Cocoa powder is made by pressing much of the cocoa butter out of ground cacao beans.

The longer version

Cocoa butter makes up a large share of a cacao bean's weight, and removing most of it leaves a dry, intensely flavored powder. Roasted beans are ground into a thick paste, and that paste is pressed under high pressure so the fat separates and flows away while the remaining solids are dried and milled. The fat becomes the pale solid used in chocolate making.

Because so much fat is gone, the powder behaves very differently from melted chocolate and carries a much stronger, less sweet flavor. Alkalizing the powder darkens it and softens its acidity, which is why two powders can produce noticeably different results in the same recipe.

Where this entry sits

Everyday ingredients turn out to be full of quiet chemistry and long history. This collection gathers short, plain explanations of how bread rises, why onions sting, where common spices originate, and how coffee, tea, and chocolate reached the modern kitchen. The full list sits on the Food and Drink page, where every entry is listed in order.