DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF TROPICAL THERMO-RESISTANT DARK CHOCOLATE

The purpose of this research was to develop a formulation for the production of dark chocolate that would be thermally stable at tropical temperatures. Thermo-resistant dark chocolate was formulated by the inclusion of cocoa liquor at 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90% level of the total recipe, with the addition of corn starch at 10% in all the recipes. Conventional dark chocolate of 60% cocoa liquor was used as a reference sample. Physical, chemical and sensory analyses were carried out on the chocolate samples. The melting points of the seven thermo-resistant dark chocolate samples were found to be between 40.0 - 45.5°C, while the conventional dark chocolate melted at 35°C. The melting points of thermo-resistant dark chocolate samples containing 30, 40, 50 and 60% cocoa liquor were significantly different (p < 0.05) from that of 70, 80 and 90%, while that of convectional dark chocolate was significantly different (p < 0.05) from others. The production of thermo-resistant dark chocolate will improve the handling, distribution, storage and availability of dark chocolate in the tropics and make available to them the health benefits of the product. Thermo-resistant recipe is a new and additional recipe for the production of dark chocolate.