Enriching white chocolates with native Amazonian blackberries improves its physicochemical properties

Abstract

White chocolate has seen a promising trend in consumption in recent years; however, the minimal concentrations of its bioactive properties have not brought benefits to human health. This research aimed to improve the nutritional value of white chocolate by adding freeze-dried blackberries at different concentrations of 2 %, 4 %, 6 %, 8 %, and 10 %. The physicochemical properties of the fortified chocolates were studied, observing that the particle size increased significantly (p < 0.05), but rheology and hardness decreased significantly (p < 0.05). In addition, adding freeze-dried blackberries to the white chocolate led to a color change from red to violet and a loss of gloss. Total polyphenol content increased 3.3-fold, while antioxidant activity increased 2.9-fold in WC/B10 %. The results indicate a possible path, opportunities, and limitations for incorporating other fruits in white chocolate, as well as the study of sensory analysis to know consumers' general acceptability of fortified chocolates.

Keywords

• White chocolate
• Fortification
• Bioactive properties
• Wild blackberry