Selection of cocoa powder
1. Look at the color of cocoa powder.
The color of natural cocoa powder should be light brown. For brown or even dark brown natural cocoa powder, cocoa skin or other food pigments must be added. The color of alkalized cocoa powder should be brownish red. If it is dark brown or brownish black, it must be caused by excessive alkalization and excessive ash content. The color of cocoa black powder should be dark brown to brownish black. If the color of cocoa powder is pure black or even dark black, it means that food pigment must be added to cocoa powder.
2. Identify the smell of cocoa powder
The smell of natural cocoa powder is a natural cocoa fragrance, which is a faint fragrance. For cocoa powder with strong aroma or burnt taste, it is of poor quality; The smell of alkalized cocoa powder should be normal, and its aroma is stronger than that of natural cocoa powder, but it is not without burnt taste. If the aroma of alkalized cocoa powder is too strong or burnt, it is of poor quality; The smell of cocoa black powder is similar to that of alkalized cocoa powder, because black powder is heavily alkalized in alkalized cocoa powder, and it is easy to have a burnt taste. Those without burnt taste are top grade, while those with burnt taste are poor.
3. Distinguish the 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.
4. Identify the fat content of cocoa powder.
Take a little cocoa powder and put it in the palm of your hand, and rub it with both hands. The one with high fat content will have obvious greasy feeling, but the one with low fat content will not be obvious. If the fat content is above 10%, this method will be very good. If the fat content is below 8%, there is basically no greasy feeling.