Cocoa butter facts for kids
Cocoa butter, also known as theobroma oil, is a light yellow fat that comes from the cacao bean. It is a pure vegetable fat. This special fat is used to make solid chocolate bars. When mixed with cocoa powder, it helps create solid pieces of chocolate.
Cocoa butter is taken out of cacao beans. It is used in many products besides chocolate. You can find it in medicines, skin creams, and personal care items like lotions. Cocoa butter has a gentle chocolate smell and taste.
One cool thing about cocoa butter is that it melts just below human body temperature. This is why chocolate melts in your mouth! It is also one of the most stable fats, meaning it takes a very long time to go bad.
How Cocoa Butter is Made
Cocoa butter is taken from ground cacao beans using a method called the Broma process. Sometimes, the cocoa butter is treated to remove any strong or unwanted tastes. This makes sure it has a mild flavor for chocolate and other products.
Why Cocoa Butter is Important
Cocoa butter is a main ingredient in almost all types of chocolate. This includes white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate. Most of the cocoa butter made is used for chocolate.
In the United States, a product must contain 100% cocoa butter to be called "chocolate." This rule helps make sure chocolate is real.
Cocoa butter can be found in most supermarkets. Because of this, many people enjoy making chocolate at home using cocoa butter and cocoa powder.
Images for kids
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The main part of cocoa butter is a type of fat called a triglyceride. It comes from palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids.
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A farmer holding cacao beans that are fermenting. This happens on a farm in the Solomon Islands.
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See also
In Spanish: Manteca de cacao para niños
