Cocoa is one of the local potential in Lampung. The skin of the cocoa is usually only used as waste and is not utilized. Lampung has a quite high cocoa potential and is a very good resource to develop. The highest percentage of cocoa waste is the cocoa skin with a percentage of around 70%. Product innovation from cocoa skin is carried out as a form of product development and to add value. The village of Pekondoh is one of the villages in Lampung province which has quite high cocoa potential and will certainly produce quite a lot of cocoa skin waste.
The Lecturers and Students of the Study Program Food Technology, Institut Teknologi Sumatera (ITERA) captured the existing potential and developed cocoa skin into a food product, namely cookies and crackers. This activity was carried out as community service which received a positive response from the Village Head. The activity was carried out on August 24, 2023 in Pekondoh Village. Mr. Firli, who was the Village Head, was very appreciative and welcomed this activity. The participants in the activity were around 30 people who were cadres’ wives from Pekondoh Village. The activity was opened with a speech from the Coordinator of the Study Program Food Technology ITERA, namely Amalia Wahyuningtyas, S.Si., M.Sc.
“The scope of the Study Program Food Technology covers the science of Engineering and Food Processing which focuses on product development, one of which is this activity, namely product development that was previously only waste became a food product. The products developed by us are also quite a lot, namely these cocoa skin cookies and crackers. Before being presented to the community, we also did trial and error so that this product could be accepted sensorially”, said Lecturer Amalia.
The next activity was filled with workshop which was presented by one of the Food Technology lecturers with the expertise in Engineering and Food Processing, namely Muhammad Rizky Ramanda, S.TP., M.TP. In the material presented, it was stated that the bitter taste of cocoa skin was caused by tannins and could be reduced by several processing steps, namely boiling, steaming, and fermentation. The next activity was filled with the practice of making cookies and cocoa skin crackers. The product making practice began with an explanation of the raw materials and additional ingredients used, then continued with the stages of product making. The participants’ wives were also directly involved in the process. The participants were very enthusiastic about this activity.
The Lecturers of the Study Program Food Technology, Institut Teknologi Sumatera (ITERA) expected the Pekondoh Village to develop the business of cocoa skin processing products. These products are expected to become a characteristic product of Lampung which can be developed and marketed widely (AMW/MNU).
