Proceso de Cosecha y Beneficio del Cacao - TvAgro por Juan Gonzalo Angel

Twitter @juangangel Worldwide, the main use of cacao is the production of chocolate, for which it must be harvested and undergo an appropriate fermentation and drying process. Cacao fermentation is a process that removes the pulp surrounding the beans to facilitate drying and storage. However, the main reason for cacao fermentation is to provoke the transformations within the beans that lead to the formation of the color, aroma, and precursor flavors of chocolate. Without this step, cacao beans are excessively bitter and astringent, and when processed, they do not develop the characteristic chocolate flavor. Fermentation begins immediately after the beans are removed from the cacao pods. This increases as they are inoculated with a variety of microorganisms from the surface of the cobs, the machete, the wooden mallet, the farmers' hands, the utensils used to transport the beans to fermentation, the dried mucilage on the surfaces of the utensils used for the previous fermentation (trays or crates), insects, and banana or plantain leaves. The fermentation process consists of two phases: the airless, anaerobic, or alcoholic phase, where yeasts transform the starch and sugars in the mucilage into ethanol and release carbon dioxide. This phase lasts the first two days of the process. The aerated, aerobic, or acetic phase, where bacteria called Acetobacter transform ethanol into acetic acid, which penetrates the seed, producing changes that give rise to substances that give the cocoa its flavor and aroma. Source: http://cacaomovil.com/guia/8/contenid... Juan Gonzalo Angel Restrepo www.tvagro.tv