Résumé
Cocoa flavor is the most important organoleptic property according to chocolate consumers. Côte d'Ivoire, the world leader of cocoa production is unfortunately con fronted to the marked aromatic quality of its cocoa. In the context of improving the quality of the Ivorian raw coco a, this study aimed to determine the conditions for the formation of aromatic compounds in order to control the cocoa aromatic properties. Thus, we studied the way the different yeast strains involved in the fermentation step contributed to the formation of aromatic profile of cocoa beans from Ivory Coast. For this purpos e, 12 different methods of post - harvest processing were carried out. The yeasts were selectively isolated and identified from the cocoa pulp samples after 24 and 48 hours fermentation. Using SPME-GC-MS analysis, the aromatic production potential of the isolated yeast strains was determined. The aroma precursor compounds were also investigated in the fermented and dried cocoa beans at the end of the fermentation. The aromatic compounds produced by each yeast strain were compared to those detected in the corresponding cocoa samples. This allowed to evaluate the contribution of each yeast strain in the formation of Ivorian cocoa aromatic profile and will be useful to help to the control of cocoa aromatic quality using selected yeast strains. (Résumé d'auteur)