Soon, Chocolates to be Made From Jackfruit Seeds

Everyone wants chocolate, that too, to an extent that its demand may soon outnumber its production. Experts and scientists have now been busy devising ways to meet this ever growing demand by looking out for alternative items that can be used to mimic the aroma and taste similar to cocoa. Fernanda Papa Spada, Jane K. Parker, Solange Guidolin, Canniatti Brazaca and colleagues from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil decided to study jackfruit seeds for the same purpose. In a country (Brazil) where cocoa comes in abundance, nobody looks at jackfruit seeds. Jackfruits typically grow in tropical parts of Asia, Africa, South America and Australia. It comes cheap and is cooked in a variety of ways all across the world. India commonly likes currying or pickling jackfruit which is popularly known as kathal in the local language. South India deep fries the fruit and savours it in the form of a snack.

The study published in the Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry reports that the compounds found in jackfruit seeds may produce many of the same aromas similar to processed cocoa beans. It suggests jackfruit as a potentially cheap and easily available substitute for chocolate manufacturing.

The researchers began by acidifying or fermenting jackfruit seeds before drying them which was followed by converting these seeds into flours. Flours were then roasted at different temperatures and intervals using processes similar to the ones used to enhance the chocolaty flavor of cocoa beans. Experts used a technique called gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify the similar compounds between jackfruit flours and chocolate aromas. Volunteers were asked to smell the jackfruit seed flours and describe the aromas. The fermented flours were found to be largely associated with chocolate over the acidified flours. The fermented samples were described to have aromas similar to fruits, caramel or hazelnut. It was therefore concluded that jackfruit seeds may serve as a feasible alternative to produce chocolate aromas. These can also become a potential replacement for the aroma of cocoa powder or chocolate.

The global production of cocoa amounts to 3.7 million tons annually. The world-wide demand is expected to rise to a whopping 4.5 million tons by 2020 whereas the total annual production is not suggested to grow at a pace to meet this staggering rise in demand. In such circumstances, alternatives like jackfruit seeds could come handy.