QI’ve been searching for Dutch-process cocoa. In the supermarkets, I just see Nestle and Hershey’s cocoa, neither of which says “Dutch” or “processed with alkali.”
ABefore we tackle where to find it, let’s explore what Dutch-process cocoa is. As with all forms of chocolate, we must start with the cacao bean.
Cacao beans are found inside big, football-shaped pods that hang from cacao trees. The beans are roasted and ground to make what the industry calls “chocolate liquor.” At room temperature, the liquor hardens and becomes what is sold as unsweetened chocolate.
Chocolate liquor has two principal components – cocoa solids and cocoa butter – and in 1828, a Dutchman named Coenraad Van Houten invented a method for separating the two. The newly independent cocoa solids also could be pulverized to make a fine powder with lots of chocolate flavor but little fat: cocoa powder.
Van Houten didn’t stop there. He also invented a process by which cocoa powder, which is naturally quite acidic, was treated with an alkaline to neutralize the flavor and deepen the color. In honor of its inventor, this method is known as the Dutch process, and cocoa treated this way is said to have been “Dutched.”
Before I started researching this column, I was under the impression that Dutch-process cocoa was a) more richly flavored than “natural” cocoa and b) more easily soluble in water. I know now that I was mistaken, and I credit these sources for opening my eyes: “Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales From a Life in Chocolate” by Alice Medrich (Artisan, 384 pp., $35) and two excellent Web sites: www.baking911.com and www.joyofbaking.com.
Treating cocoa with alkali does, indeed, deepen its color; it is usually a dark, reddish brown; whereas, natural cocoa can have a disconcertingly pallid appearance by comparison. However, the Dutching process can strip flavor nuances away with the acid it neutralizes. The resultant cocoa, while rich-looking, has less fruity oomph. Nor, writes Medrich, does Dutched cocoa dissolve any better in water.
So what is Dutched cocoa good for? Steel yourself for some chemistry: Most cake and some cookie recipes rely on chemical leaveners, baking powder and baking soda, to make them rise. In such cases, the pH (acidity level) of the batter really matters. Baking soda happens to be alkaline, and that’s why most recipes calling for it also call for natural cocoa – the alkaline in the former neutralizes the acid in the latter. Recipes using the neutral-pH baking powder, though, usually call for Dutched cocoa.
This is why cookbooks always advise you not to substitute one type of cocoa for the other. But, Medrich writes, “in recipes without leavenings, natural and Dutch-process cocoas can be substituted for one another.”
As our questioner noted, both Hershey’s and Nestle are natural cocoas, although Hershey’s also makes a “Special Dark” cocoa that has been Dutched.
Droste is probably the most widely available brand of Dutch-process cocoa. Other brands include Lindt, Valrhona and Bensdorp.
Penzeys Spices sells both Dutch-process and natural cocoas. They are of very high quality and have a higher fat content than most, which delivers even more flavor. Shop online at www.penzeys
.com, or call (800)741-7787.
