Cocoa powder is cocoa beans (seeds) taken from pods (fruits) produced by cocoa trees, cocoa bean fragments (commonly known as cocoa cakes) obtained by fermentation, coarse crushing, peeling and other processes, and the powder obtained by defatting and crushing cocoa cakes is cocoa powder.

Cocoa powder is also a cocoa product obtained by direct processing of cocoa beans. Cocoa cake is obtained after part of cocoa butter is removed from cocoa liquid block by pressing, and the brownish red powder obtained after crushing and screening is cocoa powder.

Cocoa powder is divided into high, medium and low fat cocoa powder according to its fat content; According to different processing methods, it can be divided into natural powder and alkaline powder. Cocoa powder of various specifications, ranging in color from light brown to deep red. Cocoa powder has a strong cocoa aroma and is directly used in the production of chocolate and beverages.

The necessary material for making chocolate cake is pure cocoa powder without adding other materials. Generally, beverage granules with sugar and milk powder are sold in supermarkets, which are not suitable for use.

When making chocolate cake, 30 grams of cocoa powder is usually added to a cake with a weight of two pounds. Because cocoa powder is acidic, it will make the cake sour when used in large quantities, so a small amount of baking soda can be used as a neutralizer to neutralize its acidity and deepen the color of chocolate cake.

Discrimination of fineness of cocoa powder;

The fineness of cocoa powder is very important for the production of chocolate. The chocolate produced by cocoa powder with substandard fineness has a poor taste and a rough feeling. To distinguish the fineness, a small amount of cocoa powder is usually placed on white paper, gently folded and wiped by hand. Powder with fineness above 99 will be evenly distributed on the paper, while powder with fineness less than 99 will have a poor feeling and uneven distribution.

There is another way to better confirm the fineness of cocoa powder, that is, after taking some cocoa powder and mixing it with boiling water, some cocoa powder will precipitate to the bottom of the cup when the water cools. At this time, pour out the water above, take out the sediment below and put it on paper, and gently wipe it with your hands.

When the water dries, the powder with fineness above 99 will not agglomerate and be evenly distributed, while the powder with fineness less than 99 will be granular and unevenly distributed.

Reference to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Cocoa Powder