Cocoa Powder and It's Uses
Cocoa Powder And It's Uses
Cocoa powder is a cupboard staple for bakers and kitchens everywhere. The simple functionality, delicious taste, and long shelf life, mean it's perfect for adding rich chocolate flavour to recipes. From Brownies to Milkshake and Ice Cream to Chilli, this is a highly versatile product that everyone knows.
With different varieties of powder on the market, we wanted to help you find the best one for your kitchen.
Cocoa versus Cacao
When looking at which product is best for you, it is important to know the difference between cocoa and cacao. While there seems to be some confusion between cocoa and cacao, there are some differences in the two types of products.
Cacao beans go through multiple processes before they are ready for consumption. First, workers ferment the cacao beans for several days before they dry them to give the beans their distinctive flavour. After drying, we reach the dividing point between our two products.
To make cocoa powder, the beans will be roasted and crushed to create chocolate liquor, a non-alcoholic product. The liquor is then pressed, to release the cocoa butter, before then being dried and ground to make the powder.
Cacao nibs and cacao powder do not go through the roasting process and are subject to less heat, with no other added products.
Another thing to note is that cocoa powder has lower fat and fewer calories, but a higher iron and fibre count. On the other hand, Cacao has more calories but is lower in carbs. This is because of the extra processing cocoa goes through.
The Health Benefits of Cocoa Powder
Cocoa is rich in polyphenols, a naturally occurring antioxidant linked to numerous health benefits. While Cacao has a higher percentage of antioxidants, there is still some in cocoa powder and dark chocolate.
These antioxidants can help improve cognitive function, reduce inflammation and strengthen bones among other benefits. Also, worth noting is that the more cocoa is processed, the less health benefits are gained. While cocoa powder may still lead to improvements, you are less likely to see these in chocolate bars.
Alkalized Cocoa Powder
Alkalized Cocoa Powder, also called Dutch processed, is cocoa powder that has an acidity regulator added. This helps to balance out the acidity in the cocoa powder, producing a mellower flavour and reddish brown colour. While there are different acidity regulator options, currently Potassium Carbonate seems to be the more popular option.
Cocoa Powder that has been alkalized has a more chocolatey appearance. It also dissolves more easily when combined with liquids for recipes. Whereas a non-alkalized cocoa powder will require more effort to fully incorporate it into milk etc.
Our Cocoa Powder
Here at JM Posner, we have three options of cocoa powder available for our customers. While all three are alkalized, they have varying fat contents and packing sizes.
Blanxart cocoa powder comes in 1kg or 5kg bags, with a 22-24% fat content. This higher fat content gives Blanxart a stronger chocolate flavour with a deeper colour. This higher fat also gives it a smoother mouthfeel, making it perfect for cakes, bakes, and truffles.
Our other cocoa powders are both 10-12% fat. The Eurocao is available in 5kg bags, and the PV3 is available as a 25kg. The lower fat content makes for a slightly lighter cocoa powder which is perfect for hot chocolate, and smoothies.
All our cocoa powders contain only two ingredients. A high cocoa content and potassium carbonate, which acts as an acidity regulator. So, our customers know they are getting an excellent quality product, with no added sugar or additives.
Cocoa Recipe Suggestions.
Cocoa powder is a highly versatile product that can be used in the production of many chocolate recipes. Unlike when using chocolate, you do not need to make as many adjustments to your recipes to allow for added fat, sugar or liquid.
Here are a few easy recipe suggestions using our unsweetened cocoa powder.
Using only a few simple ingredients, this chocolate fudge recipe creates a soft, creamy chocolate fudge.
With just 3 simple ingredients (plus marshmallows and whipped cream of course) you can make this super easy hot chocolate powder.
This quick dessert uses just a few ingredients but leaves a lasting impression.