RAW CACAO POWDER CALORIES

melissalatzel24

so I've just bought organic raw cacao powder and am trying to track it in mfp. the one i bought has no nutritional info on the back so i googled it. I've seen:

2 tablespoon= 60 cals
2 tablespoon= 120 cals
2 tablespoon= 50 cals
2 tablespoon= 12 cals

which is it???!!!! theres a big difference between 60 and 150 cals for 2 tablespoons. 12calories I'm going to not even consider.

FredDoyle

I have no idea what you bought but Bulk Barn Canada has pure cocoa powder (10–12% fat) at 210 kCal/100g or 2.1 kCal/gram.

http://www.bulkbarn.ca/en-ca/product/baking-ingredients/cocoa-powder.html?search=cocoa

Lizzy622

My unsweetened has 30 cals for 2 tablespoons

FredDoyle

My unsweetened has 30 cals for 2 tablespoons

Which would make sense if 2 Tablespoons weighs 15g.
I weigh everything.


ETA: and it is 1 T cocoa powder = ~ 7.38 g.

http://www.traditionaloven.com/culinary-arts/baking/cocoa-powder/convert-table-spoon-tbsp-to-gram-g-of-cocoa-powder.html

melissalatzel24

thanks guys, ill work with that then. 100g = 210 cals. another brand said 100g=122 cals so that number should be about right

Debbie_Ferr

The calories / fat / etc varies from brand to brand because :
Cacao's nutrtional data depends on many factors : the particular cacao variety, how it is grown, and how it is pressed/rprocessed.

How it is pressed/processed greatly affects how much cocoa butter is retained.

Per
http://www.thechocolatelife.com/profiles/blogs/raw-cacao-fraud-and-fact
http://www.realrawfood.com/cacao-info
http://www.builtlean.com/2012/04/12/raw-chocolate/

melissalatzel24

but its not processed, its raw CACAO (not cocoa... cocoa is what cacao is called after processing)
cacao is merely the actual bean found in nature, made to powder form with all its nutrition intact
so shouldn't all raw form of something have more less same values?
like, a raw pineapple or apples should be same all over the world give or take....

Debbie_Ferr

but its not processed, its raw CACAO (not cocoa... cocoa is what cacao is called after processing)
cacao is merely the actual bean found in nature, made to powder form with all its nutrition intact
so shouldn't all raw form of something have more less same values?
like, a raw pineapple or apples should be same all over the world give or take....

My posting mentioned pressed/processed . What defines 'processed', is up for debate, but that's a whole nother thread.

So how does it go from a bean to RAW cacao powder? it gets pressed/processed:
A cacao bean is approx 50% fat. If you simply tried to grind it, all that fat would prevent it from being a powder.
So to make cacoa powder some of the fat has to be PRESSED out, which changes the nutritional value. That is the biggest reason calories/fat/etc varies from brand to brand. Each brand has it's own standards.

anyways....did you read the details of how raw cacao powder is made by clicking the 3 links in my previous posting.

This one is of particular interest, I think.
http://www.thechocolatelife.com/profiles/blogs/raw-cacao-fraud-and-fact

" The finest raw cacao powder is pressed so as to retain 10-12% of its original fat content. Once Cacao beans have been ground into a paste and pressed to release the butter we’re left with “cake”. Cake is then broken up, pulverized and sieved to create cacao powder… In general it is exactly the same process in either cold-processed or conventional processed systems…except for one key point; fat content of the final powder"

Debbie_Ferr

Short version.
The above shows the nutrtional value of a cocoa/cacao bean.

To make raw cocoa/cacao powder, the bean is ground and SOME of the FAT is pressed out.
It's pressed into a hard 'cake', then broken up, pulverized, and sieved to create raw cacao powder.

To make conventional cocoa/cacao powder, the process is somewhat the same, and the beans are also fermented and heated.

FredDoyle

Yep, and the number I gave her is 10-12% fat. See above. 210 kCals/100g.

melissalatzel24

thanks for that info i didn't check the links but I'm going to do it right now that i finally have the chance!

VelvetMorning

I've purchased two different brands in the past. The more expensive one had less calories. lol, good luck finding out!

diadia1

Short version.
The above shows the nutrtional value of a cocoa/cacao bean.

To make raw cocoa/cacao powder, the bean is ground and SOME of the FAT is pressed out.
It's pressed into a hard 'cake', then broken up, pulverized, and sieved to create raw cacao powder.

To make conventional cocoa/cacao powder, the process is somewhat the same, and the beans are also fermented and heated.

wow. nice info. i was not aware of how it is process into a powder.
thanks.