Cocoa Butter’s History:
Cocoa butter refers to the natural fat extracted from the cacao beans inside the cocoa tree pods. It has been around as long as the cocoa plant has, but it wasn’t until 1828 that cocoa butter itself was discovered. A scientist by the name of Coenraad van Houten is credited with discovering the rich creamy fat of the cocoa plant during the pressing process that he invented. He originally built the press for a purer extraction process of chocolate, but got a whole lot more than that!
The cocoa plant itself has had a rich and diverse history and played an important part of Olmec, Aztec, Mayan, and South African culture. Around 1500 B.C. the Olmecs not only found that the cocoa plant was edible, but also that it could be used for a variety of things and was even commonly made into the first ‘hot chocolate’ by mixing the cocoa with spices, water, and herbs. This bitter drink was reserved for the elite and priests and was referred to simply as chocolate. By 600 B.C. Aztecs and Mayans had also perfected the cultivation of cocoa. Both cultures used it as a sign of abundance and also as currency. The Aztecs used cocoa in religious rituals and believed that cocoa was a gift from the gods.
Many years later Columbus and his crew came across this ‘brown gold’ in the Bay of Honduras. Interestingly enough the crew mistook these pods for almonds and left them in Honduras. Spain is actually credited with cultivating the cocoa plant in Europe, and was originally brought to Spanish royalty in 1528. From there it spread all the way to Eastern Asia and was found to have many health benefits. The pods themselves as well as the leaves were used to treat everything from malaria to thyroid regulation and were revered for rapid skin healing.
How It’s Made:
Theobroma cacao, better known as the Cacao tree, grows best in Tropical climates and can live up to 100 years, although those that are regularly harvested only live about 60 years. The process of extracting cocoa butter is quite involved and time consuming. Inside the pods that ripen for six months before harvest usually contain 20-40 beans. These beans are scraped out of the pod and laid out to ferment for about ten days. This fermentation breaks down the pulp and helps develop flavor. Next, they are dried and then sorted and shelled. They are then roasted and broken down into nibs. These nibs are then boiled. As they boil the cocoa butter’s, fat rises to the top and is collected from there.
Alternatively, the beans can be pressed or cold-pressed in which a hydraulic press is used to extract the cocoa oil which is then made into cocoa butter. After extracting the cocoa butter is then degummed, and sometimes bleached, and deodorized. The finished product can be refined or unrefined. The refined cocoa butter is usually used in cosmetics, will be white, and have little to no odor whereas unrefined or raw is better used in culinary applications and appears yellow and has the aroma of chocolate.
Health Benefits:
Although now cocoa butter is not used to cure malaria or thyroid issues as it was in ancient Central and South America, it does have several health benefits.
- Cocoa butter contains stearic acid which the liver converts to oleic acid. This acid lowers LDL and raises HDL helping to improve cholesterol.
- It can also reduce the risk of liver disease. Cocoa butter contains choline, which if deficient, can cause liver disease.
- Cocoa butter has several antioxidants, iron, and vitamin E all of which help to lower inflammation and support overall immune health.
- It can also improve bone health, as it contains vitamin K which your body uses to build and maintain bones.
- Cocoa butter can not only be eaten, but be used topically as well, while having many benefits for skin health too. It contains vitamin E, and high amounts of fatty acids. Both of which help skin repair, and lock in moisture. Many people with eczema or dermatitis use cocoa butter to soothe symptoms.
Cocoa butter, although having many benefits, has a high calorie and fat content. It should be consumed in moderation, and should be avoided if there is an allergy or intolerance.
Which Cocoa Butter Should You Buy?
When it comes to buying cocoa butter there are a few things to remember.
- Firstly, be sure to purchase food grade quality cocoa butter. It’s easy to buy anything online these days, and often cocoa butter that is sold in bulk and is inexpensive is meant for cosmetic purposes and not to be ingested. When cocoa butter has been prepared for cosmetics, it undergoes a bleaching and deodorizing process that strips it of almost all its naturally occurring antioxidant properties.
- Next, make sure it has not been deodorized. Some food grade cocoa butter has gone through this process and will leave it a pale white and will have almost no detectable smell. Again, this process removes most of the cocoa butter’s benefits.
- The more unrefined it is the better. Labels like raw, organic, and pure will be the best quality and have the most benefit. This is because cocoa butter with these labels are not heated to ultra-high temperatures, thus retaining antioxidants and vitamins.
- If you can find non-GMO and organic cocoa butter, those will ultimately be better. If you find that it is certified organic, but don’t see a non-GMO label don’t fret. In the U.S. if it has been certified organic, it by law also must be non-GMO.
- Lastly, do your best to purchase fair trade. Extracting cocoa butter, as we learned above, takes a lot of time, patience, and labor. By supporting fair trade, you can feel good about purchasing cocoa butter by knowing the workers are being fairly treated and compensated. Many companies that are fair trade also have climate friendly and sustainable practices which is not only better for the environment but the plants themselves.
Cocoa Butter & SCD:
Now to be completely honest, I was several months into SCD before I realized that chocolate was not allowed. I had been having no sugar dark chocolate almost every day! After eliminating this, I noticed my symptoms improved, and haven’t looked back. While chocolate is not allowed on SCD, Cocoa butter is. This came as welcome news as I was really missing that velvety rich texture and sweetness that chocolate offered. Even as a professional chef I was not too familiar with cocoa butter, but the similarity to chocolate is remarkable. It melts the same, solidifies the same, and even has the same texture, richness, and smoothness. While it has no sweetness, and is simply a fat, honey can be added to remedy that. Cocoa butter is interestingly added to all chocolate candy in the U.S as it is the law. This is what gives chocolate its creamy smooth texture that us Americans are so used to, and makes for a great substitute.
Cocoa butter can be added in Stage 3 or 4, but should be added slowly and only after symptoms have begun to subside. Cocoa butter does hold onto its heat a little longer than chocolate so be careful when melting or pouring it. It can be used in any capacity chocolate or white chocolate can be, and is a real treat! I have developed several SCD recipes with cocoa butter including; Christmas ‘sugar’ cookies with Icing, ‘White Hot Chocolate’, ‘White Chocolate Mocha’ Latte, and Heart-shaped ‘White Chocolate’ Cherry Candies. Check out these recipes, and let me know what you think of them in the comments below!
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