Obtaining 70% cocoa dark chocolate enriched with ginger oleoresin obtained via supercritical CO2 extraction

Abstract

The development of innovative products based on cocoa and natural additives with functional properties that benefit health has been studied in recent years. The use of natural extracts obtained with green technology is a sustainable alternative to be considered as part of the chocolate production chain. Previous studies have shown that ginger oleoresin has a high antioxidant capacity; so thus, its use in small quantities as a replacement for cocoa butter can improve the properties of chocolate. In this study, three formulations of 70% cocoa dark chocolate were developed with ginger oleoresin at 0.026%, 0.078%, and 0.129%. Viscosity, texture, thermal properties, color, oxidative stability index, sensory analysis, total polyphenol content, and antioxidant capacity were measured. The results showed that the viscosity, melting point, and antioxidant capacity of the evaluated chocolates increased with the increase in ginger oleoresin content, indicating an improvement in the thermal properties of the enriched chocolates. Furthermore, the color and whiteness index properties were not altered. On the other hand, the sensory acceptability of the chocolate with 0.026% ginger oleoresin was the only one of all the formulations similar to that of the control; thus, it can be considered a technological prototype for industrial scaling.