When we talk about or buy a bar of chocolate, what comes to mind is that it is made from cocoa, but there is cacao which is less known by the consumer.
So what is the difference between Cocoa and Cocao as both have a lot in common (most common is chocolate) as well differences. In this post we will be exploring the difference between the two produce and why they matter.
Where did the word Cacao originate from?
The word “Cacao” comes from the indigenous Nahuatl word “Cacahuatl” or “kakawatl” which is the language of Olmec people. When the Spanish arrived in the Americas, they translated the word “kakawatl” to “cacao”.
So what about Cocoa? It is widely believed that the word cocoa has its origins in a spelling mistake when the English translated it from it from Spanish.
What is the difference?
We have just learnt that Cocoa is the English adaptation of the Spanish word Cacao, there are important distinction between the two terms that have developed over time.
To understand the difference, we must look at how chocolate is being made.
The process begins with harvesting the cocao pods from the cacao tree. The cocao beans is gotten when the cacao pod is cut open. The cacao beans are then fermented and dried to make it fit from consumption.
So when does cacao become cocoa? The dried cacao beans are roasted in an oven to produce cocoa beans and cocoa nibs. The roasted cocoa nibs are used by the chocolate manufacturers to produce chocolate bars and other chocolate products.
To simply explain it, cacao is the pod and beans gotten from the chocolate tree whose botanical name is “Theobroma cacao”. The term cocoa is used once the beans have been roasted and turned into nibs and powder which can then be used to produce chocolate bars and other products.
Is Cacao healthy and Cocoa Unhealthy?
In recent times, partly due to growing interest in cacao, people have been misled to think that raw cacao is healthy and cocoa unhealthy.
If you want to consume raw cacao, you will have to consume it straight out of the pod (I am not sure you really want to do that). Any food heated above 48o C can not be considered as raw it must not be processed as well.
Processing food does not mean it is unhealthy, what food processing does is that it transforms the raw cacao into a state in which it can be consumed by a person.
Lighter cacao vs darker cacao
Have you come across lighter and darker shade of cacao powder? Guess you must have wondered why there were two different shades of colors. So you know, this has nothing to do with the cacao being lighter colour and the cocoa being a dark chocolaty colour. The difference has to do with the way the cacao is being processed into powder.
The terms used to describe the lighter and darker shade of cacao powder are simply “Dutched” and “Undutched” cacao powder.
Undutched cacao powder or ‘pure cocoa powder’ is slightly acidic and has a PH value of 5.3 and 5.8. This powder is lighter in colour and is edible. Due to it being acidic, it has the tendency to be difficult in term of how it reacts with other ingredients and how soluble it is. It is less processed and has more antioxidants and flavour.
Dutch powder is less acidic and is darker in colour. Dutch powder was invented in 19th century to make cocoa powder an easier substance for baking.