The Effect of Pod Storage on Chemical and Microbiological Characteristics of Organic and Non–organic Balinese Cacao Pulps

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Organic and Non-Organic Balinese Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) storage duration on chemical and microbiological levels in order to know the exact storage period to get a good substrate for fermentation. This research is the first step in preparing Specialty Cocoa. Chemical parameters such as reducing sugar, total sugar, protein content, moisture content, and pH along the pod storage were determined in this study. The ideal substrate condition for cocoa fermentation was suggested on the 4th d, in which the pulp contained total sugar of 12.5 % and moisture content of 86 %. Meanwhile, the statistical analysis was done to test whether the duration of pod storage has a significant effect on the presence of bacteria related to fermentation. The test showed that the duration of pod storage did not have a significant effect on either lactic acid bacteria or acetic acid bacteria content (P value > 0.05). Nevertheless, the research found that lactic acid bacteria content was up to 1.9 log CFU mL–1 and acetic acid bacteria content was up to 2.72 log CFU mL–1 during the 5 d of pod storage.