Cocoa nuggets and method of making same

Abstract

Cocoa nuggets and methods for their manufacture are disclosed. The nuggets are formed by providing a dough including, on a dry basis, at least 30% by weight cocoa powder, the dough having a moisture content of at least 10% to about 52% by weight. The dough is processed into nuggets having a moisture content of not greater than about 15% by weight. The nuggets can be crunchy or chewy and can be used as an ingredient such as an inclusion or a topping for food products in order to increase antioxidant levels and the method of creating the nuggets results in minimal loss of antioxidant capacity as a result of processing.

1 . A method for creating a cocoa nugget comprising:
 providing a dough including, on a dry basis, at least 30% by weight cocoa powder, the dough having a moisture content of at least 10% to about 52% by weight; and   processing the dough into nuggets having a moisture content of not greater than about 15% by weight.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the formed nuggets exhibit a loss of oxygen radical absorbance capacity of less than 10% compared to the provided dough. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the formed nuggets exhibit a loss of oxygen radical absorbance capacity of less than 5% compared to the provided dough. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the moisture content of the dough prior to the step of processing is not greater than about 15% by weight. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the step of processing the dough into nuggets comprises processing the dough without drying the dough, to form chewy nuggets having a moisture content in the range of about 10% to about 15% by weight. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the step of processing the dough into nuggets comprises processing the dough into crunchy nuggets by drying the nuggets to a moisture content of about 6% or less by weight. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the moisture content of the dough prior to the step of processing is at least 16% to about 52% by weight. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the step of processing the dough into nuggets comprises processing the dough into chewy nuggets by drying the nuggets to a moisture content in the range of about 10% to about 15% by weight. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the step of processing the dough into nuggets comprises processing the dough into crunchy nuggets by drying the nuggets to a moisture content of about 6% or less by weight. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the dough includes, on a dry basis, at least 50% by weight cocoa powder. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of providing a dough comprises providing a dough having less than about 35% by weight, on a dry basis, sweetener. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of providing a dough comprises providing a dough that includes a binding agent. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of providing a dough comprises providing a dough that includes an emulsifier. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of providing a dough comprises providing a dough that includes an additive selected from the group consisting of protein powder, fibers, vitamins, minerals and combinations thereof 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of providing a dough comprises creating a dough by mixing, on a dry basis, at least 65% by weight cocoa powder with sweetener, water, an emulsifier, and optionally a liquid binding agent. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the cocoa is non-alkalized cocoa. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of providing a dough comprises providing a dry mixture consisting of cocoa powder and adding moisture to the dry mixture to form the dough. 
     
     
         18 . A method for creating a chewy cocoa nugget comprising:
 providing a dough including on a dry basis, at least 50% by weight non-alkalized cocoa powder, the dough having a moisture content of at least 10% by weight, the dough further including about 20% to 45% by weight of a binding agent; and   processing the dough into nuggets having a moisture content in the range of about 10% to about 15% by weight and a water activity not greater than 0.6, wherein the nuggets exhibit a loss of oxygen radical absorbance capacity of less than 5% compared to the provided dough.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the dough is further provided having at least 65% by weight, on a dry basis, non-alkalized cocoa powder. 
     
     
         20 . A method for creating a cocoa nugget comprising:
 heating a sweetener comprising sugar;   adding cocoa to the sweetener   forming a cohesive dough; and   processing the dough into nuggets;   wherein the steps of heating, adding, forming and processing occur at a temperature less than the melting temperature of the sugar and wherein the nuggets have an oxygen radical absorbance capacity following processing that is at least 90% of the oxygen radical absorbance capacity prior to processing.