Frequently
asked questions for baking cocoa:
Question: What is Dutched cocoa?
Answer: There are two types of baking cocoa; natural
and Dutched. SACO's Premium Cocoa is a blend of natural and
Dutched cocoa. Dutched cocoa is European, and is the finest
cocoa you can get. It increases the quality of the color, flavor,
and texture of your baked goods. The acidity level in cocoa
is based on a scale of 0 to 14 (0 being acidic, and 14 being
less acidic, or alkali). A totally Dutched cocoa comes in at
a level of about 7.5 on this scale. The problem with a fully
Dutched cocoa is that most American recipes are based on using
a natural cocoa, with a higher acidity level. The acidity in
the natural cocoa (which scales in at about 5.8) contributes
to the leavening of the baked product. If using a fully Dutched
cocoa in these recipes, the acidity level may not be high enough
to provide proper leavening. We blend the two cocoas to have
the best of both worlds. We use enough Dutched cocoa to create
the color, flavor, and texture advantage, but blend in enough
natural cocoa to bring the acidity level back up to where it
will work properly in all recipes (ours scales in at a level
of about 6.4). In fact, since SACO Premium Cocoa is a blend,
it can be used even in recipes calling for a fully Dutched cocoa.
See scale below.
Dutched
cocoa can be made by 3 different processes. It can involve
soaking the actual cacao beans in potassium carbonate to bring
up the alkalinity, it can involve soaking the liqueur from
the beans to increase the alkalinity, or it can involve soaking
the cocoa powder itself to increase the alkalinity. All three
methods are effective. Generally, the percentage of potassium
carbonate used in the Dutching process is a maximum of 1.5%
of the amount of cocoa being Dutched.
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Question: What is the shelf life of SACO
Premium Cocoa?
Answer: The shelf life of our Premium Cocoa is indefinite.
If kept where the powder has a lot of heat and moisture exposure,
it may become very lumpy over time, but this does not affect
it's performance. The lumps may be sifted or mashed to break
them up.
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