Cocoa butter facts for kids

Cocoa butter

Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is the pale-yellow, pure vegetable fat of the cacao bean. It is used to make solid chocolate bars, and mixed with cocoa powder to make solid pieces of chocolate. Cocoa butter is removed from the cacao beans and can be used to make chocolate, pharmaceuticals, ointments, and toiletries. Cocoa butter has a mild chocolate flavor and smell.

Its best-known attribute is its melting point, which is just below human body temperature. It is one of the most stable fats known, which means that it takes a long time to go rancid. The Broma process is used to extract cocoa butter from ground cocoa beans. Cocoa butter is sometimes deodorized to remove strong or undesirable tastes.

Cocoa butter is becoming increasingly expensive. Substitutes have been designed to use as alternatives. In the United States, 100% cocoa butter must be used for the product to be called chocolate.

Cocoa butter is a major ingredient in practically all types of chocolates (white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate). This application continues to dominate consumption of cocoa butter. Cocoa butter can be found in most supermarkets, and the process of preparing small amounts of chocolate from cocoa butter and cocoa powder means that the practice of making chocolate at home has become relatively popular.

Images for kids

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  The main constituent of cocoa butter is the triglyceride (fat) derived from palmitic acid, stearic acid, and oleic acid.

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  Fermenting cocoa beans on a farm east of Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands.

See also

In Spanish: Manteca de cacao para niños