Understanding the Differences Among Cocoa Powders: Other Factors
This article is part of a series about the technology of cocoa powder. Find the links to the other articles at the bottom of the page.
In previous articles, we looked at how factors such as a cocoa powder's alkalinity or fat content affect the outcome of a recipe through its inherent properties and by reacting with other ingredients.
While alkalinity and fat content will have the biggest impact on your recipes, there's more to consider! Factors such as water absorption, fineness, and dispersibility can also have an impact on your final product.
Water Absorption
Cocoa powder competes with other ingredients in your recipe for water, and it's very good at it! While flour can absorb up to 40% of its weight in water, cocoa powder can absorb up to 100% of its own weight in water.
More cocoa powder absorbs more water. For example, as the cocoa powder in a madeleine recipe is increased, the texture of the final product becomes denser, less sweet, crumblier, and drier.
Highly alkalised cocoa powders absorb more water than natural cocoa powders, so you may find that achieving the right texture in your recipe is not necessarily a matter of reducing or increasing the amount of cocoa powder but choosing one with different properties.
Fineness
When the cocoa is ground (at either the cake or powder stage or both), it is possible to affect how fine the finished cocoa powder will be.
A high level of fineness is the most desirable. The finer a cocoa powder:
- The better the flavor release.
- The less sediment and “grittiness.”
- The darker and more consistent the color.
Dispersibility
Dispersibility is, effectively, how easily a cocoa powder dissolves in liquids.
Natural cocoa powders are less dispersible than alkalised powders. A higher pH improves the wettability of the cocoa powder, making it easier to blend with liquids.
A high fat content will also affect the dispersibility of a cocoa powder. Fat and water don’t mix! So, once again, you may find that achieving the results you want may simply be a matter of choosing a cocoa powder with the right properties.
To illustrate: Callebaut's Décor Cocoa Powder is ideal for garnishing products such as tiramisu. It will stay dry and attractive for far longer than other cocoa powders. Upon investigation, you may note that Décor Cocoa has a pH of 8.4 - on the high end for cocoa powders - and it should “melt” into the tiramisu very quickly. However, Décor Cocoa Powder’s high fat content helps it to stay dry and retain its appearance.
