PERBAIKAN PROSES FERMENTASI BIJI KAKAO KERING DENGAN PENAMBAHAN TETES TEBU, KHAMIR, DAN BAKTERI ASAM ASETAT

Most of cocoa beans produced by smallholder farmers were non fermented which can be improved by modified fermentation processing. This study was aimed to inverstigate the influence of molasses, yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Acetobacter aceti addition on dried cocoa beans fermentation process. Fresh cocoa beans were dried in a glasshouse and its reducing sugar was analyzed before and after drying. A small plastic bucket (20 cm diameter and 30 cm height) with aeration holes was used as fermentation vessel. Dried cocoa beans were soaked in distilled water for 4 hours, inoculated with yeast and acetic acid bacteria cultures, and molasses were added at two different concentration, i.e, 1 and 1.5 times of reducing sugar lost during drying. Reducing sugar, ethanol, titrated acid, population of yeast, and acetic acid bacteria were monitored during fermentation. After fermentation the beans were sun dried and its pH and degree of fermentation were determined to assess the bean quality. The results showed that the addition of molasses mostly at the level of 1.5, S. cerevisiae, and A. aceti increase reducing sugar, ethanol, titrated acid, yeast and acetic acid bacteria of fermentation liquid (pulp). The highest percentage of fermented beans (68.4 %) was achieved by addition of S. cerevisiae, A. aceti, and molasses at the level 1.5. It is likely that the addition of S. cerevisiae, A. aceti, and molasses could improve fermentation processing of dried cocoa bean