Dutch cocoa is cocoa powder treated with an alkali to neutralize natural acids, making it more soluble and milder in flavor. It cannot be used as a substitute for unprocessed cocoa in recipes that call for baking soda. The process was developed in 1828 by Coenraad Johanness van Houten, who also developed a hydraulic press for separating cocoa solids and cocoa butter. However, Dutch cocoa loses some of the natural antioxidants found in unprocessed cocoa during processing.
Dutch cocoa is a type of cocoa powder that has been treated with an alkali to neutralize the natural acids found in the cocoa powder. Dutch cocoa is also sometimes referred to as Dutch cocoa, as the manufacturing process of Dutch cocoa is known as “Dutch”. Many markets carry Dutch cocoa alongside unprocessed forms of cocoa powder, and it’s important to pay attention to the type of cocoa a recipe calls for.
The Dutch cocoa production process was developed in 1828 by Coenraad Johanness van Houten, the same man who developed a hydraulic press to separate cocoa solids and cocoa butter. The development of the hydraulic press revolutionized chocolate manufacturing, allowing chocolate companies to melt various amounts of cocoa butter and cocoa solids to create things like eating chocolate. This Dutch inventor realized that the fundamental character of cocoa changed in several ways when an alkali was made, and the resulting cocoa could be used to make chocolate or sold as cocoa for drinking and baking.
In addition to reducing the acidity of the cocoa, the hollandaise also makes it much more soluble which is a big plus for cooks. Also, Dutch cocoa tends to be much darker in color, with a milder flavor. A famous brand of Dutch cocoa is Droste, although many other producers produce their own versions and, in any case, their products have a delicate and distinctive flavor that some people really like.
Because Dutch cocoa has been neutralized, it will not react with baking soda in recipes. As a result, when used in place of unprocessed cocoa in a recipe, the recipe will not form as expected and the resulting product may be flat or very dry. If a recipe doesn’t specify what type of cocoa should be used, look for other acidic ingredients; if there are no other sources of acidity, the recipe calls for unprocessed cocoa.
There is one distinct downside to Dutch cocoa. When cocoa is processed, it loses some of the chemical compounds that are held in unprocessed cocoa, including some of the natural antioxidants found in chocolate. As a result, the already questionable health benefits of chocolate are rendered virtually non-existent. Some people also prefer the richer, darker flavor of the less heavily processed cocoa and work around the solubility issue by dissolving it in hot water or alcohol before using it.
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