Cacao powder

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If I need cacao powder for a recipe, can I use cocoa powder instead? It seems to me that they are the same thing. If they are different, will I be able to buy cacao powder at Fresh Market or Whole Foods?

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  • swissbrit
    swissbrit Posts: 201
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    Make sure its the real thing and its actually good for you loads of Iron etc but make sure it is the unsweetened kind!!!
    http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/5471/2
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    It's the same thing, but there can be a difference in quality depending on brand, and some have other things added to it (not sure if there are local laws governing this, but I know I got some recently that was sold as cocoa powder but had "flavouring" listed on the ingredients). You can also choose to get Dutch processed cocoa or not. That may make a difference if your recipe also has baking soda/bicarbonate of soda in it.
  • VegasFit
    VegasFit Posts: 1,232 Member
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    I use cacao powder almost daily in my smoothies. You can buy at Whole Foods but it's a little pricey. I'm not familiar with Fresh Market.