Cocoa
Theobroma cacao · Seed
Top 10 pairings
An unsweetened powder of fermented, roasted cacao beans, pressed free of most of their cocoa butter. Deep brown and intensely bitter, it is the base of hot chocolate and a baking staple, not the same as dark chocolate.
Picking a good onedrag
Deep-roasted, dry and free-runningFaded and caked, smells of crayon
Open tinEveryday bestNatural cocoa needs baking soda; Dutch needs baking powder. No chocolate is worse for dogs; keep it away.
Smell the open tinCocoa, but the fruit gone quiet
Read the colour as processEven, a shade duller than a new tin
Crush a lump between your fingersSoft clumps, dust at a touch
Read the label, not the pictureUnsweetened, fat content given