Cacao butter vs. CoCoa butter

sabriya

Does anyone know the difference between Cacao butter and cocoa butter? And the same for coconut. Is there a difference between coconut oil and coconut butter? Can I use them interchangeably?

Morning_theft

I’m pretty sure cacao is just a name for raw cacao, so cacao butter is probably the raw form while cocoa butter is heat processed. Coconut oil is just the oil, and coconut butter is a product by artisana with coconut meat blended into the oil. Hope this helps.

ambikalee

ok saince we areonthis topic I have a lot of cacoa butter that needs to be used what can I do with it?

chefraw16

cacao butter is awesome..you can melt it in your dehydrator and add it to smoothies,chocolate puddings and cakes…...adds another depth of chocolate flavor…

sabriya

There is a recipe from Vanessa Sherwood on GLiving network http://gliving.tv/greenchefs/vanessa-sherwood/C… with a great looking chocolate ice cream recipe.

Fini

Hmm, I’m in the tropics and we have cocoa bars selling in the supermarket and what they are….... are essentially the cocoa beans grinded fine, seasoned with some spiced and then pressed into blocks. DO you think that could work in some of these recipes?

AND we actually have cocoa bars selling in many many stores. DO you think that’s heat treated too? THey are cream coloured blocks that melt fast in our temperatures and have to be stored in the fridge.

Zoe

hi fini, I would think that it is heated because all cocao is heated, it is just a few specialist raw food companies who arrange with the farmers to get it unheated. But maybe you could see if there is a phone number or website on the label, coz if it isn’t, wow you are in luck!!

Krystale

They're the same thing. The only thing that determines the difference between raw and not is if it says Raw. And believe me, anything raw they're just dying to write Raw on so we'll pay more. Even then some people manage to get away with calling something which gets LESS of the processing it usually does raw. I got "Cacao Power" "Raw Chocolate Beans" from Navitas Naturals the other day, they're pretty good.

There's some confusion because cacao is the plant and cocoa is what you consume. So, although they're acutally different words they're used interchangably, probally because who wouldn't get mixed between cacao and cocoa.

As for coconut oil... Artisana threw a screwdriver in with that sweet delicious product they made. LOL Technically coconut oil is when it's warm enough to be liquid and coconut butter is when it's cold enough to be solid and spread. This is another case of interchangability. Again the only thing that will tell you rawness is the word "raw" or "unrefined and unheated". Most commonly it's called coconut oil. Artisana sells oil that's been blended with coconut meat. It's sooooo good. This never gets liquid in my experience. I imagine if I were to dehydrate it it might get ubersoft.

If you've got too much cocoa or coconut butter give yourself a massage with it. LOL Or contemplate some raw version of almond joy or mounds. Delicious.

RawKidChef

Cacao butter and cocoa butter are the same thing. Coconut oil/butter is a different situation, though. Look at coconut oil as an oil, like olive oil, while coconut butter is like a nut butter made from whole coconut.

jonathann

Sometimes it's a good idea to do a little research before we comment on something. Especially an answer to a question. This is just one of the many pages that come up in a Google search on this subject: https://thrivemarket.com/blog/cacao-vs-cocoa

TammiTrue

I'm still confused by the cacoa/cocoa butter. It's the same thing?