Besides variety, also season and ripening stage have a major influence on fruit pulp aroma of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.)

Aroma Properties of Cocoa Fruit Pulp from Different Origins

“…8, RI 1207) was shared only by samples from Indonesia and Cameroon with FD 16 and FD 32, respectively. This odorant has been described as more prevalent in cocoa pulp from ripe pods harvested during the rainy season [22]. Cameroonian cocoa pulp did not exhibit any exclusive odorants.…”

“…15, citrus-like, soapy, RI 1376) showed FD factors of 256, 8, 32, and 32, respectively. The odorants (E)-2-heptenal and nonanal have been reported previously in cocoa pulp from Colombia [19], but could not be found in five cocoa pulp varieties from Costa Rica [22]. Furthermore, cocoa pulp from Nicaragua stood out for having the lower intensity of acetic acid (FD 16) compared to the Indonesian (FD 128), Vietnamese (FD 128), and Cameroonian (FD 256) counterparts.…”

“…In terms of flavor dilution (FD) factors, the CCN51 cocoa pulp presented lower aroma intensities than the varieties FSV41 and UF564, which showed more intense floral and fruity notes. By means of headspace solid-phase microextraction and GC-MS, Hegmann et al [22] studied the influence of season and ripening stage on the cocoa pulp aroma of five cocoa varieties from Costa Rica. The total aroma diversity and intensity were shown to increase during ripening and aroma profiles were found to be more diverse when fruits ripened during the dry season, whereas the aroma intensity of the pulp was higher in the wet season.…”

Functional Foods and Their Implications for Health Promotion

“…These changes depend not only on the genetic background of the crop but also on factors as the geographic environment and the agronomical practices and have a direct influence on cocoa quality. (Bojacá et al, 2019;End & Dand, 2015;Hegmann et al, 2020;Niether et al, 2017;Packiyasothy et al, 1981;Rojas et al, 2020).…”

“…Nonetheless, although genetics play an important role in the quality, agricultural and postharvest practices and all the elements that compose the terroir, or the growing and processing geographic environment also have an effect in the final flavor and in the overall characteristics of the cocoa and subsequently in its derived products (End & Dand, 2015;Hegmann et al, 2017Hegmann et al, , 2020Sukha et al, 2014Sukha et al, , 2017.…”