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Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

So, I used the method above and calculated the cocoa butter percentages for more than 300 bars... then I discovered that method was flawed, so I threw away all of that data. I had neglected the fact that the serving size was the total weight of cacao plus sugar plus any extra ingredients (vanilla and/or soy lecithin)

Here is the correct method:

1) Note the serving size (in g)

2) Calculate the amount of cacao per serving by using the cacao percentage. Keep in mind that the total serving size = cacao + sugar + (optional other ingredients, 1-2%).

The amount of cacao = serving size X cacao percentage (as a decimal number).

Ex- a 40 g serving X .75 = 30 g cacao.

3) Note the Total Fat (in g)

4) Divide Total Fat by Cacao Amount in step 2. This gives you a decimal. Then convert this decimal number to a percentage (i.e. 0.52 is 52%) and then you have the cocoa butter percentage.

An example, Fresco Dominican Republic 223, 72%:

1) Serving size = 45 g

2) Cacao percentage = .72

3) Weight of cacao = 45 x .72 = 32.4

4) Fat content = 16.2 g

5) 16.2/32.4 = .50, so 50% cocoa butter

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I wouldn't be surprised if makers add cocoa butter solely to appeal to a certain clientele, namely those who favor texture over flavor andto ease the transition into higher percentages for those folks who are just tooreticent of going that route. chocolate can have a fantastic texture withoutoverloading the fat content with cocoa butter or vegetable oils or other"texture-enhancers." Particle size achieved through the grinding andrefining has much to do with the finished texture. A rough estimate of 50% iseven easier to calculate. I forget which beans have more fat but I think it isforastero from Ghana.At least I remember that the butter content in those beans is supposed to beharder, which makes them more suitable for milk.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

"So why do think there's generally higher fat content in higher percentage bars? By adding extra cocoa butter the makers are decreasing their profit margin. It doesn't seem like it's for taste because IMO extra cocoa butter weakens the taste."

IMO, whether the cocoa butter is deodorized or not, I think each manufacturer uses whichever to achieve the flavor they wanted.

It may be true that cacao powder is more flavorful than cocoa butter, but I think chocolate is not just about "chocolatey" flavour burst.

The notes, the mouthfeel, and the aroma might be enhanced or muffled by the ingredient they use.

Too much cocoa powder might overpower the taste details and notes of flavor. That may be one of the reasons why they decided to use cocoa butter instead of powder.

CMIIW.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

"I wasn't arguing the amount or intensity of the flavor of a cocoa butter, just that cocoa butter has flavor."

Forgive me for misunderstanding, Clay, because I thought that was precisely what you meant when you said here that "If the cocoa butter is pressed from the same beans that the chocolate is made from and the butter is not deodorized then the flavor isn't diluted."

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Langdon:

I wasn't arguing the amount or intensity of the flavor of a cocoa butter, just that cocoa butter has flavor. I agree that the affect adding a deodorized cocoa butter has on the flavor of a chocolate depends on how "flavorful" the chocolate was to begin with and how much cocoa butter gets added.

You are right, few origin chocolate bars contain undeodorized cocoa butter made from the same beans as the liquor. The only origin chocolate maker in the US that I know of that has a butter press is Askinosie.

FWIW, it's my opinion that in order to be truly called a "single" origin chocolate it's necessary to use butter from beans of the same origin (deodorized or no), not butter from an unknown source. If the chocolate maker is making a single-plantation bar, then the butter needs to be from beans from the same plantation, not the same region or country, in order to be a "true" "single-origin."

:: Clay

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

"I was pointing out that cocoa butter does have flavor."

Even so, Clay, x amount of cocoa butter has much less flavour than the same amount of cocoa liquor. So it's fair to say, as Lowe did, that extra cocoa butter weakens the flavour.

In some bars, where only a small amount of cocoa butter is added, the weakening effect might be negligible, but in other bars (like Choklat 70%, for example, which contains 30% added cocoa butter) the effect is undoubtedly significant, whether the cocoa butter is deodorized or not.

Also, much chocolate is made with deodorized cocoa butter anyway - e.g. milk and white chocolates.

It also seems safe to assume that origin bars would often contain deodorized cocoa butter, too - because no serious chocolate maker would want the flavour of their "Chuao" (or whatever) beans competing with flavourful cocoa butter from a completely different origin (very few artisan manufacturers press their own cocoa butter).

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Langdon:

Technically true, Minifie et al and the USDA refer to the edible fat component. However,I am not aware of any commercially available cocoa butter that is not "contaminated" (in the sense that you use the word) by at least some amount of volatile aromatics. I was making the point with references to Lowe's impression that adding cocoa butter muted the flavor of chocolate - I was pointing out that cocoa butter does have flavor. I may not have chosen the clearest way to express that thought.

:: Clay

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Glad you found my reply useful.

I call the part of the cacao nib that isn't fat "non-fat cocoa solids", or NFCS for short.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Green & Black's White was a mistake that shouldn't have been in there. That was done early in my data collection process and has now been removed, as will any other White bars. White can't be included because of the other added fats. Thanks for pointing that out. Please let me know of any other discrepancies or errors.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

From Langdon "what exactly does "Percent" indicate? And how about "Cacao fat"?"

Percent = the percentage of all cacao that is printed on the label

Fat = from the nutrition facts. Calculated from Fat grams / serving size and changed from a decimal to a percentage. e.g.- 14 g fat in a 40 g serving = o.35 or 35% fat

I'll try to explain somewhere where these numbers come from. Thanks for the advice.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Langdon,

Thanks so much for that long and very informative reply.

What do you call the part of the cacao seed that isn't fat?

More to reply to, but I'll start with that.

Lowe

updated by @ChocoFiles: 09/08/15 00:33:53

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Lowe, in the linked thread about migraines, Clay said that "Cocoa butter has more than fat in it in the same way that butter has more than fat in it".

This is incorrect. Minifie, Beckett, and the USFDA all agree that the term "cocoa butter" means the _edible fat_ obtained from cocoa beans.

It might be difficult (or even practically impossible) to remove 100% of the non-fat compounds from cocoa butter, but that just means that your cocoa butter is "contaminated" with other compounds. It doesn't mean that cocoa butter isn't pure fat.

By contrast, "butter" in the more common sense of the word refers to a dairy product made from cream. The butter in my fridge is only 81% fat (most of the rest is water). Dairy butter also naturally contains a small percentage of protein and carbohydrates.

Also, Lowe, I've taken a look at the file on your website labelled "Cocoa Fat in Chocolate", and I have a couple of questions and suggestions.

First of all, it would be helpful for the columns to include clear unit measurements.

For example, what exactly does "Percent" indicate? And how about "Cacao fat"?

The lack of clear explanation of these terms makes the data confusing. For example, I don't know what you mean when you state that Green & Black's white chocolate is:

Percent: 30
Cacao fat: 47
Non-fat solids: 0

If the bar is 30% cocoa solids, and 100% of the cocoa solids is cocoa butter, then how did you arrive at the 47% figure? The only way that figure makes sense to me is if you've included milk fat in the "Cacao fat" column.

Also, you asked: "So why do think there's generally higher fat content in higher percentage bars? By adding extra cocoa butter the makers are decreasing their profit margin."

1. You can't simply assume that "higher fat" means "added cocoa butter" (for example, many bars also contain milk fat, and/or other vegetable fats, e.g. Green & Black's white chocolate, as mentioned above).

2. A bar with a higher percentage of cocoa solids would naturally contain a higher percentage of cocoa butter, if expressed as a _percentage of the total bar_ (this is because pure cocoa liquor is always roughly 55% cocoa butter - hence, the more cocoa liquor you use, the more cocoa butter comes along for the ride).

So, an 80% bar with no added cocoa butter would contain about 44% cocoa butter, while a 60% bar with no added cocoa butter would contain only about 33% cocoa butter.

3. Cocoa butter isn't necessarily a more expensive ingredient than cocoa liquor. For example, if you produce your own cocoa liquor on a relatively small scale from whole beans, you can probably purchase cocoa butter from a large manufacturer for a fraction of the price that it costs you to produce your own cocoa liquor.

4. A lot of people (women especially, I've noticed) prefer the taste and mouthfeel of chocolate with a generous amount of added cocoa butter - so it sells very well in certain demographics.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Is there anything other than fat in cocoa butter? Or is cocoa butter 100% fat?

Here's information I got from The Nibble : Cocoa butter is the natural vegetable fat present in the cacao bean... It solidifies into a yellowish-white fat, solid at room temperature." Is this completely accurate?

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I'm moving some info over from another thread because I think this is better home for it:

Lowe:

In my experience, the general practice seems to be that the higher the overall percentage, the higher the relative percentage of cocoa butter (without increasing the cocoa solids much).

[My guess on why they do this is it that this it's for economic reasons. That assumes that cocoa butter is cheaper than solids.]

Clay's reply:

Lowe:

Some terminology because I know you love this stuff.

What we think of as cocoa powder is what the industry technically calls "non-fat cocoa solids." Cocoa butter is also cocoa solids - so it's good to be careful in differentiating between the two when the goal is to be accurate and precise.

Cocoa powder almost always contains cocoa butter. A "high-fat" cocoa powder will consist of 20-24% fat by weight; a "low-fat" cocoa powder will consist of 10-12% fat by weight. It's really expensive (in part because it's time consuming) to go much lower than this. Cocoa powders making "non-fat" claims can do this because of labeling regulations that allow "non-fat" claims when the amount is below a certain threshold per serving (usually less than 1/2 gram).

FYI generally, cocoa butter is generally more expensive than cocoa powder- often much more expensive.

By Lowe:

Clay,

Thanks. Using the most precise language possible helps to avoid confusion, so I'm all for using the most accurate terms possible.

Unfortunately, many people aren't that precise or use terms in the wrong way. I think I took my use of these terms from an article in The Nibble : "Cocoa butter is the natural vegetable fat present in the cacao bean. Beans are approximately 52% cocoa butter by weight (the amount varies by the variety of cacao bean ); the rest is cocoa solids"

My line of inquiry started with wondering if there was any correlation between fat content and my enjoyment level (designated by my rating). Thus far I haven't really found out any such correlation, but I still want to differentiate them. So overall a cacao bean has fat and non-fat. I'm trying to be even more precise than cocoa powder since that also has some fat in it. For example, the Mast Bros and Rogue Piura bars that I'm currently reviewing only list cacao/cocoa beans and sugar as their only ingredients. What are the best terms for the 2 components of the beans? How about "cacao fat" or just "fat" for one? What is the other part? Solids, powder, liquor, or mass all seem problematic since they actually have some fat. Is there any term for the non-fat part? It sounds like "non-fat cocoa solids" may be the closest even if that contains some fat.

BTW, I've also been using "cocoa butter" as synonymous with "cacao fat" although I guess they're not really identical. I assume that all of the fat is in the cocoa butter, but that cocoa butter has more than just fat. Is that accurate?

Thanks for your patient help with splitting hairs in this minutia.

From Clay " FYI generally, cocoa butter is generally more expensive than cocoa powder- often much more expensive ."

So why do think there's generally higher fat content in higher percentage bars? By adding extra cocoa butter the makers are decreasing their profit margin. It doesn't seem like it's for taste because IMO extra cocoa butter weakens the taste. But maybe the makers just think most people couldn't handle that much "non-fat cocoa solids". What's your opinion?

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

JCandy et al,

I've attached a file with info I've collected on the percent of cocoa butter and cocoa solids for some of the bars I've reviewed. I also give my rating of my enjoyment of these bars. In general, the bars with a higher fat content were lower on my enjoyment scale.

(If you're curious, "Class Rating" refers to a system I devised to compare similar type chocolates. Some of my "Classes" are Darks: <59%. 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 100%, White, Milk, Mint, Spices, Spicy Hot, Nuts, Nibs, Orange, Other... I did this as a way to compare bars of a similar group such as "White". This allows me to know which bars I liked best in a certain group even if I don't particularly like that kind of chocolate. "White" is a good example because I don't particularly like White chocolate but there are some bars I gave a White class rating of 10 because if I have a whim for a White bar then that's one I enjoyed the most. I hope this makes sense.)

You can also find more of my review files at Choco Files .

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Well, I'm on a quest to find chocolate with high cocoa solids & low cocoa butter, then! I've seen that even among chocolates of the same "cocoa" percentages, the fat content can vary. So that would imply that "cocoa content" can refer to either solids or butter. My high-solids search continues! The proportion of cocoa butter in a chocolate is what determines it's fluidity when melted. This is important if the chocolate is to be used for dipping or molding, both of which require very fluid chocolate. It also effects the mouth-feel of the chocolate; low-fat chocolates tend to coat the mouth with a clingy residue. For a chocolate to go nice and fluid when it melts, it will have to have a cocoa butter percentage >38% (most fine covertures will be in the low 40's). the goal is to produce one of the edgier 85% cocoa chocolates, then the sugar would, of course , be only 15%. Here, a 40% cocoa butter content would result in a cocoa solids percentage of 45%, WAY too much. So the manufacturer will have no choice but to lower the solids and increase the butter, and he'll end up with something like 48% cocoa butter, 37% cocoa solids and 15% sugar. It will be very fluid and very expensive.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I was wondering how Domori does it?

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Cocoa butter is a favor carrier, on its own it is tasteless.

Cocoa butter is essential as an ingredient as far as encapsulating the non-soluble particles, with insufficient fat, chocolate will not melt smoothly in the mouth. The ideal amount of fat is thus dictated by the particle size, smaller sizes 15-18 microns will require more butter to encapsulate due to a larger surface area. Even smaller sizes don't make sense as our tongues cannot identify particles beyond this range, and the chocolate will feel muddy.

Cocoa butter is priced between premium beans and commodity-grade beans. So for premium chocolates, quantity of cocoa butter will tend to be at least sufficient because it reduces cost to use cocoa butter. For commodity chocolates, cocoa butter may be insufficient if the producer wants to cut costs.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Left this out: we use a dry-type bacterial incubator to approximate the temperatures in larger natural ferments... we incubate with different temperature curves but typically between 35 - 50 C.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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For small-scale ferments we've been using acrylic and polycarbonate cylinders with a perforated drainage plate and sweatings reservoir. We drop a disk of the same material into the cylinder to cap the fresh seed/pulp. I've experimented with inoculating using both yeasts and Acetobacter pasteurianus . With very small fermentations we've found that with no inoculation at all, it's a total crapshoot with regard to yeast/bacteria/mold competition... with the molds winning most of the time and ruining the entire mass. In contrast, too much yeast inoculant appears to completely inhibit the acetic phase, much to the detriment of the finished product. One of the signs of a complete ferment including Acetobacter spp. (besides the vinegar reek) is a rapid and easily observable reddish darkening of the pulp and seed coat.The harvest season in Hawaii is starting very soon, so there will be a lot more research regarding post-harvest handling and fermentation in Hawaii this winter.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Dan -Any photos of the equipment (vessels and incubator) you're using for the microferments? Also - are you "seeding" the piles with specific yeasts?:: Clay

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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The thought of single tree bars is mildly mind-numbing. How does one come across something so esoteric? Is this the ultimate frontier? Do the trees start getting names?In all seriousness, how different are the trees? I wonder whether they are different like children can be different. The appearances are rather distinct - are the flavors? This is very exciting...

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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Hey edward, i was just wondering how much nitrous oxide will you need to aerate a 1/3 bowl of chocolate? I think I would mix a layer of aerated choc with something else (biscuits/caramel..), for diversity's sake besides, you are absolutely right about the weight.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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im guessing this formula only applies to dark chocolate since milk has fat content as well

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Any fine bar out there now is going to have a fair bit of fat in it, regardless of whether they add separate cocoa butter. Often, it seems to me, extra cocoa butter seems to be for the smoothing of the texture (at best) or the dilution of unpleasant flavors (at the more "worst" end of the spectrum).Fortunately, chocolate can have a fantastic texture without overloading the fat content with cocoa butter or vegetable oils or other "texture-enhancers." Particle size achieved through the grinding and refining has much to do with the finished texture, and Domori has worked out how to have their chocolates feel like pure silk without refining them to death. Cluizel tends to be more on the VERY refined side, and I think some of the innate flavors suffer accordingly.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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Whatever is right or wrong with Lindt - their "Excellence" bars do have real vanilla - and a fair bit of it.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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If the density of the non-cocoa-butter solids and and cocoa butter is the same, that would mean there is about 10% (of the total weight of the bar) added cocoa butter (based on the normal just-over-50%-cocoa-butter percentage of the average bean). Since the densities of the cocoa butter and the remainder of cocoa solids are bound to be different, it seems worthwhile to compare that to a bar with no added cocoa butter like one from Domori or Patric.*pause to run to the kitchen**further pause to put the girls down*As it turns out, those bars don't have much by way of Nutrition Facts - guess where my priorities haven't been. Anyone know of a bar of chocolate with no added cocoa butter that has published Nutrition Facts? Also, with the number involved, I am guessing we won't get very accurate percentages.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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Dan, were these trees of the same genetic stock?

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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Are we not forgetting the natual fat in the liquor? Or should it be considered insignificant?

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I'm very interested in this. I and a Jamaican friend taught ourselves to ferment in Jamaica and dream of experimenting with fermenting and influence on flavor. I can only be there in August due to other job requirements, out of harvest season, so I don't get enough to experiment with from a single tree. I have worked with single farmers with very small cocoa walks and really see the difference in flavors from one farm to another. You mentioned having photos and I would love to see them.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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Winnowed nibs from three different trees on Oahu. All beans were fermented, dried, and roasted in the same manner and with the same conditions. Very different flavors when made into single tree chocolate bars.

updated by @Daniel O'Doherty: 09/08/15 17:47:01

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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Yes, anhydrous milk fat, or butter oil. The only other fat source allowed in chocolate standard of identity. Except for oil migration from nuts or nutpastes.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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AMF is an acronym for what? Anhydrous milk fat? Butter oil is also commonly used.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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Not all the fat in a chocolate bar, even dark chocolate, is always cocoa butter. Many makers use some added milk fat in the form of AMF. Although this will soften the snap a bit, it helps prevent fat bloom.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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It is quite amazing to see and taste the diversity of qualities when comparing single-tree nibs/chocolate (if anyone is interested, I have pix of side-by-side winnowed nibs from single tree ferments) .Yes, please.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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Sam -You are right, there is no "formal" definition of the term raw. Conventionally, the raw food movement uses a maximum temp of between 115-118 as the upper limit.Daniel -There is some variability in maximum pile fermentation temperatures and if I remember correctly Sam has written on this; max pile temps are between 115F (46C) and 125F (51C) depending on the source. So depending on the particulars of a specific fermentation process, the temps can stay below the magic 118F figure, be fully fermented, AND be "raw."However, during drying surface temperatures (e.g., concrete pad in the sun) can easily reach 140F (60C) and no-one really pays attention to what happens to temps during drying.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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Hi,I have a friend who is huge fan of such products and makes such chocolate himself; he uses the term "unroasted chocolate". I'm not sure that the term raw is always used correctly, especially with regard to "raw chocolate". Unless the beans used to make this "raw, unprocessed, organic..." chocolate are unfermented, it cannot formally be considered raw. Yes, they may not be cooked in the traditional sense, but the fermentation of cacao pulp causes the bean temperature to rise around 40 C and higher in some instances, and this is at or above the limit specified by many raw foodists.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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Hi Olorin!!!Think about it this way. The average person on the street, when asked to describe a bar of chocolate, tends to mention texture first and then flavor, which could be attributable to a number of things:a) cocoa butter's low melting point causes the texture to be noticed firstb) chocolate's flavor takes some time to fully develop, so to render a final opinion before the flavor develops is not really usefulc) natural preference towards fatty foodsYou can find your solution to visit... Chocolates

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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Dig math,explanation is insightful. Thanks for the post.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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hello all,This sounds a trifle complicated, but good to know. I personally prefer many other brands above Lindt, I find them a little dry. Has anyone tried the Bernard Callebaut chocolate?He makes it with the French traditional style and it is very good. I am not sure how much cocoa butter is in it, come to think of it.for fun and good taste too.... candy

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

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I've started a new Forum thread titled Deconstructing Cocoa Content to address the specific need for a page that members can link to and point others to visit to learn "the truth" about cocoa content.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hi, sorry. The way it appeared was : the original post and then a place to comment, and then all the comments... So my comment came last but was meant to refer to the original post. I would like to post information on the amounts and importance of cacao butter in my site because people are so confused about cocoa "solids", 60% is thought by some of my customers to have more cocoa butter than 70% because "70% has more cocoa solids"... I would love to add links to anone's site on my link page also. Sorry if this is a confused mess- I am rushing!!link's on my homepage.Thanks.