Chocolate as a carrier for cocoa's functional ingredients

Abstract

The aim of this chapter was to introduce chocolate as a cocoa carrier of probiotics and bioactive whey protein hydrolysate. This research examined the influence of additional ingredients on the functional properties and rheology of the final product. The chocolate prepared with L. rhamnosus HN001 strain at 40°C achieved the highest survivability, which was above 90% (viable cell count of about 8.1 log (CFU/g)) after 6 months of storage. This strain could be selected for high-quality probiotic chocolate production. The addition of probiotic L. rhamnosus HN001 significantly improves the rheological properties of probiotic chocolate. The addition of bioactive whey protein hydrolysate did not show significant changes in the total content of polyphenols or ABTS radical scavenging activity. However, DPPH radical scavenging activity showed an increase of 1.28 times during storage and about 1.46 in relation to the control sample and the sample supplemented with unhydrolyzed whey proteins. The bioactive whey protein hydrolysate affects chocolate rheology by increasing the thixotropic loop 8.02 times in relation to the control sample, and 1.57 times compared to the sample supplemented with unhydrolyzed whey proteins. Based on the results, the addition of probiotics and bioactive whey protein hydrolysate powder in industrial conditions, which was done in the mixing tank (at 40°C) before the chocolate shaping phase, provides preservation of both functional ingredients as key components for this type of product. The addition of probiotics improves the rheological properties of chocolate, while the addition of whey protein hydrolysate leads to undesirable viscosity increase that can be avoided using a more efficient emulsifier.