Other Chocolate

Other chocolate covers cacao sold in forms other than bars and filled pieces, such as cocoa powder, drinking chocolate, baking discs, and fruit or nuts coated in chocolate.

How to choose Other Chocolate

  • Unsweetened or mix. Plain cocoa powder holds no sugar, so the cook decides how sweet the cake or cup will be. A cocoa mix already has sugar blended in, so check the label to see whether it is meant for water or milk.
  • Natural or Dutch-process. Natural cocoa is acidic, around pH 5 to 6, and reddish brown. Dutch-process cocoa is treated with an alkali to a neutral pH near 7, which darkens it and softens the flavor.
  • Fat level. US rules call cocoa with at least 22 percent cacao fat breakfast cocoa. Plain cocoa holds 10 to 22 percent.

About Other Chocolate

Other chocolate means the forms of cacao sold outside the bar and the filled box, from the powder in a baking tin to the flakes stirred into hot milk. Most start from the same paste of ground cacao nibs.

Squeezed in a hydraulic press, that paste gives up much of its cocoa butter and leaves a dry cake that is milled into cocoa powder; ordinary cocoa still holds 10 to 22 percent fat. Cocoa butter is the costliest major ingredient in a chocolate recipe. Some makers also alkalize the nibs or the powder with an alkali such as potassium carbonate to change color and flavor.

Keep cocoa and drinking chocolate tightly closed in a cool, dry cupboard so they do not pick up damp. For a hot drink, whisk the powder or pieces into warm milk a little at a time to avoid lumps.

At a glance

Main types
Cocoa powder, drinking chocolate, baking discs, coated fruit
Made from
Cacao nibs, pressed cake, cocoa butter
Label terms
Natural, Dutch-process, alkalized, breakfast cocoa

Other Chocolate questions

What is the difference between hot cocoa and hot chocolate?

The names are often used as synonyms. Strictly, hot cocoa is made from cocoa powder, which has had most of its cocoa butter pressed out, so it needs a sweetener and hot milk or water. Hot chocolate, often sold as drinking chocolate, is made from melted or shaved chocolate, and the extra fat gives a smoother, thicker cup. Many mixes labeled hot chocolate are really cocoa, so check the ingredients.

Can natural and Dutch-process cocoa be swapped in a recipe?

Only with care, because of the leavening. Baking soda needs an acid to make a cake rise, and natural cocoa supplies it, while Dutch-process cocoa has been neutralized. To use natural cocoa in place of Dutch, keep the cocoa amount and replace the baking powder with half as much baking soda. Going the other way, drop the baking soda and use an equal amount to twice as much baking powder.

How long do cocoa powder and drinking chocolate keep?

Ohio State University Extension says plain cocoa powder keeps indefinitely in a dry cupboard. Cocoa mixes are better used within about 8 months, with the lid on tight. For drinking chocolate made from real chocolate, go by the date on the package; Ohio State gives dark chocolate about 2 years and milk chocolate about 6 months.

Sources: US standards for cacao products (21 CFR Part 163); Iowa State University Extension; International Cocoa Organization.

Shop by brand

Guides and recipes

Related categories