Cocoa

Is it a drink that has gone out of fashion?

Have only just switched back to it, after discovering that drinking chocolate contains stuff which I should not be consuming.

According to Nigella Lawson, The UK doesn't differentiate between Alkalised and non-alkalised cocoa, though all the packs which I have examined in supermarkets are Alkalised.

Also, Google tells me that you only derive the health benefits if you drink the non-alkalised variety.

It is available in UK online, and Holland and Barrett do one. Both of these are expensive compared with supermarket cocoa.

Even Green and Black's, although they do healthy (High % cocoa solids) chocolate, their organic cocoa is alkalised.

If you know of non-alkalised cocoa on sale at regular cocoa prices, I would be very pleased to learn of it.

Priscus,I've been having a look on Mr Google,the nearest I could find is
Dr Oetker 1OO % fine cocoa powder from Tesco @£2.75..I hope this helps.

Cannot find any explicit statement concerning whether or not it is alkalised, but the blurb says dark, and says reduced acidity, which sounds very suspicious.

Also have to be wary of how term 100% is used here.

Nutritional label reveals that it is 20% fat, so if it was being labelled the same way as they do chocolate, it would be an 80%.

This is because cocoa butter is removed at first stage of processing, and later some is added back. (Not all, which would render it unpalatable.) Some manufacturers declare this percentage, but I think they are not required to do so as long as it is lower than the amount which was initially present in the raw cocoa. (After all, it is STILL cocoa!)

Similar to filling sausages, where fat can be called meat as long as proportion is not greater than that found on the source animal!

I contacted the manufacturer for explanation of 22-24%, which they informed me is overall fat content.

Until doing all the reading re Cocoa,I never realised just how much
ingredients played such an important part in a persons health...I do read
into ingredients on most foods..I use cocoa in baking which makes me think
twice now.

Gives the composition as determined in lab test, which differs from the nutritional label in some cases. (Due to what counts according to food Regs, as discussed.)

Not an easy reference to use though. I need to, to reduce the challenge to my kidneys.

I'll look up the Dr Oetker's this evening

I suspect Priscus may be older than me and I for one take no notice of all this talk about ingredients. Providing it isn't arsenic or similar I eat/drink what I want. We hadn't a clue what was in the food stuffs when we were being brought up and we are still surviving and enjoying ourselves. Anything in moderation is my policy.