Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23G—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF
  • A23G1/00—Cocoa; Cocoa products, e.g. chocolate; Substitutes therefor
  • A23G1/04—Apparatus specially adapted for manufacture or treatment of cocoa or cocoa products
  • A23G1/06—Apparatus for preparing or treating cocoa beans or nibs
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23G—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF
  • A23G1/00—Cocoa; Cocoa products, e.g. chocolate; Substitutes therefor
  • A23G1/0003—Processes of manufacture not relating to composition or compounding ingredients
  • A23G1/002—Processes for preparing or treating cocoa beans or nibs
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23N—MACHINES OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING HARVESTED FRUIT, VEGETABLES OR FLOWER BULBS IN BULK, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PEELING VEGETABLES OR FRUIT IN BULK; APPARATUS FOR PREPARING ANIMAL FEEDING- STUFFS
  • A23N5/00—Machines for hulling, husking or cracking nuts

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the treatment of shellfruits or oilseeds, such as beans, nuts and, in particular, cocoa beans, specifically for separating the kernel from the shell of the fruit.
• shellfruits or oilseeds such as beans, nuts and, in particular, cocoa beans
• the fruits are conventionally subjected to a pre-treatment involving moisture and heat.
• This pre-treatment leads to the separation of the kernel from the shell in the unpeeled shellfruit.
• EP 0 068 221 A2 discusses the problems involved with the separation of the shell from the kernel of roasted or untreated shellfruits, in particular the problem that in the untreated shellfruits the fruit or kernel is still attached to the shell that causes difficulty in separation fruit from shell.
• the breaking of the whole shellfruit, in particular cocoa beans, in a one-step procedure causes the formation of fine pieces having dimensions of less than about 1mm, that contain shell fragments and kernel fragments (50/50%) that cannot be separated within the following process. Furthermore, the fine partials cause substantial losses during the cocoa liquor and chocolate production.
• EP 0 068 221 A2 therefore suggests a method for removing the shell of a shellfruit which starts from a predetermined moisture content of the shellfruit followed by a heat treatment, thereby facilitating the removal of the shells and further increasing the efficiency and the quality of the product.
• the shell is broken, for example by known means such as a baffle plate, and the resultant fragments can be separated.
• This separation can be performed using known measures such as an air separator.
• the invention can be used for treating various kinds of fruits or seeds that comprise a shell, for instance a hard, dry shell or testa, that should be separated from a kernel. Therefore, the term "shellfruit" in the context of the present specification and claims is intended to encompass any such fruit and seed, such as oilseeds, nuts, beans, and in particular cocoa beans.
• any pre-treatment of the shellfruit in particular a pre-treatment using heat or steam, can be omitted. Consequently, the force is preferably imparted at room temperature.
• any method suitable for imparting tangential, vertical and/or horizontal forces to the shellfruit can be used, as long as the force is sufficient to substantially separate or isolate the kernel from the shell but still leaves the shell of the shellfruit intact.
• the kernel In addition to isolating the kernel from the shell, the kernel usually is broken into pieces along pre-existing breaking points inside the still intact shell.
• a preferred way of imparting the necessary force is to impart a shearing force to the shellfruit. This can be achieved, for example, by providing a pair of rollers and passing the shellfruit through a gap between the rollers which preferably counter-rotate. By suitably choosing the width of the gap and the rotating speeds, which preferably differ for the two rollers, the imparted shearing force can be controlled.
• the two plates are preferably arranged horizontally having a gap therebetween allowing the shellfruit to pass through the gap.
• the force can be controlled by suitably selecting the amplitude and frequency of the vibrations.
• Figure 1 shows (a) an untreated cocoa bean, (b) a cocoa bean subsequent to being treated using the method of the present invention and (c) the cocoa bean of (b) with the kernel being broken inside the shell, and
• Figure 2 shows a device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• Figure la shows a schematic drawing of the cross-section of an untreated cocoa bean or seed.
• a shell or testa 1 surrounds the kernel 2.
• the kernel is firmly adhered to the shell.
• a conventional pre-treatment leads to an abrupt expansion of the shell and thus to a separation of the shell from the kernel.
• FIG. 1 b A cocoa bean 10 after being treated with the method of the invention is shown in Figure 1 b, wherein the shell 1 1 is isolated from the kernel 12.
• a device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figure 2.
• the shellfruits to be treated pass the gap between rollers 1 and 2.
• When treating cocoa beans fermented cocoa beans are treated that have not been subjected to a heat or moisture pre-treatment.
• roller 1 rotates anticlockwise
• roller 2 rotates clockwise at a rotating speed different from the rotating speed of roller 1.
• the rotating speeds By suitably choosing the rotating speeds, the speed difference, the size of the rollers and the width of the gap, the shearing force that acts on the shellfruit can be controlled.
• the roller speed correlates with the surface of the rollers and controls the required
• the gap width should be adapted to the bean count, such as choosing a gap size of 6-8mm for bean count 120. For smaller or higher bean counts the gap needs to be adjusted.
• the bean count describes the size of the shellfruits, and is given by the number of shellfruits, e.g. cocoa beans, per 100g. That is, the gap width should be smaller for larger bean counts, for example a bean count 140, whereas for a bean count 80, the gap width should be greater.
• the level of fermentation must be taken into account since the level of fermentation has an influence on the thickness of the shell of the shellfruits.
• a lower fermentation level i.e. a lower quality or incomplete fermentation
• greater shearing forces must be imparted on the shellfruits, compared with shellfruits that were exposed to a better fermentation.
• the weight proportion of the shellfruit shells varies between about 10% to 28%. Therefore, the rotation speeds of the rollers must be adapted to the specifications of the raw material.
• the moisture content of the shellfruits must be taken into account.
• the standard moisture content is about 5% to 9%.
• the shellfruits to be treated have previously been subjected to humidification with water or steam, which may occur, for example, when debacterizing or sterilizing the shellfruits, this should be considered when selecting the shearing force that acts on the shellfruit, by suitably selecting the relevant parameters, in particular rotating speeds and gap width.
• a pre-treatment of the raw material with water or steam for facilitating the removal of the shell is not necessary according to the present invention.
• the shellfruits that have passed the machine preferably have a broken kernel, broken along the pre-existing breaking points of the kernel. These kernel fragments are, however, held together by the still intact shell.
• the treated shellfruits leave the machine at outlet 5 and can then enter further steps of the treatment.
• the shell can subsequently be broken using a baffle plate resulting in a mixture of shell and kernel fragments. Due to the pre-treatment with the method of the invention, only a small amount of the kernel fragments are still connected to shell fragments, for example since the separation of the kernel from the shell was not complete in the previous treatment step. Therefore, isolating the resulting kernel fragments from the shell fragments and fragments that include both, can be achieved more efficiently by known techniques, such as aspiration using an air separator.
• the kernel cannot only be separated from the shell but already be broken at existing breaking points or lines by the use of tangential, vertical and/or horizontal forces, thereby minimizing or avoiding the formation of fine particles.
• the subsequent step of breaking the shell results in a relatively homogenous particle size distribution which allows the subsequent separation from the kernel fragments from the remaining parts more efficiently.
• the following table summarizes the particle size distribution resulting from the above- described method.
• the given amounts indicate the weight percent resulting from the mesh sizes used in a sieve that are indicated in the first column.
• the table shows that substantially all bean fragments have sizes greater than about 7 mm.

Landscapes

• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Food Science & Technology (AREA)
• Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
• Confectionery (AREA)
• Beans For Foods Or Fodder (AREA)
• Apparatuses For Bulk Treatment Of Fruits And Vegetables And Apparatuses For Preparing Feeds (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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• 2017
  • 2017-07-21 WO PCT/EP2017/068468 patent/WO2018015532A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2017-07-21 EP EP17761013.6A patent/EP3487312A1/de not_active Withdrawn

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