulp content. Combining these methods to improve fermentation techniques can enhance the quality of farmers’ cocoa beans in a shorter processing time.

Electromagnetic fields effects on microbial growth in cocoa fermentation: A controlled experimental approach using established growth models

“…Findings from previous studies by Hamidi-Esfahani et al (2019) [ 50 ], He et al (2019) [ 51 ], Calvo et al (2021) [ 52 ] and Rahardjo et al (2022) [ 53 ] collectively highlight the importance of environmental factors in microbial growth and fermentation processes. In the current study, the implementation of CEC had a significant impact in improving the fit of the growth models to the experimental data.…”

“…The study by Rahardjo et al (2022) [ 53 ] showed that controlled fermentation emerged as the most effective method to achieve shorter fermentation times and improve grain quality. This technique not only influenced microbial succession, but also had a significant impact on growth patterns.…”

“…Furthermore, our findings are also consistent with the significant impact of starter cultures on microbial growth in fermentation processes. Rahardjo et al (2022) [ 53 ] also found that the inoculation of starter cultures in cocoa fermentation reduced fermentation time and maintained bean quality. This indicates that the presence of specific microbial strains in the form of starter cultures may influence the growth dynamics of cocoa fermentation.…”

Fermented foods, their microbiome and its potential in boosting human health

“…In some FFs, microbial fermentation of the raw materials is necessary to make them edible. For example, multiple fermentations by a mix of yeasts, AAB and LAB are necessary to digest the pulp covering the cocoa beans and develop chocolate flavour precursors and antioxidants that would otherwise be absent (Goya et al., 2022; Rahardjo et al., 2022).…”

Production of Cocoa Pulp Syrup by Utilizing Local Sugar Sources

“…Over the years, various kinds of processing fruit and its by-product has been studied to increase farmer's income, value development of agro-waste, minimize production losses, or introduce new products to the market (Kurniawan et al, 2018;Nurfaillah, et al, 2018;Guirlanda et al, 2021;Rahardjo, et al, 2022;Tlais et al, 2020).…”