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What Is Raw Cocoa Butter?

Christina Edwards
Christina Edwards

Raw cocoa butter is a type of vegetable fat that comes from cocoa beans. It is often used in cooking, especially when making chocolate. Some individuals and cosmetics manufacturers also use cocoa butter as a skin care product.

Cocoa beans are the dried seeds of cocoa tree, which can be found growing in the warm tropical areas of South America. The fat extracted from these dried seeds is referred to as raw cocoa butter. It is typically pale yellow in color, and it smells and tastes vaguely like chocolate.

Raw cocoa butter comes from the cacao bean.
Raw cocoa butter comes from the cacao bean.

One of the primary ingredients in chocolate is raw cocoa butter. This butter is used to make both white and milk chocolate. Chocolate melts when eaten because cocoa butter has a melting point slightly lower than a person's body temperature. Fine, quality chocolate typically contains more cocoa butter than lower quality chocolate. Producers of very low quality chocolates often substitute other types of vegetable fats for cocoa butter.

Pregnant women can use cocoa butter to prevent stretch marks.
Pregnant women can use cocoa butter to prevent stretch marks.

Cooks can also use raw cocoa butter at home. It can be used to make homemade chocolate, for example. Some cookie recipes may also call for this type of butter. Regular butter or shortening can sometimes be a suitable substitute for cocoa butter, but this will greatly change the taste of the finished dish.

Raw cocoa butter can also be used as a skin care product. A number of lotions and creams on the market today contain varying amounts of cocoa butter. It is very moisturizing and can help heal dry skin.

This fat can also make the skin more elastic. Pregnant women can use these type of lotions, or even raw cocoa butter, to help prevent stretch marks. This can be done by applying it to the abdomen throughout the pregnancy.

There are also a number of other benefits of raw cocoa butter. Some individuals claim that it reduces the appearance of scars and wrinkles. Recent research has also shown that cocoa butter can also block the harmful ultra violet rays of the sun.

The fat used to made raw cocoa butter is extracted from dried cocoa beans.
The fat used to made raw cocoa butter is extracted from dried cocoa beans.

Some people should not use raw cocoa butter, though. Those with a chocolate allergy should shy away from it, since it will most likely lead to a possibly severe allergic reaction. Acne sufferers may not want to apply cocoa butter to their faces. It can clog pores, which can make acne worse.

Discussion Comments

anon994466

As for the last paragraph which states... "Some people should not use raw cocoa butter, though. Those with a chocolate allergy should shy away from it, since it will most likely lead to a possibly severe allergic reaction. Acne sufferers may not want to apply cocoa butter to their faces. It can clog pores, which can make acne worse."

... The writer should research a bit more..

Cocoa fat/butter is the oil of the cacao seed. It has nothing to do with the chocolate content, therefore, those with chocolate allergies cannot be negatively affected by it. In fact, the pure oil/butter is an excellent natural anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory, which, when applied on any fresh insect bite, will cause any pain and itchiness to stop, the swelling to go down and the wound to heal within the hour.

As for acne sufferers, if the pimple is recently popped or opened, I would suggest trying a bit of cocoa butter for the same reasons I mentioned above, if the pimples are not opened then use your best judgment, but my suggestion is no harm can come from using the butter.

I believe when there's a problem in nature, there's usually a solution in nature.

turquoise

@fBoyle-- Yes. Since raw cocoa butter is in solid form in room temperature, it has to be melted before using.

I bake with organic, raw cocoa butter sometimes and I also use it on my skin. For both purposes, I melt the cocoa butter with a double boiler. You could also melt it in a microwave.

Regardless of how you melt it, make sure to use the cocoa butter quickly before it hardens again.

fBoyle

To use pure cocoa butter on skin, do I need to melt it first? Isn't it difficult to apply in solid form?

stoneMason

I started using raw cocoa butter for skin recently and I'm very pleased with the results. I've been applying it on my stretch marks as well as on a scar that I have on my arm. I didn't see much of a difference for the first several weeks, but after that, the stretch marks and scar started to become lighter. I think they're continue disappear completely with regular use.

I'm also applying cocoa butter on my hands and very dry areas like my knees and elbows. My skin is super soft now, there are no cracks and there is no itchiness.

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    • Raw cocoa butter comes from the cacao bean.
      By: svl861
      Raw cocoa butter comes from the cacao bean.
    • Pregnant women can use cocoa butter to prevent stretch marks.
      By: igorborodin
      Pregnant women can use cocoa butter to prevent stretch marks.
    • The fat used to made raw cocoa butter is extracted from dried cocoa beans.
      By: Jiri Hera
      The fat used to made raw cocoa butter is extracted from dried cocoa beans.