David Gopaulchan, a geneticist of plants from the University of Nottingham in England, notes that most of the variants of the taste of chocolate are due to microbes that enzymes cocoa beans after harvesting. Together with his colleagues, he cataloged microbes and found out that he gives a special taste to chocolate on two Colombian farms. The results of this work are published in the journal Nature Microbiology.
The team of scientists in the framework of the new study chose three farms in Colombia belonging to women who grow similar cocoa varieties. Two of them created high -quality chocolate, and the third – chocolate wholesale. Specialists measured temperature changes and pH in enzymatic beans, and also took molecular pictures of microbes at each stage of the process.
Experts found that yeast is one of the first organisms that affect the tile of chocolate. These are Saccharmyces cerevisiae, that is, the same mushrooms that are used for baking, brewing and fermentation of wine.
After 48 hours, bacteria producing acetic and lactic acid began to multiply actively. They turned alcohol into acids that increase pH and contribute to the further decomposition of beans and pulp. They were joined by other yeast and bacteria, feeding on substances created by their predecessors, and converting them into aromatic molecules.
The differences in the taste of chocolate are also strongly affected by the time and speed of temperature fluctuations and pH, the dynamics of the transitions between microbes.
The study showed that microbes that enzyme cocoa form reproduced communities of fungi and bacteria in a predictable way. Dutton, a resident of the Aster Institute, which did not participate in this study, also found that this happens when cheese is fermented. That is, various strains of microbes bring their own taste shades to the product.
