Changes in key aroma compounds of Criollo cocoa beans during roasting

Application of a comparative aroma extraction dilution analysis on unroasted and roasted Criollo cocoa beans revealed 42 aroma compounds in the flavor dilution (FD) factor range of 1-4096 for the unroasted and 4-8192 for the roasted cocoa beans. While the same compounds were present in the unroasted and roasted cocoa beans, respectively, these clearly differed in their intensity. For example, 2- and 3-methylbutanoic acid (rancid) and acetic acid (sour) showed the highest FD factors in the unroasted beans, while 3-methylbutanal (malty), 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone (caramel-like), and 2- and 3-methylbutanoic acid (sweaty) were detected with the highest FD factors in the roasted seeds. Quantitation of 30 odorants by means of stable isotope dilution assays followed by a calculation of odor activity values (ratio of the concentration/odor threshold) revealed concentrations above the odor threshold for 22 compounds in the unroasted and 27 compounds in the roasted cocoa beans, respectively. In particular, a strong increase in the concentrations of the Strecker aldehydes 3-methylbutanal and phenylacetaldehyde as well as 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone was measured, suggesting that these odorants should contribute most to the changes in the overall aroma after roasting. Various compounds contributing to the aroma of roasted cocoa beans, such as 3-methylbutanoic acid, ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, and 2-phenylethanol, were already present in unroasted, fermented cocoa beans and were not increased during roasting.

Nonenzymatic browning reaction of essential amino acids: effect of pH on caramelization and Maillard reaction kinetics

The interaction between glucose and essential amino acids at 100 degrees C at pH values ranging from 4.0 to 12.0 was investigated by monitoring the disappearance of glucose and amino acids as well as the appearance of brown color. Lysine was the most strongly destroyed amino acid, followed by threonine which induced very little additional browning as compared with that undergone by glucose. Around neutrality, the nonenzymatic browning followed pseudo-zero-order kinetics after a lag time, while the glucose and amino acid losses did not follow first-order kinetics at any of the pH values tested. Glucose was more strongly destroyed than all of the essential amino acids, the losses of which are really small at pH values lower than 9.0. However, glucose was less susceptible to thermal degradation in the presence of amino acids, especially at pH 8.0 with threonine and at pH 10.0 with lysine. The contribution of the caramelization reaction to the overall nonenzymatic browning above neutrality should lead to an overestimation of the Maillard reaction in foods.