What's the Difference Between Dutch Process and Natural Cocoa Powder?

First lest us know what what is Cocoa Powder Exactly?

Cocoa powder is the dry solid remains of fermented, dried, and roasted cacao beans. The beans are cracked into nibs, which are then ground into a paste made of cocoa solids suspended in near-flavorless cocoa butter. Once processors extract the butter they're left with the crumbly solids, which are then ground into a fine powder. So cocoa powder is the core of a chocolate's flavor, without any extra fat, sugar, or milk to get in the way.

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Natural Cocoa Powder

If you're making natural cocoa powder, that's the end of the line. Chocolate is naturally acidic, so natural cocoa powder typically has a pH between 5 and 6 (for context, water is 7, right in the middle). That acidity bears out in natural cocoa's flavor, which gives the cocoa a sharp, almost citrus fruit finish. Remember, that just like a chocolate bar, cocoa powder flavor varies by brand. While all natural cocoas will have certain characteristics in common (bitterness and astringency), flavors will vary based on the cacao bean and how it's manufactured. In most U.S supermarkets, natural cocoa is the most commonly available variety of cocoa—think Hershey's, Ghirardelli, and Scharffen Berger.

Dutch Process Cocoa Powder

Disappointingly, this does not mean that it wears tiny wooden shoes. Dutch process cocoa powder (also sometimes called "alkalized," "European style," or "Dutched") is washed with a potassium carbonate solution that neutralizes cocoa's acidity to a pH of 7. Although all cocoa powders can vary in color from light reddish brown to a richer dark brown, the Dutch process gives the powder a noticeably darker hue.

Dutch process cocoa has a smoother, more mellow flavor that's often associated with earthy, woodsy notes. There are also heavily Dutched "black" cocoa powders that bring the cocoa powder to an alkaline level of 8. This the kind of bittersweet cocoa you'll find in Oreo cookies.

Since Dutch process cocoa isn't acidic, it doesn't react with alkaline leaveners like baking soda to produce carbon dioxide. That's why recipes that use Dutch process cocoa are usually leavened by baking powder, which has a neutral pH.

Are Dutch Process and Natural Cocoa Interchangeable?

If a recipe relies on chemical leaveners like baking powder and soda (as opposed biological ones like yeast), as is the case with most cakes, cookies, and quick breads, it's written in such a way that the natural acids and bases in the ingredients balance each other out so the dough can rise. In buttermilk biscuits, for example, alkaline baking soda is there to neutralize the acidity in buttermilk, which lets the baking powder in the recipe take care of the rise.

If a cake or cookie recipe only calls for baking soda, it likely uses acidic natural cocoa. If it only uses baking powder, it'll probably ask for Dutch process cocoa instead. If a recipe calls for both baking powder and baking soda, you'll need to follow the recipe to get the proper balance of acid and alkaline. Recipes that use baking powder will likely rise regardless of tweaking, but not as well; it's best to stick to the cocoa that a recipe calls for.

For dessert sauces, stirred custards, ice cream, pudding, and the like, the question more comes down to personal taste. Dutch process cocoa has a more intense "chocolatey" flavor while natural cocoa looks lighter in color and tastes slightly astringent. But since you're not dealing with any chemical leaveners, your choice of cocoa won't have much impact on the dessert's texture.

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