Various interactions in chocolate flavor

More than 300 volatile compounds have been identified in roasted cocoa beans and its products, making chocolate one of the most complicated natural flavors. Most beans, after harvesting, are subjected to a fermentation that is an important step in the formation of flavor precursors. Roasting is essential to the development of chocolate flavor both with respect to the loss of undesirable volatiles and the generating of key aroma compounds. Flavor is modified to meet demand using blends of beans and through variation in roasting conditions and the mechanical treatments employed to process beans into chocolate liquor and coating. The effect of fermentation and roasting on certain chemical properties related to flavor in chocolate is reviewed. Particular attention is given to monocarbonyls, headspace volatiles, pyrrole aldehydes and alkylpyrazines.