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Both natural and Dutch-process cocoa powders come from the same cacao beans. However, depending on the way these are produced, these cocoa powders possess different flavors, textures, colors, and chemical properties when used in baking.
Natural cocoa powder is made by roasting, pressing, and grinding cocoa beans. The formation of Dutch-processed cocoa powder involves an additional alkalization step to reduce the powder’s acidity and enhance its culinary uses.
This blog throws some light on natural vs alkalized cocoa powder (Dutch processed), highlighting their key features and main differences, so keep on reading till the end.
Key Takeaways
Natural cocoa powder is made by pressing roasted cocoa beans. The processing removes cocoa butter, and the remaining substance is ground into a fine powder.
Dutch-process cocoa powder is treated with an alkalizing agent, typically potassium carbonate, to neutralize its acidity. This process was invented by Coenraad Johannes van Houten in 1828.
Natural cocoa powder has a light brown color, a sharp and acidic flavor, and 5 to 5.8 pH.
Dutch-process cocoa powder has a dark brown color, milder flavor, and a 6.8 to 7.1 pH.
Natural cocoa powder is used in classic American baking recipes, while Dutch-processed cocoa is used in European-style cakes and dark brownies.
Comparison Between Natural vs Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder
The following is a detailed comparison between natural and Dutch-processed cocoa powder to help you understand what sets these apart.
| Natural Cocoa Powder | Dutch Process Cocoa Powder |
| Its creation involves the grinding of cocoa liquor without alkalization. | It involves alkalization of cocoa liquor with potassium carbonate to neutralize acidity. |
| It has a light to medium brown hue. | Its color ranges from dark brown to deep reddish brown. |
| It has a sharp, acidic, bold flavor with fruity notes. | It has a smooth, earthy, mild, and less acidic flavor. |
| It is less soluble in liquids. | It is highly soluble in liquids. |
| It works well in recipes that use baking soda. | It works well in recipes that use baking powder. |
| Produces treats with a light color and dense texture. | Produces baked goods with dark colors and tender textures. |
| Its pH is 6, making it more acidic. | It has a neutral or slightly alkaline pH of about 7-8. |
Here is what this blog contains.
What is Natural Cocoa Powder?
What is Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder?
Dutch-process Vs Natural Cocoa Powder: What’s the Difference?
Tips for Substitution
Natural or regular cocoa powder comes from the roasting, pressing, and grinding of raw cocoa beans. This type of cocoa powder is minimally processed, which leads to the retention of the cacao bean’s original flavor and acidity.
Key Features
It is more acidic with a pH of 5-6.
It has a bright, bold, and sharp chocolaty flavor with acidic notes.
It comes in a light brown color.
It is often simply referred to as cocoa powder.
It reacts well with baking soda in recipes where you need to create a lift.
How is it made?
Here is a brief overview of how the natural cocoa powder is made.
The first step is the harvesting of cacao pods. After harvesting, cacao beans and fruity pulps are separated and then placed in shallow boxes for 3-7 days for fermentation.
This process reduces bitterness and develops the chocolaty flavor of the cocoa.
Then the beans are dried in the sun.
The dried beans are roasted, which loosens their shells.
Then the shells are removed, leaving behind cacao nibs, which are ground into a thick paste called the cocoa liquor.
The liquor is pressed to remove the cocoa butter and obtain a crumbly cake made up of cocoa solids.
This cake is finely ground, giving you the natural cocoa powder.
This same approach is used to produce bulk cocoa powder all over the world.
In this case, cocoa is treated with an alkalizing agent, usually potassium carbonate. This is done to neutralize the acidity of cocoa powder, which transforms the chemistry, flavor, and health benefits of pure cocoa powder. The resulting cocoa powder is darker and less acidic.
Key Features
It is neutral or slightly alkaline with a pH of 7-8.
It has a less bitter, smooth, and mellow chocolaty flavor.
It comes in dark brown to black colors, depending on the extent of alkalization.
It is often labeled as a European-style or alkalized cocoa powder.
How is it made?
Dutch-process cocoa powder goes through similar initial steps, including harvesting, fermentation, drying, roasting, grinding, and pressing. However, there is one additional stage involved, i.e., alkalization.
The cocoa nibs or the liquor are treated with an alkaline solution of potassium carbonate. It can be done by soaking these in the solution or by steam treating with it.
This treatment raises the pH of the cocoa to about 7-8, making it less bitter and smoother in flavor.
It also leads to the breakage of the color pigments of cocoa, which turns it to a darker or reddish-brown color.
After alkalization, pressing is done to remove cocoa butter.
Finally, the cake is ground to a fine powder to get the Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
The following are some major differences between Dutch-processed and natural cocoa powder that you need to know.
With natural cocoa powder, you get a sharp, fruity, and acidic flavor that also has some bitter, chocolaty notes. Dutch-processed cocoa powder gives you a smooth, mellow, and earthy flavor. This type of cocoa powder is less bitter, which makes it perfect for making dark chocolates and countless European-style desserts.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder has a dark brown to almost black color based on how much it is treated with alkaline solution. On the other hand, the natural cocoa powder has a very light to medium brown color.
The texture of natural cocoa powder is a bit dry, dense, and tannic. The Dutch-process cocoa powder has a silky and easily dissolvable consistency.
Natural cocoa powder is more acidic, and it reacts with baking soda to release carbon dioxide. This reaction leads to the rising of baked goods, and it is also responsible for creating reddish tones in some recipes, like classic red velvet.
Dutch-process cocoa powder, being neutral or alkaline, doesn’t react with baking soda. It works best in recipes that call for baking powder. This cocoa powder gives you a deeper color and a much denser crumb in most recipes.
Natural cocoa powder is ideal for making chocolate cakes (American-style), brownies, classic chocolate frosting, cookies using baking soda, and homemade chocolate syrup.
On the other hand, Dutch-processed cocoa powder works best for dark chocolate cakes, European pastries and tortes, Ice creams, puddings and custards, hot chocolate, Oreo-style cookies, and recipes that call for baking powder.
Here is what you need to keep in mind.
Substituting Natural Cocoa with Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder
You can use equal amounts of Dutch-processed cocoa powder for natural cocoa. Just make sure to leave out any baking soda that is called for in the recipe.
Substituting Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder with Natural Cocoa Powder
In this case, use 3 tablespoons of unsweetened natural cocoa powder along with a pinch of baking soda for one ounce of Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
Visit us at BA Barry today to order our premium-grade and pure cocoa powder in bulk from all over the world.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder is a less acidic and less bitter form of cocoa powder that is produced by treating natural cocoa beans with an alkaline solution during production.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder is made by treating cocoa beans with alkalization solutions like potassium carbonate. This extra processing reduces the acidity of cocoa powder. However, this process also removes some antioxidants from cocoa powder, making it a little less healthy than natural cocoa powder.
For every 3 tablespoons of unsweetened natural cocoa powder, you can use about 1 ounce Dutch Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder is less acidic, which makes it easier on the stomach.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder has a higher pH of about 7. Natural cocoa powder is more acidic, and it has a slightly lower pH of about 5 or 6.
