摘要
Inconsistent flavor quality in Indonesian cocoa beans hinders global market competitiveness and farmers’livelihoods.Therefore,pre-drying is introduced as an additional step in the postharvest process,offering an alternative method for partial pulp reduction to improve flavor and quality in bulk and fine cocoa varieties.This study investigates how pre-drying affects metabolite changes from raw beans to distinct cocoa liquor’s flavor profiles,using GC-MS after derivatization for non-volatile and HS-SPME GC-MS for volatile compound analysis alongside sensory evaluation.Results showed that pre-drying significantly increased flavor precursors,such as reducing sugars and organic acids,by more than two-fold in raw beans.This change led to notable differences in metabolites and sensory profiles in cocoa liquor,with PCA analysis explaining 38.8%of metabolite variance and 57.3%of sensory variance.Pre-drying reduced bitterness and astringency while increasing fresh fruit and acidic sensory scores(p<0.05)in both bulk and fine cocoa.PLS-R analysis correlated 83 non-volatile and 95 volatile metabolites to sensory attributes,identifying key compounds such as organic acids,sugars,and esters that contributed to fresh fruit and acidic notes.These findings highlight pre-drying’s potential to improve flavor quality by modulating metabolite profiles.
基金
Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education(LPDP)for providing scholarships and research funding.
