CocoaFruit - Compelte Utilization of Cocoa Fruits for innovative Food Products and Ingredients

Goal: The aim of this project is the complete valorization of the cocoa pods with a focus on the use of the aromatic pulp in food applications and husk utilization. Different cocoa genetics will be screened for their pulp and husk amounts and their compositions. The husk will be used as substrate for mushroom cultivation to obtain a protein and fiber rich food ingredient. The pulp will be removed from the beans. As a very perishable good, the pulp will be preserved by different technologies and used as raw material for different food applications such as jams, fruit preparations, and beverages. The remaining beans will be further processed without fermentation. Therefore, the beans will be dried, pressed to obtain virgin cocoa butter, which might be a replacer for palm fat or hardened fats in bakery products. Afterwards the defatted cocoa press cake will be extracted using aqueous ethanol. The ethanolic extract has a high content of polyphenols and might be used as antioxidant. The remaining extracted cocoa grade powder can be further processed to obtain a fine flavored cocoa powder or it can be used as food ingredient due to its high fiber and protein content.