cacao powder vs. nibs

suzyq

So what’s the difference between cacao powder and cacao nibs? Obviously cacao powder is, well, a powder… but is it just ground up nibs/beans, or is it pressed to remove the oil? I know that baking cocoa is pressed to remove the oil, and I know that some raw cacao powders claim they have also been (cold) pressed. But is ALL cacao powder pressed, or is some just ground? And does anyone know which brands are which??

heartshapedsky

you may want to call or email some different brands/companies. i’m a big fan of david wolfe’s brand. i use the nibs and cacao powder for different things. here’s a link: http://www.sunfood.com/b2c/ecom/ecomEnduser/ite…

angie207

The powder has the cacao butter pressed out. You can grind the nibs up in a blender or a coffee/spice grinder if you want to get all the benefits of the cacao butter in it without having the noticable bitter chunks, but they still won’t blend up completely like the powder will in your recipes. My body loves David Wolfe’s brand www.sunfood.com and I have gotten sick when I have used some other brands, although I haven’t tried The Raw Choice, because I got tired of getting sick from cheaper brands, so now I stick with what works. :)

jamesberry

I guess the grind sizes might be the most different among cacao powder and cacao nibs. I prefer the nibs more cause I can add them to my food evenly. The easiest way to make nibs is to use a spice grinder.