CHOCOLATE BACTERIA AND FUNGI

I was thinking about sloe chocolate (see last week’s Insight item) and came across a fascinating article in Nature Biology[1] about the role micro-organisms play in cocoa beans that make the best chocolate 

Cocoa is made from the fermented beans of the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao L. Originally native to South America, it is now cultivated in suitable climates worldwide, with a total annual production approaching six million tonnes of beans! Bean fermentation happens spontaneously and involves biological and inorganic reactions. The researchers wanted to find out more about the biotic and abiotic chemistry because being able to control and replicate the process could lead to better and novel flavour control of the chocolate end product.

In the best chocolate, nine species of fungi and bacteria were found. This was achieved by using various analytical techniques and, importantly, a human expert tasting panel. Applying the knowledge gained from their  research, the team believes this will allow fermentation to be very precisely controlled and recipes to be designed for faithful reproduction of the highest quality chocolate.

This research was carried out on cocoa farming sites in Columbia but the micro-organisms may well vary in other plantations elsewhere in the world due to local environmental variations.

There is obviously much scope for more research and the development of new and delicious chocolate varieties, even, perhaps, artificial chocolate not made from beans.