Chocolate powder

In the late 18th century French and Dutch processors experimented with chocolate liquid. This led to the production of chocolate powder, which then led to the production of the first solid chocolate.

Chocolate powder is originally from cocoa and is processed with other ingredients; in contrary, cocoa powder is more pure and natural form of chocolate, with no other ingredients added.

Cocoa Powder is a product obtained by grinding roasted cocoa beans to an oily liquid, pressing this in a cocoa butter press, to remove about half cocoa butter and then grinding the residual press cake to a powder. Chocolate powder is a blend of true cocoa powder, sugar and starch.

Modern beverage drink, prepared from the chocolate powder and made in similar manner to the cocoa drink, by adding hot water or milk. Properties of chocolate powder such as solubility and dispersibility are important factors for the quality and consequently, consumer acceptance of the final powdered beverage.

Flavor is important in the admissibility of cacao beans and cocoa products, including chocolate, consequently contributing to defining the quality of the products. The special flavors of cacao beans are because of the rich volatile fractions composed of a mixture consisting of hundreds of compounds.

Chocolate powders are particularly suitable for use in dairies. They are mainly used in chocolate-flavored milk drinks, followed by yogurts, milk-based desserts, custards, chocolate mousses and many other products.
Chocolate powder

Low fat cocoa powder

Cocoa powder is the partially dry substance that remains after separating cocoa butter from the cocoa mass. According to the cocoa fat content, the product is divided into high fat cocoa powder, medium fat cocoa powder and low fat cocoa powder.

Low fat cocoa conforms to the definition of breakfast coca except that it contains less than 10% cocoa butter which represents a good compromise between pressing time and fat removal.

Control of fat content in this operation is carried out automatically by weighing the expressed butter and continuing the pressing until the target fat weight is achieved.

The alkalizing process of cocoa powder creates many different colors. The food industry uses mostly low fat cocoa powder in a wide range of colors. Low fat cocoa powder are used for flavoring in cakes, biscuits, ice cream and chocolate flavored products in which other vegetable fats are used in place of cocoa butter.
Low fat cocoa powder

What is cocoa powder?

Cocoa was introduced to Europe by Spanish conquerors in the 16th century and quickly became popular as a health-promoting medicine.

Cocoa powder is made from cocoa beans, which come from the plant Theobroma cacao L. The beans are harvested, fermented, and dried. These must be roasted and ground into a fine powder. Cocoa powder is an unsweetened chocolate product, adds deep chocolate flavor to desserts and beverages.

Cocoa powder occurs when the fat, called cocoa butter, gets removed from the cacao beans during processing. The leftover dried solids get ground into the product sold as cocoa powder.

There are two types of cocoa powder: Natural cocoa powder and Dutch-process cocoa powder. Generally light brown in color, natural cocoa is acidic (with a pH around 5) and tends to be fruitier and more intensely flavored than Dutch-process cocoa. Dutch-processed cocoa has been treated with an alkaline solution to neutralize the cocoa’s acidity, which bumps up the pH to between 6.8 to 8.1. This results in mellowing out any sharp notes in flavor and a darker color.

Cocoa powder adds intense flavor to chocoholic recipes such as fudge or flourless chocolate cake, but it can also be used as a subtle coating on chocolate truffles or a light chocolate booster for quick breads and muffins.

Cocoa powder is rich in polyphenols have been linked to numerous health benefits, including reduced inflammation, better blood flow, lower blood pressure and improved cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Research suggests that adding more cocoa powder to human diet helps to improve his attention, working memory, and general cognition. It may also restore cognitive performance in people with sleep loss.
What is cocoa powder?

Cocoa powder extender

During 1977, the world produce of cacao beans rose to record heights reaching approximately three times the price prevailing three years earlier.

Ingredient cost consideration and limited availability of cocoa beans has generated interest in cocoa powder extenders and replacers. Cocoa powder extender is similar to cocoa powder in appearance and taste. The extenders are often used in chocolate, biscuit, confectionary etc.

Blends of spray-dried malted barley and roasted barley or other roasted grains are used in some cases at a rate of 35-50% as a replacement for cocoa powders.

The roasted seeds of the locust bean pod, which when pulverized, can be used as an extender to chocolate or cocoa.
Cocoa powder extender

Class of cocoa powder: medium fat cocoa

Cocoa cake and cocoa butter are separated from the hot chocolate liquor by hydraulic pressing. The cocoa butter flows out leaving the cocoa cake.

The cocoa cake will generally have a fat content ranging from 10 to 24%.

Cocoa is a medium fat coca conforms to the definitions of breakfast cocoa except that it contains less than 22% but more that 10 % cocoa butter.

Approximately 95% of the coca powders on the market today are the medium fat variety.

This type of cocoa powder normally used to flavor milk drinks, candy, baked goods, ice cream, syrups and pharmaceuticals.
Class of cocoa powder: medium fat cocoa

Characteristics of natural cocoa powder

Cocoa powder is produced by grinding cocoa cake. Cocoa cake warm from the press breaks easily into large chunks but is difficult to grind into a fine powder.

There are two types of cocoa powder: alkalized and non-alkalized. Cocoa powders not treated with alkali are known as cocoa or natural cocoa.

The pH and color of cocoa powders are important characteristics and can vary significantly depending on the source of cocoa beans and how they are processed.

Natural coca powders have powder pH and a characteristics light brown color.

Light brown natural powders ranged from pH 5.4 – 5.8. It is bitter and has an intense flavor, does not mixed easily into liquid but thickens liquids.

When natural cocoa is combined with baking soda it creates a leavening action during cooking.
Characteristics of natural cocoa powder

Characteristics of good cocoa powder

Cocoa powder is produced from liquor by removing some of the fat. This is carried out by hydraulic pressing of the liquor.

Cocoa powder can be described as the finely ground particles obtained from the mechanical disintegration of cocoa press cake containing not more than 9% water and not less than 20% cocoa butter calculated on the dry matter.

There are several physical properties of cocoa powder that are important to both the consumer and food manufacturers.

The fineness of the cocoa powder is determined by a combination of factors, such as the fineness of the liquor, type of alkalization and the final grinding step.

Cocoa powder contains fat ranging from 10 - 12% towards 22 - 24%.

The pH and color of cocoa powders are important characteristics and can vary significantly depending on the source of cocoa beans and how they are processed,

Natural cocoa powders have a lower pH and a characteristics light brown color while alkalized cocoa powders have higher pH and darker colors that range from dark brown to brownish red to dark red to black.

The flavor of cocoa powder is depending on alkalization and roasting condition, customized flavors can be developed. When needed flavors for example vanillin can be added.
Characteristics of good cocoa powder

About Cocoa Powder

About Cocoa Powder
Cocoa powder is a valuable flavoring material in baked goods and desserts as well as the basis of hot chocolate drinks.

Like chocolate, cocoa powder is made from cocoa beans that have processed into a paste known as chocolate liquor. Using a hydraulic press, produces remove between 50 and 75 percent of the cocoa butter from the chocolate liquor and then pulverize the remaining solids to make cocoa.

The commercial powder varies in color and flavor, dependent upon the quality the beans used, the degree of roasting and precise method.

The good quality cocoa powder has the following characteristics:
*PH: 5.6 to 7,.1 dependent upon whether or not the cocoa beans were processed with alkali.
*Fat: about 24% and not less than 22%
*Moisture: 3-4%

The cocoa powder is made into a drink and can be added to milk, cakes and ice cream. The beans contain the stimulant alkaloid, theobromine (about 2.5 percent) and about 0.8 percent caffeine, but these quantities are reduced after processing.

Cocoa differs from the other common beverages (coffee and tea) in that it has a marked nutritional composition, for example cocoa powder contains about 25 percent fat (saturated), 16 percent protein and 12 percent carbohydrate (about half are sugars).

There are two types of coca powder, natural and Dutch processed.

Natural cocoa powder tends to be acidic and in many cases, harsh because inferior quality cocoa beans are often used to produce it.

Adding alkali to natural cocoa powder mellows its flavor and darkens its color. The process adding alkali to cocoa powder was discovered in the early nineteenth century by Coenraad Van Houten, who was Dutch: that’s the reason this type of coca is known as Dutch processed cocoa powder.
About Cocoa Powder