Cocoa butter

Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow fat taken from cocoa beans (Theobroma cacao). It is a key part of making chocolate. It is also used in some ointments, toiletries, and medicines. Cocoa butter has a nice cocoa flavor and smell.

One interesting thing about cocoa butter is that it melts just below the temperature of human skin. This is why chocolate feels good when it melts in your mouth. Unlike regular butter, cocoa butter does not come from animals. This makes it suitable for people who follow a vegan diet. It is a very important ingredient in chocolate and many sweet treats.

Extraction and composition

To make chocolate, cocoa beans are first fermented and dried. Then, the beans are roasted and separated from their shells to make cocoa nibs. About half of these nibs is cocoa butter. The nibs are ground into a paste called cocoa mass, or chocolate liquor. This mixture is pressed to separate the cocoa butter from the solids. Sometimes, cocoa butter is treated to remove strong flavors.

Cocoa butter is made mostly of fats and also contains oleic acid. It has very little caffeine and theobromine, unlike the solids from cocoa.

Adulterants and substitutes

Some food makers use cheaper materials instead of real cocoa butter. There are ways to test if cocoa butter has been mixed with other fats. Mixed cocoa butter looks lighter in color and does not glow as much under ultraviolet light. Unlike real cocoa butter, these mixes can spread easily.

Because cocoa butter is expensive, other oils have been made to replace it. In the United States, only 100% cocoa butter can be used in products called chocolate. In the EU, other fats can make up only 5% of the total fat.

Substitutes include: coconut, palm, soybean, rapeseed, cottonseed and illipe oils; and shea butter, mango kernel fat and a mix of mango kernel fat and palm oil, and PGPR.

Uses

Cocoa butter is a main part of most chocolates, like white, milk, and couverture chocolate. It is the most common use for cocoa butter.

It is also used by medicine makers because it stays solid at room temperature but melts when it touches your skin. This makes it good for some medical treatments. In skin care, cocoa butter is liked for feeling soft, smelling nice, and helping keep skin smooth. It helps keep products like soaps and lotions fresh for two to five years.

History

The use of cocoa dates back to the Aztecs and the ancient Mayans.

People first made cocoa butter by boiling cocoa with water and collecting the fat that floated on top. In the 1700s, special presses were used to make cocoa butter, with the Van Houten press becoming popular in the 1800s. At first, cocoa butter was used in creams and medicines. Later, it became a key part of making chocolate treats.

Physical properties

Cocoa butter melts at about 34–38 °C (93–100 °F), which is why chocolate stays solid at room temperature but melts easily in your mouth. It can form different crystal shapes. Workers aim for the most stable shape to give chocolate its smooth texture and nice snap. This process is called chocolate tempering. If chocolate melts and then hardens without this process, it can develop white patches known as chocolate bloom.

Cocoa butter from different places can change how chocolate turns out. Cocoa butter from Malaysia and Indonesia makes chocolate that hardens faster, while cocoa butter from Brazil makes softer chocolate. Cocoa butter from West Africa is in between.