Cocoa powder

Cocoa powder is the cocoa beans (seeds) taken out from the bean puff (fruit) of the cocoa tree, and the cocoa bean fragments (commonly known as cocoa cake) obtained through fermentation, coarse crushing, peeling and other processes, and the powder crushed by the defatted cocoa cake, i.e. cocoa powder.

Cocoa powder is divided into high, medium and low-fat cocoa powder according to its fat content; it is divided into natural powder and alkalized powder according to different processing methods; it is divided into West African cocoa powder and Indonesian cocoa powder according to its origin.

At present, the production of cocoa powder in Ivory Coast accounts for 40% of the world, and its neighboring countries Ghana cocoa powder production accounted for 30% of the proportion.

Cocoa powder has a strong cocoa aroma, can be used in high-grade chocolate, ice cream, candy, pastry and other foods containing cocoa.

Effects of cocoa powder

The alkaloids in natural cocoa powder have the ability to fortify the stomach, stimulate gastric secretion, promote protein digestion, and reduce nutritional diarrhea that antibiotics can’t solve.

Scientists say that more and more research results show that the chemical ingredients in cocoa powder can be effective in treating heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and vascular diseases. What benefits the body in cocoa powder is a phytochemical called flavanols, which are also found in red wine and black tea.

Nutritional value of cocoa powder

1. During the extrusion process, some of the fat is removed from the cocoa puree, leaving a solid ingredient called cocoa butter cake, which is milled to form cocoa powder. Cocoa butter is the natural fat found in cocoa beans and it does not raise blood cholesterol. Studies have shown that cocoa butter, despite its high saturated fat content, does not raise blood cholesterol as much as other saturated fats. This is because of its high stearic acid content. Stearic acid is one of the main fatty acids in cocoa butter and it can lower blood cholesterol.

2. Cocoa powder contains vitamin B2, and potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron and other elements, can have more to promote the muscles and the body’s reflex system, can be cleansing and detoxification, strengthen the fat burning, and stimulate blood circulation, to achieve weight loss effect.

3. The American Medical Association is currently in Germany on the two cocoa powder and chocolate, the results of the study show that cocoa powder and chocolate products in the flavanol on vascular health has a beneficial effect.

How to identify the good and bad cocoa powder
Look at the color
The color of natural cocoa powder should be light brown, showing brown or even dark brown natural cocoa powder is definitely added food coloring; alkalized cocoa powder color should be brownish red, if it is dark brown or brownish black, it must be alkalized too much, too much ash content.

Smell
The smell of natural cocoa powder is the natural cocoa flavor, is a light fragrance, those who smell a strong aroma or burnt taste is poor quality; alkalized cocoa powder should be the normal smell of cocoa, the aroma is stronger than the natural cocoa powder, but there is no burnt taste.

Identification of fineness
The fineness of cocoa powder is very important for the production of chocolate, the fineness of substandard cocoa powder produces poor chocolate taste, there will be roughness. Take a small amount of cocoa powder on white paper, gently fold and wipe with your hand, the fineness of 99 or more powder will be very evenly distributed on the paper, while the fineness of less than 99 will have a sense of difference, uneven distribution.

Identification of fat content
You can put the cocoa powder in your palm and rub it, if your palm is dry, it means that the fat content is low, if there is an obvious greasy feeling, it means that the fat content is high.

How to use cocoa powder

Since natural cocoa powder is acidic, if the recipe quantity is large, you can use a small amount of baking soda to neutralize its acidity, so that the cake will not have a sour taste and the color of the chocolate will be more beautiful.

❶ In desserts that generally need loose hair, such as chiffon, sponge and other cocoa cakes, it is best to use natural cocoa powder + baking soda, so that the alkaline nature of baking soda and the acidity of natural cocoa powder are neutralized, and its foaming effect makes the cake fluffy.

❷ Baking soda is not necessarily added when making treats that do not require foaming, such as truffles, cookies, toppings, desserts, and pie crusts. Some chocolate hot drink mixes add alkalized cocoa powder.

❸ When baking soda is in the recipe, do not use alkalized cocoa powder, otherwise it will produce too much alkali in the batter, which will not only affect the cake swelling, but also have a strange soap-like smell.