In Honor of the Birthday of van Houten

Viddie's Gourmet Cocoa Powder

On this date in 1801, a man who would change how cocoa powder was created was born. Coenraad Johannes van Houten was Dutch chemist who turned his skills to chocolate making. He is the reason we call the processing of cocoa powder using alkaline salts the "Dutching" process and label cocoa made that may as "Dutch," too. The process creates a more intensity chocolate flavor and a darker color but also requiring the use of baking powder not baking soda in most recipes. In honor of Mr. van Houten today, I'm going to share my experience with Viddie's Gourmet Cocoa Powder which I received via the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a review there. This article on The Chocolate Cult is a bonus and not other form of compensation was received for sharing my experiences.

As you can see below the cocoa powder is lighter in color than I was expecting it to be given the Dutching process; it should be more brown, less red. Could this be a result of the much higher fat content? The fat content of this products ranges from nearly 250% to only 20% more depending on the brands you are comparing to Viddie's. You can also see in this photo that the bag is resealable, not a canister, so you will need to be careful when removing the powder or you will lose some of it. Honestly, I prefer that cocoa powder be in cans for this very reason, plus I find that cans close tighter and keep out moisture better.

Viddie's Gourmet Cocoa Powder in Bag

At first I was concerned that the higher fat content (and lower fiber content, too) would affect how I could use this. It really didn't. However, that more intense chocolate flavor you should get from Dutch Cocoa wasn't as intense as lower fat cocoa processed with alkaline, but instead a creamier flavor. It isn't as dry as an ingredient either, so you may not need quite as much liquids depending on your recipe. As long you realize these two things,  you can adjust accordingly when you use it.