Food Science and Technology Vol. 11(1), pp. 71 - 83
DOI: 10.13189/fst.2023.110108
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Application of Ohmic Heating Technology on Cocoa Beans Fermentation: Design, Physicochemical Properties and Techno-Economic Analysis

Angky W. Putranto ^1,*, Olivia P. Nugroho ², Wardatul Maulidah ¹, Risaldi ³, Ivan H. E. Saputro ², Alif W. D. A. Mulyono ^2
1 Bioprocess Engineering Department, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Universitas Brawijaya, 65145, Malang, Indonesia
² Agroindustrial Engineering Department, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Universitas Brawijaya, 65145, Malang, Indonesia
³ Agricultural and Biosystem Engineering Department, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Universitas Brawijaya, 65145, Malang, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

The fermentation process is the most essential step in the processing of cocoa beans (Theobroma cacao L.) since the chocolate quality is depended from this process. In general, the common conventional fermentation of cocoa beans using Wooden Box Fermentation (WBF) takes 6-8 days. The long duration and no controlling process during fermentation decreased the quality of fermented beans. To overcome this drawback, the Ohmic Reactor Fermentation (ORF) has been investigated for accelerating the fermentation process through an optimum condition for the growth of microorganism. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to design an ohmic heating-assisted reactor and evaluate the fermented beans according to its physical, chemical and biological properties. In this study, fermented beans from the ORF process were also compared with WBF processes, from both the physico-chemical properties and techno-economic aspects. The results showed that the reactor design successfully fermented cocoa beans (99.97%) with a shorter fermentation period than the WBF process. Moreover, the ORF process produces good-quality cocoa beans which are in line with the premium grade standard used in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and globally. The ORF process is also feasible to implement based on the techno-economic aspects. Despite having higher operational costs compared to the WBF process, the good quality cocoa from ORF has a higher selling price and generates a higher total revenue. Therefore, these research findings can be developed on a larger scale and utilized optimally by the small and medium-scale cocoa industry, especially in Indonesia, to produce premium-quality cocoa beans through a good fermentation.

KEYWORDS
Cocoa Beans, Fermentation, Ohmic Heating, Properties, Quality Standard

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Angky W. Putranto , Olivia P. Nugroho , Wardatul Maulidah , Risaldi , Ivan H. E. Saputro , Alif W. D. A. Mulyono , "Application of Ohmic Heating Technology on Cocoa Beans Fermentation: Design, Physicochemical Properties and Techno-Economic Analysis," Food Science and Technology, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 71 - 83, 2023. DOI: 10.13189/fst.2023.110108.

(b). APA Format:
Angky W. Putranto , Olivia P. Nugroho , Wardatul Maulidah , Risaldi , Ivan H. E. Saputro , Alif W. D. A. Mulyono (2023). Application of Ohmic Heating Technology on Cocoa Beans Fermentation: Design, Physicochemical Properties and Techno-Economic Analysis. Food Science and Technology, 11(1), 71 - 83. DOI: 10.13189/fst.2023.110108.