Tesis
Estudio de los cambios físicos y químicos durante la maduración de cacao
Autor
Cubillos Bojacá, Andrés Felipe
Institución
Resumen
Cocoa is one of the most traded products in the world, placing Colombia among the ten-main cocoa producing countries (Faostat, 2017). Cocoa is recognized for its organoleptic characteristics, however, environmental factors, area of cultivation, maturation and postharvest handling define the quality of the final product. One of the most evaluated characteristics is the state of maturity since it plays an important role in the collection, fermentation and production of chocolate, but this parameter presents a great variability because the patterns of development and maturation of each material or clone are not homogeneous In this study, three cacao genetic materials (CCN51, EET8 and ICS60) from the Santander - Colombia region were analyzed, each in 5 maturity stages selected by the cocoa farmers of the region due to their long experience in the management of this product evaluating physicochemical parameters such as weights of ear, seeds and cacota (husk), number of seeds, humidity of the seeds, almonds and mucilage, polar and equatorial diameter, firmness and color of the cob, pH, acidity and total soluble solids SST ( ° Brix) of the mucilage obtaining the highest results of the analyzes carried out in the different materials and states of maturity: corn weight (852.4 g, EET8, EM5), weight almonds (227.1 g, CCN51, EM1), cacota weight (634.0, CCN51 , EM3), number of almonds (46, CCN51, EM2), humidity in seeds (60.04%, CCN51, EM2), humidity almonds (38.18%, EET8, EM1), humidity mucilage (84.92%, EET8, EM1), firmness (6.46, Kgf, ICS60), polar cob diameter (227.48 mm, CCN 51, EM3), equatorial cob diameter (102.97 mm, EET8, EM5), mucilage pH (3.91, EET8, EM5), mucilage acidity (1.76, EET8, EM1) and SST (° Brix) mucilage (11.50, CCN51, EM5) . The statistical analysis showed significances in the analyzed effects for some physical attributes such as almond weight, seed moisture, polar and equatorial diameters, Chroma, Hue and color index and in chemical attributes such as brix, pH and acidity observing which are the effects that most affect the development of the fruit over time and with this information determine a quality guideline to achieve a cocoa with the best characteristics and greater productivity for the cocoa industry; In addition to determining which parameters evolve through the time of maturation and find criteria that cocoa farmers can apply in the field for a better harvest of cocoa.