The Journey from Cocoa to Chocolate

Dr. R. Pandiselvam is a Senior Scientist (Agricultural Engineering) at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. He received his B.Tech. in Agricultural Engineering (2010) and M.Tech. in Agricultural Processing & Food Engineering (2012) from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore. He completed his Ph.D. from TNAU in 2015 and joined ICAR in 2016 as a Scientist at the ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Kasaragod, Kerala. During his tenure at CPCRI (2016–2024), Dr. Pandiselvam significantly contributed to the design and development of several post-harvest technologies including a minimal processing machine for tender coconut, a continuous-type coconut testa removing machine, a tender coconut cutting machine, and preservation protocols for trimmed tender coconut. He was also involved in the development and commercialization of value-added coconut-based food products such as Kalpa Krunch, Frozen Coconut Delicacy, and Matured Coconut Water-Based Beverages, benefitting over 40 entrepreneurs. He has trained more than 8,000stakeholders through demonstrations and capacity-building programs. Dr. Pandiselvam has authored over 100 research and review articles in reputed journals, co-authored 7 books and 67 book chapters, and serves on editorial boards of several international journals. His achievements have been recognized with prestigious awards, including the NAAS Young Scientist Award (2020), NAAS Associate (2021), ISAE Distinguished Service Award (2020), and inclusion in the World’s Top 2% Scientists list by Stanford University & Elsevier. Recently, he was honored with the Rashtriya Krishi Vigyan Puraskar 2025– Young Scientist Award for his outstanding contributions to agricultural engineering and technology dissemination.Dr. V. Arun Prasath is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Process Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Sundargarh, Odisha, India. He received M.Tech and Ph.D. degrees in Agricultural Processing and Food Engineering from TNAU during 2012 and 2015. He has got more than Seven years of teaching and research experience in the field of Food Process Engineering. He has 25 research publications, 10 technical popular articles, and 1 book to his credit. His research interests are in the area of post-harvest handling and storage of fresh commodities, Development Nano-Packaging materials, Design and development of processing equipment. He has taught basic engineering as well as advanced food process engineering courses for undergraduate students of various disciplines in Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (KCAET), Kerala Agricultural University, Tavanur and in Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.

• Section I. Science behind the chocolate1. Cocoa– Cultivation to Harvesting2. Cocoa– The chemistry of flavors3. Cocoa bean extraction– Equipments and Tools4. Fermentation of cocoa beans5. Dryers for cocoa beans6. Roasting – Recent Advances7. Alkalization processing of cocoa beans8. Recent advances of cocoa conching9. Deshelling to Tempering: Process and Protocols10. Factors affecting the flavour of cocoa and cocoa products11. Development of cocoa products useful on chocolate processing12. Chocolate: Microstructure13. Quality and safety issues related to chocolate14. Health benefits of cocoa and chocolate-Clinical trials and outlookSection II. Cocoa based by-products15. Cocoa powders: Beyond chocolate16. Cocoa husk utilization17. Cocoa mucilaginous– Value Addition18. Cocoa bean shell