What’s the Difference Between Cocoa and Cacao?

No one would blame you for thinking cocoa and cacao are the same food with different spellings. Both smell and taste unmistakably like dark chocolate. But they’re actually quite different products, and knowing which is which will change how you shop and cook.

The key difference is in how they’re processed. Here’s what you need to know.

“Overall, they’re nutritionally very similar,” says Jamie Nadeau, RD, a registered dietitian in Providence, Rhode Island. But when it comes to processing and use, there are some key differences.

Cacao

Common forms include fermented and dried beans, nibs (small pieces of the cacao bean), cacao butter (made from fat from the bean), and cacao powder, which is processed at lower temperatures compared with cocoa, she says. These can be used in recipes in various ways, such as sprinkling cacao nibs into yogurt or adding cacao powder to a smoothie.

Cocoa

You’ll see two different labels on cocoa at the store, says Pallian:

• Natural Cocoa Powder This is the least-processed type of cocoa powder. It has a reddish-brown hue and features a sharp, acidic flavor. It also tends to have more antioxidants compared with Dutch-processed cocoa (more on this below).

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• Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder This label indicates that the cocoa has been treated (alkalized) to reduce its acidity, resulting in a darker color with a smoother, more brownie-like flavor. Alkalinization has also been shown to decrease the antioxidant content of cocoa.

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Cocoa powder can also be sweetened with sugar or powdered milk, as it is in hot cocoa mix. Adding these ingredients doesn’t reduce the nutrients in cocoa itself, but it does add sugar and calories.

Both cocoa and cacao are equally healthy for you — as long as they don’t contain added sugar. Here’s how to incorporate them into a healthy diet:

• Make Chocolate Mousse Blend 1 cup of cottage cheese with a tablespoon (tbsp) of honey, a ½-teaspoon (tsp) of vanilla extract, and 1 to 2 tbsp of cocoa powder. “It’s a delicious high-protein chocolate mousse,” says Nadeau, who recommends this recipe.
• Blend Into a Smoothie or Shake Cocoa and cacao lend a rich, chocolatey flavor to any smoothie or shake recipe. Pallian suggests blending 1 to 2 tbsp of cocoa or cacao powder with a banana, 1 cup of dairy or nondairy milk, 1 tbsp of nut butter, a few dates, and a pinch of salt.
• Add It to Trail Mix Combine cacao nibs with your choice of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, which you can then eat on its own or sprinkle onto yogurt or chia seed pudding, suggests Pallian.
• Don’t Swap Cocoa Types in Recipes Because Dutch-processed cocoa is alkaline it won’t react with baking soda, which means that it won’t work the way natural cocoa does in recipes. “Be careful when swapping it into recipes or your baking might not rise,” Pallian says. You’re better off sticking to the type of cocoa the recipe calls for to preserve the intended taste and texture. In general, the same holds true for cacao because it has a more intense, bitter flavor that may not work in some recipes.
• Don’t Forget the Salt Salt pairs well with cocoa and cacao. “A small pinch livens up chocolate flavor so you can use less sweetener,” says Pallian.

• Cacao and cocoa are very similar, with cacao being the less processed form of cocoa.
• Both cacao and cocoa are comparable in terms of nutrition, although cacao tends to be richer in healthful antioxidants.
• Cocoa and cacao can be used similarly in many recipes. However, the two work differently in baked goods, so it’s best to use the ingredient specified in the recipe.