Food Grade Cocoa Butter is essential for making recipes and DIY personal-care products. Pureness is a big difference between food-grade and ungraded cocoa butter. Cocoa butter must be food-grade if you use it to make lip balm or candy. You can find food-grade cocoa butter in large supermarkets, natural markets, and online retailers.
What is Food Grade Cocoa Butter?
You may not have realized it, but cocoa butter is and cacao butter are the exact same thing. While the cacao butter from Whole Foods may be slightly more expensive than the cocoa butter sold at Walmart, they could still be almost identical. Cocoa butter is not made with dairy butter. Instead, its name refers to the buttery texture it gives when rubbed onto the skin.
Cocoa butter is a fat extracted from cacao beans after they have been fermented and taken out of their hulls. The cacao beans are crushed and pressed to separate the fat from the other material. This is what makes chocolate liquor.
Organizations such as the American Society of International Association for Testing and Materials grade many products for purity, including mineral oil and cocoa butter. Higher grades indicate that the product is more pure. Pharmaceutical-grade products, for example, are tested to be 99% pure. This makes them safe for use in food, medicine, and dietary supplements.
Depending on the product, food grade might be less pure and have different standards. All food-grade cocoa butter can be eaten, and is safe for skin use. The packaging should clearly state that the has been made fromingredients and is pure.
Cocoa butter can be purchased as a separate product at many big-box stores and health markets. You can also find it online at Amazon or other shops selling crafting, candy-making and soap-making supplies. Online craft-supply stores often stock a variety of cocoa butter products. Make sure you read the description before purchasing. Ungraded tends to be more expensive than
Simply put, ungraded cocoa butter means that it has not been evaluated by an authoritative agency. Although it could be very pure, there is no guarantee. This cocoa butter can still be used in homemade soaps, lotions, and moisturizers. However, it is not suitable for food.
You can be sure that the cocoa butter you purchase is 100% pure, no matter where it is purchased. The creamy material melts at a low temperature (similar to coconut oil), so it is best not to leave it in your car while you shop.
