Fully continuous process for the production of cocoa butter and cocoa powder from 50 native cocoa butter

摘要

The continuous process to recover cocoa butter and powder, from a cocoa mass, has an initial roasting stage for the cocoa means followed by shelling. The cocoa bean kernels are reduced to a fluid cocoa mass in a watery emulsion to be separated into three components in a centrifugal action under high-speed rotation. The unwanted matter is spun out and retained matter is separated to give a pure and flavoursome cocoa powder and butter. ADVANTAGE - Eliminates fatty acids which would affect the taste. In an example, 1000 kg of finely chopped cocoa mass is produced from roasted and shelled Ghana cocoa beans, with well fermented kernels, and held in a V2A stainless steel vessel with a capacity of 7500 litres with a mass temp. of 65 deg.C for 15 mins., together with 5000 litres of water heated to 75 deg.C fed in over 15 mins. After filling, the matter is converted into an emulsion by a turbo mixer operating at 3000 rpm for 10 mins, and then passed to a V2A stainless steel tank with a slow paddle agitator rotating at 60 rpm. The emulsion is withdrawn continuously from the tank, within 30 mins., into a horizontal centrifuge operating at 32000 rpm with continuous take-off of thick matter. The cocoa butter which rises to the upper layer is separated and taken off to be pumped into an intermediate tank. The second layer thickness contains water with dissolved matter such as theobromine, the water soluble tannic matter and lower fatty acids and other substances with unpleasant smells. Additionally other substances are washed out such as soluble carbohydrates, pentoses, pentosane, xylane, galactans, araban etc. The thick matter portion, taken off continuously, is dried in a V2A double roller stainless steel vacuum dryer at a temp. of 75 deg.C to give a residual moisture content of 2.9%. The precipitated fine flake powder, with a pleasant light caramel-smelling character, is recovered at the rate of 41.2.8 kg with a residual fat content of 3.1%. The cocoa butter, in a recovered volume of 546.5 kg, is given a further rapid centrifuge spinning in the intermediate store vessel, to extract any small amts. of water for safety, and then chilled into blocks.