JP2012244929A - Chocolate and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new chocolate having a good taste which, while using raw cacao derived from unfermented cacao beans having the great merit of not containing precursors to unpleasant odors produced during a fermentation process and also being inexpensive, reduces the earthy taste of unfermented cacao beans while providing a strong sense of rich flavor characteristic of unfermented cacao beans, and having little sourness unlike any existing chocolate, and a method of manufacturing the same.SOLUTION: The chocolate is composed chiefly of raw cacao derived from unfermented cacao beans and contains phenylalanine, leucine, and arginine as a total of 0.03-1.0 wt.%. The total content of phenylalanine, leucine, and arginine in the total amino acid content of the chocolate is ≥40 wt.%.

Description

  The present invention relates to a chocolate having a novel flavor and a method for producing the same.

  Chocolate is known as one of the confectionery that forms a large market worldwide. Chocolate is generally mixed with sugar, cocoa butter and / or cocoa butter fat, cocoa mass and / or cocoa nibs and / or cocoa powder, and other auxiliary ingredients, followed by crushing, kneading (conching) and temperature control (tempering). ).

  Cocoa ingredients such as cocoa butter, cocoa mass, cocoa nibs and cocoa powder are all made by processing cocoa beans. Cocoa beans have a unique flavor, and the flavor of cocoa beans is formed by fermentation and drying in the production area and subsequent baking in the raw material processing step. It is known that the quality such as flavor and taste formed in these processes varies depending on the variety, production area, producer, etc. of the cocoa beans.

  The flavor of cocoa beans greatly affects the flavor of chocolate, and cocoa beans that have undergone an appropriate fermentation process generally have a favorable flavor. However, since the fermentation process is not always properly controlled, it is difficult to obtain cocoa beans having a preferable flavor uniformly. Therefore, conventionally, methods aimed at obtaining a cacao raw material or chocolate having a stable taste irrespective of the fermentation process have been proposed.

  For example, a method for minimizing the quality difference of cocoa beans that have undergone a fermentation process by adding a predetermined amount of alkali, reducing sugar, amino acid and tannin to cacao nibs or cacao mass and roasting at 100 to 150 ° C. (Patent Document 1) ) Or fermenting the cocoa beans for 1-15 days, mixing the protease with an aqueous medium at pH 3-8, and incubating the mixture at a time and temperature sufficient to hydrolyze the proteins and peptides, To obtain a cocoa raw material or chocolate having a stable taste regardless of the fermentation process, such as a method (Patent Document 2) that improves the composition of the flavor precursor and makes it possible to use fermented cocoa beans in various fermentation states It has been proposed for the purpose.

  In addition, methods have been proposed for the purpose of reproducing and improving the preferred flavor of cocoa beans that have undergone a fermentation process.

  For example, a method of heating cacao beans, cacao nibs or cacao mass, or cacao beans, cacao nibs or cacao mass preliminarily baked at an article temperature of less than 160 ° C. at an article temperature of 160 to 170 ° C. has been proposed (Patent Document 3). . According to this method, it is said that the amount of aroma components of cacao is remarkably increased. In addition, even if saccharides and amino acids, which are precursors of cocoa mass, are added to raw cocoa mass in powder form, they react easily in the temperature range below the melting point of the precursor, and the cocoa fragrance is enhanced. Yes.

  In addition, a chocolate raw material containing sugar and protein is mixed using an extruder or the like to obtain a mixture having a moisture content of 2 to 15%, then heated while applying a shearing force, degassed, and then cooled to treat the chocolate raw material. A method has been proposed in which a chocolate having a rich and excellent flavor can be obtained by preparing chocolate using this treated raw material (Patent Document 4).

  In addition, a method has been proposed in which an aqueous solution such as sugars and amino acids is added to cacao beans and roasted under pressure (Patent Document 5). This method is usually intended to give a unique aroma in addition to the aroma inherent to roasted cocoa beans.

  By the way, since the fermentation process of cocoa beans is not necessarily controlled appropriately, not only is it difficult to obtain cocoa beans having a desirable flavor uniformly, but cocoa beans having an unpleasant odor are often generated. For this reason, many methods have been proposed for the purpose of obtaining cacao materials and chocolates that suppress the generation of unpleasant odors and have a stable taste.

  For example, cocoa beans, cacao nibs, cacao masses, or mixed cacao masses are roasted at an article temperature of 110 to 150 ° C. in an atmosphere containing oxygen gas of 40% by volume or more, and the flavor improvement of cacao beans or processed products thereof is characterized. A processing method has been proposed (Patent Document 6). This method improves the overall flavor and color tone, such as bitterness, astringency and sourness, of low- and high-grade cocoa beans that have undergone the fermentation and drying process, or processed products thereof, and causes discomfort to the human body in the aroma components of cocoa beans. An object of the present invention is to provide a roasted cacao mass and a roasted mixed cacao mass that suppresses the expression of components and exhibits a good flavor.

  In addition, at least one kind of saccharide is added as an aqueous solution to cacao nibs obtained by removing shells and germs by applying raw cacao beans or semi-roasted cacao beans to a winnower (peeling machine), and heat-pressed in a sealed state. Then, a method for improving the flavor of cacao nibs, which is then dried and roasted (Patent Document 7). The purpose of this method is to improve the flavor of cacao nibs used for the production of chocolate or cocoa by using the Maillard reaction, to reduce the bitterness and astringency, and to prevent the deterioration of the flavor due to excessive amino acids.

  Further, the flavor of cacao beans or processed products thereof, characterized by bringing ammonia or ammonia-containing gas into contact with cacao beans, cacao nibs, cacao masses, partially defatted cacao masses or mixed cacao masses and adsorbing ammonia, followed by roasting An improved processing method has been proposed (Patent Document 8). This method is aimed at improving the quality of low-quality cocoa beans having defects in flavor and color and processed products thereof, and providing good cocoa beans that can be used for thiocholate or cocoa products. The cocoa beans subjected to flavor improvement treatment by this method or processed products thereof are limited to those using cocoa beans that have undergone a normal fermentation and drying process.

  In addition, a method for producing an adjusted cocoa bean or cocoa nib is characterized in that an ethanol solution having a concentration of 40% by volume or more is added to cocoa bean or cocoa nib, which is sealed in a sealed container and heated. (Patent Document 9). The purpose of this method is to obtain cacao beans or cacao nibs that have no astringency, no savory taste, etc., and have a good flavor and are suitable for chocolate production.

  In addition, by making polyphenol oxidase act on cacao mass produced by processing lower cacao beans, the unpleasant astringent taste and astringency derived from lower cacao beans are reduced, and the taste quality of cacao mass and its processed products is reduced. An improved method has been proposed (Patent Document 10). This method is intended to obtain a cocoa raw material having a good flavor that does not feel unpleasant odor uniformly.

  By the way, cocoa beans are known to produce various flavor precursors during the fermentation process, and some of them also contain precursors that cause unpleasant scents. Therefore, it is considered that a caustic bean having an unpleasant odor is generated at a high rate during the fermentation process because of a precursor that causes an unpleasant scent.

  Further, although chocolate using cocoa beans that have undergone an appropriate fermentation process is said to have a favorable flavor, there are many people who do not like its unique flavor. The reason for this is that, as described above, various flavor precursors are produced in the fermentation process of cocoa beans, but the proportion of precursors that cause unpleasant odors that occur non-selectively at that time is small. Even so, there are people who do not like the flavor of chocolate using it.

  On the other hand, unfermented cocoa beans that do not undergo time-consuming and time-consuming fermentation processes are much cheaper than cocoa beans that have undergone normal fermentation processes, so the cost merit of using unfermented cocoa beans for chocolate production is very high However, chocolate produced using unfermented cacao beans has an earthy odor that is different from the original preferred flavor, so that the quality of the product remains very low.

  Although unfermented cocoa beans have the disadvantage of not having a scent-flavored flavor and a preferred scented precursor produced in the fermentation process, the unpleasant odor precursor produced in the cocoa bean fermentation process In addition, it has a very great merit that it is inexpensive and inexpensive. However, there has never been a proposal for the purpose of obtaining chocolate having a flavor superior to that of the prior art by using unfermented cacao beans.

  So far, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3, Patent Document 5 and the like have proposed a method in which an amino acid is a flavor precursor and is used for improving a cocoa raw material and chocolate.

  However, Patent Document 1 is a proposal limited to the use of cocoa beans that have undergone a fermentation process.

  Moreover, since protease is used in Patent Document 2, not only amino acids that are preferable scent precursors but also amino acids that are unpleasant odor precursors are simultaneously generated.

  Moreover, in patent document 3, since the description regarding the fermentation of the cocoa beans to be used is not particularly seen, it is considered that the proposal is to use the cocoa beans that have undergone the fermentation process. However, if unfermented cocoa beans are used, When the amino acid used is a combination of leucine, threonine and alanine, the flavor is completely different from the novel flavor found in the present invention, and the earthy flavor of unfermented cocoa beans remains undesirably.

  Moreover, in patent document 5, since the description regarding the fermentation of the cocoa beans to be used is not particularly seen, it is considered that the proposal is to use the cocoa beans that have undergone the fermentation process. However, if unfermented cocoa beans are used, Although the amino acid used in Patent Document 5 is not specified, the combination of the amino acids described in the Examples of Patent Document 5 and other unfermented cocoa beans even if added in combination as appropriate Since earthy flavor remains, it is not preferable. In addition, even when phenylalanine, leucine and arginine used in the present invention are added, since they are heated to 160 ° C. or higher in the roasting process, the aromatic components derived from amino acids are greatly changed, and are found in the present invention. This is an undesirable flavor that is completely different from the new flavor.

  In addition, it can be said in all the proposals regarding processing and processing of cocoa beans, but processing and processing of cocoa beans requires a large-scale facility and is extremely industrially incapable of handling production in small lots. Have a problem.

  As described above, most of the proposals in chocolate production so far are mostly for the purpose of obtaining cocoa raw materials and chocolate having a stable taste regardless of the fermentation process of cocoa beans, and reproduction of the preferred flavor of cocoa beans that have undergone the fermentation process. The object is to obtain a cacao raw material or chocolate having a stable taste by suppressing the generation of unpleasant odor and the purpose of improving it.

  However, the flavor of chocolate produced by existing methods is within the range of chocolate flavors that have been generally recognized in the past, and the unique flavor such as the sourness of chocolate using cocoa beans that have undergone fermentation. It is unacceptable for those who don't like the flavor. Therefore, in today's diversified eating habits, there is a demand for chocolate having a new and good flavor that is different from existing chocolate flavors and can be accepted by more people.

Japanese Patent Publication No.53-31943 JP-A-9-156 Japanese Patent No. 3007388 Japanese Patent No. 2529866 Japanese Patent Publication No. 44-32497 Japanese Patent Publication No.61-56975 Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-31866 Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 62-25013 Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-22493 Japanese Patent No. 4505150

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and does not contain an unpleasant odor precursor produced in the fermentation process and has a very great merit that it is inexpensive. Using the raw cocoa raw material, the earthy flavor of the unfermented cocoa beans can be suppressed, the rich flavor unique to the unfermented cocoa beans can be strongly felt, and the chocolate using the existing fermented cocoa beans and It is an object of the present invention to provide a chocolate having a new and good flavor that has a different sourness and a method for producing the same.

  As a result of diligent research to solve the above problems, the inventors of the present invention produced chocolate using a cocoa raw material derived from unfermented cocoa beans as a main raw material, containing a certain amount of a specific amino acid in the chocolate, Surprisingly, only when the ratio of the specific amino acid content to the amino acid content is above a certain level, a chocolate having a novel and good flavor and masking the earthy flavor of unfermented cocoa beans is obtained. The facts were found and the present invention was completed. At the same time, after mixing cocoa raw material derived from unfermented cocoa beans, hard butter and saccharides with the specific amino acid, it undergoes a conching process at 50 to 95 ° C., so that it has a new and good flavor and is unfermented Found production conditions for obtaining chocolate masked with earthy flavor of cocoa beans

That is, the gist of the present invention is as follows.
(1) A chocolate mainly made from cocoa bean derived from unfermented cocoa beans, wherein the chocolate contains phenylalanine, leucine and arginine within a total range of 0.03 to 1.0% by weight, and total Chocolate characterized in that the total content of phenylalanine, leucine and arginine with respect to amino acid content is 40% by weight or more,
(2) The chocolate according to (1), which is obtained by conching at 50 to 95 ° C.
(3) The conching step of 50 to 95 ° C. after mixing cocoa raw material derived from unfermented cocoa beans, hard butter and sugar with at least one selected from phenylalanine, leucine and arginine (1 ) Or the method for producing chocolate according to (2),
(4) It is related with the manufacturing method of the chocolate as described in said (3) whose said conching process is 2 to 12 hours.

  Since the chocolate of the present invention is mainly made from cocoa beans derived from unfermented cocoa beans, it does not contain a causative substance of unpleasant odors produced when using cocoa beans that have undergone a fermentation process, and it is novel and good. It has a unique flavor, and the earthy flavor of unfermented cocoa beans is masked, and you can feel the rich flavor unique to unfermented cocoa beans, and unlike the chocolate using existing fermented cocoa beans Since it has little acidity, it can meet the needs of many consumers in terms of taste. In addition, the main ingredient is cocoa raw material derived from unfermented cocoa beans, so it is inexpensive and can be manufactured very easily, so the cost merit is very large and it meets the needs of many consumers in terms of price. It is possible.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
The chocolate of the present invention is a chocolate mainly composed of a cacao raw material derived from unfermented cacao beans, and contains phenylalanine, leucine and arginine within a total range of 0.03 to 1.0% by weight in the chocolate. And the total content of phenylalanine, leucine and arginine with respect to the total amino acid content is 40% by weight or more.

In the present invention, chocolate refers to a product that complies with the standards of chocolate and quasi-chocolate according to the “Fair Competition Rules for the Display of Chocolates”. Chocolate is mainly made of cacao mass, cocoa butter, cacao nibs, cacao powder and cocoa cake, and sugar, cocoa butter substitute fat, other vegetable oils and fats, fragrances, emulsifiers and other auxiliary ingredients can be added as necessary.
Therefore, the content of cocoa ingredients such as cocoa mass, cocoa butter, cocoa nibs, cocoa powder and cocoa cake, sugar, cocoa butter substitute, other vegetable oils, fragrances and emulsifiers in the chocolate of the present invention is the above-mentioned chocolate and There is no particular limitation as long as it is within the standard range of the quasi-chocolate.
For example, in the solid content of the chocolate of the present invention, the preferred blending amount of the cocoa raw material is 30 to 70% by weight, the preferred blending amount of the saccharide is 20 to 60% by weight, and the preferred blending amount of the hard butter described later is 5 to 30% by weight. %.

  The fermentation methods of cocoa beans are roughly classified into two types, a heap method and a box method, and the unfermented cocoa beans in the present invention mean cocoa beans that have been dried without undergoing these normal fermentation processes. However, since cocoa beans naturally start fermentation immediately after harvesting, the natural fermentation process from harvesting to drying of cocoa beans is not considered a fermentation process in the present invention.

Here, in the present invention, as described above, one major feature is that it has an earthy flavor and uses a cacao raw material derived from unfermented cacao beans that has been avoided as a conventional chocolate raw material. There is.
That is, when the present inventors variously examined fermented cocoa beans, the cocoa beans are non-selective of amino acids that become unpleasant odor precursors when proteins are decomposed into amino acids by the action of enzymes during the fermentation process. It has been found for the first time that it is produced at a high rate, and this is a major factor in generating cacao beans having an unpleasant odor.
Therefore, unfermented cocoa beans that do not contain various flavor precursors produced in the fermentation process are adopted.

  In the present invention, the cacao raw material means cacao mass, cacao nibs, cacao powder and cocoa cake.

  In the present invention, an amino acid means an L-type amino acid. The amino acid used in the present invention may be an amino acid salt, and any amino acid salt or amino acid hydrochloride that can be used as a food, such as sodium, potassium, and hydrochloric acid, can be used. In addition, although the amino acid said to this invention points out the thing of the state of a free amino acid or an amino acid salt, content prescribed | regulated to this invention means the value converted into the free amino acid.

  The origin of the amino acid used as a raw material is not particularly limited, and may be an industrially produced and purified amino acid, a crude extract extracted from a natural product, or a product obtained by further purifying a crude extract. However, since it is desirable to have as little as possible, it is preferable to use a purified amino acid from the viewpoint of not bringing in components derived from natural product raw materials.

  One feature of the chocolate of the present invention is that it contains three types of amino acids, phenylalanine, leucine and arginine, in a total content of 0.03 to 1.0% by weight as a solid content. When the solid content of the three kinds of amino acids is less than 0.03% by weight, a good flavor cannot be obtained and an earthy flavor derived from unfermented cocoa beans remains. On the other hand, if the amount is more than 1.0% by weight, the taste derived from amino acids is too strong, the taste balance is poor, and a good flavor cannot be obtained.

  The chocolate of the present invention is also characterized in that the total content of three types of amino acids, phenylalanine, leucine and arginine, relative to the total amino acid content is 40% by weight or more as a solid content. When the total content of the three kinds of amino acids is less than 40% by weight, good flavor cannot be obtained. Therefore, three types of amino acids, phenylalanine, leucine and arginine, can be added as appropriate.

  In the present invention, as described above, the solid content in the chocolate of the three types of amino acids of phenylalanine, leucine and arginine and the content relative to the total amino acid content are within a specific range, and thus derived from unfermented cocoa beans It masks the earthy flavor of cocoa ingredients, and unlike chocolate using cocoa beans that have undergone conventional fermentation process, it has less sourness, and you can strongly feel only the rich flavor unique to unfermented cocoa beans, It makes it possible to produce a new flavor that is different from conventional chocolate.

  In the present invention, the amount of amino acid contained in the chocolate may be any method as long as it can be measured correctly as the amount of free amino acid. For example, for 19 types of amino acids other than tryptophan, It can be measured by analytical methods, and tryptophan can be measured by high performance liquid chromatography. However, in the amino acid automatic analysis method, glutamine is measured as glutamic acid, and asparagine is measured as aspartic acid.

  In the present invention, a generic term for cocoa butter and cocoa butter substitute fat is referred to as hard butter. Cocoa butter substitute is used in place of part or all of cocoa butter for the purpose of improving the physical properties of chocolate and saving manufacturing costs. There are those rich in unsaturated triglyceride type fats and lauric or high elaidic acid type called CBR. As fats and oils for cocoa butter substitute oil, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, kapok oil, sesame oil, evening primrose oil, palm oil, shea fat, Examples include vegetable oils and milk fats such as monkey fat, palm oil, palm kernel oil, and animal fats such as beef fat, lard, fish oil, whale oil, and the above oils alone or mixed oils, or curing thereof, Processed oils and fats subjected to fractionation, transesterification and the like can be used.

  The sugar used in the chocolate in the present invention is not particularly limited, but monosaccharides, disaccharides and sugar alcohols are preferable, and sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, lactose, galactose, xylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, erythritol. Etc. Further, it may be a mixture of a plurality of carbohydrates.

  Examples of the emulsifier used in the chocolate in the present invention include lecithin, monoglyceride, organic acid monoglyceride, polyglycerin fatty acid ester, sucrose fatty acid ester, propylene glycol fatty acid ester, and sorbitan fatty acid ester.

  In the chocolate according to the present invention, as necessary, a taste ingredient, a salt, a sour agent, a colorant, and the like can be used as auxiliary materials.

  As a taste ingredient, fruit juice powder, coffee powder, malt extract powder, hazelnut paste, pistachio paste, macadamia nut paste, almond paste, peanut paste, and the like can be used as necessary.

  As salts and acidulants, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, magnesium carbonate, citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, succinic acid, lactic acid and the like can be used as necessary.

  The chocolate production method of the present invention is subjected to a conching step at 50 to 95 ° C. after mixing cocoa raw material derived from unfermented cocoa beans, hard butter and carbohydrate with at least one amino acid selected from phenylalanine, leucine and arginine. It is characterized by that.

Specifically, the chocolate of the present invention is produced through a pulverization process, a 50-95 ° C. conching process, and a temperature control process after mixing cocoa beans-derived cocoa raw material, hard butter and sugar.
Note that a part of the hard butter may be mixed with the cocoa raw material in advance, and the remainder may be added in the conching step. Further, the amino acid may be added before or after the grinding step as long as it is before the conching step.

  The pulverization process may be a raw material pulverization method generally used in chocolate production using a three-stage roll, a five-stage roll, a refiner conche, etc., and the average particle diameter after pulverization is in the range of 15 to 35 micrometers. Although it is preferable from a viewpoint of food texture to perform the pulverization treatment as described above, there is no particular limitation.

The conching step may be a raw material stirring method generally used in chocolate production using a conching machine, a refiner conche, a stephan mixer, or the like as long as the raw material can be stirred while maintaining a temperature of 50 to 95 ° C. . If the temperature of the conching step is less than 50 ° C., a good flavor cannot be obtained, and an earthy flavor derived from unfermented cocoa beans remains, and if it exceeds 95 ° C., a burnt flavor is generated, which is not preferable.
Moreover, the time of the conching process is preferably 2 to 12 hours. If it is shorter than 2 hours, a good flavor cannot be obtained, and an earthy flavor derived from unfermented cocoa beans remains. In addition, it is not preferable in terms of production efficiency.

  In the conching process, an emulsifier can be added mainly for the purpose of adjusting the viscosity, but it may be added at any stage of the initial stage, middle stage, and late stage of the process.

  The temperature adjustment step may be a temperature adjustment method generally used in chocolate production.

  Moreover, in each said process, vegetable fats and oils other than hard butter, a fragrance | flavor, and another auxiliary material can be added as needed.

  In the present invention, the steps other than the mixing, pulverization, conching, and temperature adjustment may be the same means as in a general chocolate manufacturing method, and conditions such as temperature and apparatus are not particularly limited.

  Next, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

(Examples 1-19, Comparative Examples 1-11)
Three-stage roll treatment is performed by mixing 400 g of cacao mass derived from Indonesian unfermented cacao beans, 100 g of cocoa butter, 400 g of granulated sugar, 1 g of vanillin with 3 kinds of amino acids phenylalanine, leucine and arginine in various addition amounts. After aligning the average particle size to 25 micrometers, perform conching with a Stefan mixer, add 100 g of cocoa butter and 1 g of lecithin 30 minutes before the end of conching, adjust the temperature (29 ° C) after conching, Obtained. Table 1 shows the amount of each amino acid added, the temperature and time of the conching step, the evaluation of the obtained chocolate, and the ratio of the total content of phenylalanine, leucine and arginine to the total amino acid content. For the measurement of amino acid content, 19 amino acids other than tryptophan were measured by an amino acid automatic analysis method using an amino acid automatic analyzer “L-8800” manufactured by Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation. The measurement was performed by a high performance liquid chromatograph method using a high performance liquid chromatograph “LC-20AD”.

None of the chocolates obtained in Examples 1-19 can feel the earthy odor derived from unfermented cocoa beans, and can strongly feel the rich flavor peculiar to unfermented cocoa beans, and the existing fermentation Unlike chocolate using cocoa beans, it had a new and good flavor with low acidity.
Specifically, the chocolates obtained in Examples 5, 10, and 13 had a slightly roasted odor but did not adversely affect the flavor. In addition, the chocolates obtained in Examples 7 and 14 to 19 had a slightly roasted odor, but were similarly found to have a new and good flavor.
On the other hand, in the chocolates obtained in Comparative Examples 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11, the earthy flavor of unfermented cocoa beans remained, which had an adverse effect on the flavor. Moreover, in the chocolates obtained in Comparative Examples 2, 6, and 8, a roasted odor was expressed, and the flavor was adversely affected. Moreover, the chocolate obtained in Comparative Examples 4 and 10 had a strong amino acid taste and a poor flavor balance.

(Examples 20 to 22)
Three kinds of amino acids such as phenylalanine, leucine, and arginine are mixed in 600 kg of cocoa mass derived from unfermented cacao beans from West Africa, 100 kg of cocoa butter, 300 kg of granulated sugar and 1 kg of vanillin, and then pulverized in a refiner conche. Conching was performed at the same time, 1 kg of lecithin was added after adjusting the average particle diameter to 25 micrometers, and the temperature was adjusted after conching to obtain chocolate. Table 2 shows the amount of each amino acid added, the temperature and time of the conching process, the evaluation of the chocolate obtained, and the ratio of the total content of phenylalanine, leucine and arginine to the total amino acid content. The content of amino acids and the like was measured in the same manner as in Example 1.

  In the chocolates obtained in Examples 20 to 22, none of the earthy odor derived from unfermented cocoa beans can be felt, and the rich flavor peculiar to unfermented cocoa beans can be strongly felt. Unlike chocolate using cocoa beans, a new and good flavor with less acidity was expressed. The chocolate obtained in Example 21 had a slightly roasted odor, but also a new and good flavor.

(Comparative Examples 12-14)
Three kinds of amino acids, phenylalanine, leucine and arginine, are mixed with 400g of cacao mass derived from Ecuadorian cacao beans fermented by the box method for one week, 100g of cocoa butter, 400g of granulated sugar and 1g of vanillin in various addition amounts. After the three-stage roll treatment, the average particle diameter was adjusted to 25 micrometers, and then conching was performed with a stefan mixer, and 30 g before the completion of conching, 100 g of cocoa butter and 1 g of lecithin were added, and the temperature was adjusted after conching. Got chocolate. Table 3 shows the amount of each amino acid added, the temperature and time of the conching step, the evaluation of the chocolate obtained, and the ratio of the total content of phenylalanine, leucine and arginine to the total amino acid content. The content of amino acids and the like was measured in the same manner as in Example 1.

  In the chocolates obtained in Comparative Examples 12 to 14, the flavor of the fermented cocoa beans was strongly expressed, and the preference for the unique flavor was clearly separated.

(Comparative Examples 15-17)
Three kinds of amino acids phenylalanine, leucine and arginine are mixed in various addition amounts to 600 kg of cacao mass derived from cocoa beans from West Africa fermented by heap method for 3 days and 100 kg of cocoa butter, 300 kg of granulated sugar and 1 kg of vanillin. Then, pulverization and conching were simultaneously performed in a refiner conche to adjust the average particle diameter to 25 micrometers, and 1 kg of lecithin was added, and the temperature was adjusted after conching to obtain chocolate. Table 4 shows the amount of each amino acid added, the temperature and time of the conching step, the evaluation of the obtained chocolate, and the ratio of the total content of phenylalanine, leucine and arginine to the total amino acid content. For the measurement of amino acid content, 19 types of amino acids other than tryptophan were measured by an amino acid automatic analysis method using an automatic amino acid analyzer L-8800 manufactured by Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation, and tryptophan was manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation. The high performance liquid chromatograph LC-20AD was used for the measurement by the high performance liquid chromatograph method.

  In the chocolates obtained in Comparative Examples 15 to 17, the flavor of fermented cocoa beans was expressed, and the preference for the unique flavor was clearly separated.

(Examples 23 to 25, Comparative Examples 18 to 20)
Amino acids are mixed in various addition amounts to 400 kg of cocoa mass derived from Indonesian unfermented cacao beans, 100 kg of cocoa butter, 400 kg of granulated sugar and 1 kg of vanillin, and five-stage roll treatment is performed to make the average particle size 25 μm After that, conching was performed on a conching machine, 100 kg of cocoa butter and 1 kg of lecithin were added 30 minutes before the end of conching, and the temperature was adjusted after conching to obtain chocolate. Table 5 shows the amount of each amino acid added, the temperature and time of the conching process, the evaluation of the chocolate obtained, and the ratio of the total content of phenylalanine, leucine and arginine to the total amino acid content. For the measurement of amino acid content, 19 types of amino acids other than tryptophan were measured by an amino acid automatic analysis method using an automatic amino acid analyzer L-8800 manufactured by Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation, and tryptophan was manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation. The high performance liquid chromatograph “LC-20AD” was used for the measurement by the high performance liquid chromatograph method.

  In the chocolates obtained in Examples 23 to 25, none of the earthy odor derived from unfermented cocoa beans is felt, and the rich flavor peculiar to unfermented cocoa beans can be strongly felt, and the existing fermentation Unlike chocolate using cocoa beans, a new and good flavor with less acidity was expressed. On the other hand, in the chocolates obtained in Comparative Examples 18 to 20, the earthy flavor of unfermented cocoa beans remained, which had an adverse effect on the flavor.

Claims (4)

  A chocolate mainly made from cocoa beans derived from unfermented cocoa beans, wherein the chocolate contains phenylalanine, leucine and arginine within a total range of 0.03 to 1.0% by weight, and the total amino acid content The total content of phenylalanine, leucine and arginine is 40% by weight or more.   The chocolate according to claim 1 obtained by conching at 50 to 95 ° C.   The cocoa raw material derived from unfermented cocoa beans, hard butter and sugar are mixed with at least one selected from phenylalanine, leucine and arginine, and then subjected to a conching step at 50 to 95 ° C. The manufacturing method of chocolate of description.   The method for producing chocolate according to claim 3, wherein the conching step is 2 to 12 hours.