Cocoa flavour evaluation using guide substances correlated with cocoa processing.

Objective analytical methods are necessary to relieve the industrial quality control of time-consuming organoleptical tests and to give advice to the producers of semifactured cocoa goods. The concentration of typical indicative compounds may be correlated with the cocoa flavour character. For example the estimation of pyrazines by means of HPLC or GC can be used to control the roasting degree of cocoa. Some other examples using furanes, dihydrohydroxymaltol or volatile phenols as indicators are given too.