Why Is Ground Cacao Your Pantry's New Best Friend
Many bakers and chocolatiers still are not familiar with GROUND CACAO and what a powerhouse it is when it comes to nutrition, flavor and cooking/baking use. So here’s a comparison between traditional cocoa powder and the whole cacao bean-derived GROUND CACAO.
See below the tables.
| GROUND CACAO | COCOA POWDER |
| Minimally Processed | Medium to Highly processed |
| 1. Known health drink even without milk or other ingredients because of cacao’s long history of building stamina, improving mood, acts as superfood, and as an aphrodisiac. |
1. Primarily to give flavor and color for cooking, baking and confections. |
| 2. When a flavorful superfood is required in food preparation, it is the choice of Vegans and health-buffs for cooking and baking. | 2. Not the ingredient of choice for those looking for nutrition |
| 3. Gives strong chocolatey flavor and moisture to baking without adding additional oil. | 3. It is the main ingredient to the commercial “Chocolate Compound” which is just cocoa powder, vegetable oil (palm oil), sugar, vanillin and stabilizers. |
| NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS | |
| Contains antioxidants (flavonols) that neutralizes and removes free radicals in the bloodstream. | Many cocoa powders in the market use the Dutch Method that uses potassium carbonate solution to neutralized pH Acidity. [5] In a publication made by the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, evidence from the literature indicates that natural cocoas are high in flavanols, but when the cocoa is processed with alkali, also known as Dutch processing or Dutching, the flavanols are substantially reduced. [6] |
| High in fiber and minerals that helps in lowering cholesterol and an excellent source of magnesium, iron, copper, potassium, and zinc. [2] | Little research has been done on the stability of vitamins and minerals of cocoa powder. But it is possible that some vitamins and minerals that undergo high temperature processing can decrease the nutritional value of the beans. [7] |
| Promotes weight loss. Since Cacao has lots of fiber, it can make you feel fuller. | Does not promote weight loss because it has little fiber content. |
| Improves mood [3]. Studies have shown that its flavonols helps combat depression and it also promotes aphrodisiac effects. | |
| Improves skin [4] boosts skin by improving blood flow, skin density and hydration. | Highly processed, contains artificial flavorings and dyes that may influence hyperactivity in children [9] and some can cause hypersensitivity reactions to individuals. |