How is this cooked Hershey's baking powder -THAT- much different from raw cacao?

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Permalink Reply by Persephone on May 16, 2009 at 4:55pm

Hi Dave. No disrespect intended, but from a few of your posts here, I get the feeling that you aren't really interested in raw foods. Am I wrong on this? It almost reminds me of our dear friend Mr K (may he rest in peace), he was starting threads on here trying to justify cooked food and always wanted people to prove to him raw foods are better. I didn't join this board to have anyone prove anything to me. I joined because I truly care for raw foods. I am not a zealot but I think if raw foods aren't doing it for you, don't eat 'em! But just keep in mind, this is a raw food website, we are on here to learn and exchange, but that is what brought us all here. With much love, P.

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Permalink Reply by Dave on May 16, 2009 at 4:58pm

dude LOL. i've been around for awhile don't worry. i believe in raw foods :) have you not seen my latest blogs?

but i also believe in TRUTH! and i'm a truth-seeker. if that means questioning OBAMA then that means questioning obama!

YOU TELL ME PERSEPHONE.

you tell me the difference. you try it. then you tell me.

the thing is...its not like we are going to the jungle, getting the seed from the cacao pod, and eating it fresh.

IN THE RAW VERSION, we are fermenting the bean... then powdering it! ... basically processing it ALOT

its just a question and i wondered if someone had the answer.

i feel you but i'm just a healthy skeptic that is ALL

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Permalink Reply by Dave on May 16, 2009 at 5:01pm

trust me when i FIRST pondered this MANY MONTHS AGO (but never tried it) I felt like some BAD person..

who DARESSSSSS to even think this thought!!

all the stuff you are FED on the raw cacao bean???

2nd oldest woman alive ate COOKED chocolate. 2lbs a week.

what is CHEAPER??? does roasting actually roast everything out? I think NOT.

hell it could even be BETTER FOR US! since roasting might get RID of the anti-nutrients! LOL!

see, this is why you can't just follow ONE TRAIN OF THOUGHT necessarily. the idea that since its RAW, its BETTER.

why did all these ancient cultures ROAST the bean AFTER fermenting? that is what i am now learning... HMMMM... :)

i'm going to the store to see how much this cost and YES i'll video blog about it. feel free to comment on that.

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Permalink Reply by Persephone on May 16, 2009 at 5:13pm

Dave, by no means do I think you are a "BAD person" ... nuh-uh. I was just commenting on a theme that I picked up on with the tobacco, coffee, etc. What I should have said is more along the lines of Susan V.'s comment. If it makes you feel good, eat it. I don't think you should stress about which is better. But when you bring it up on this website, it seems most people are going to side with raw, because that's the path we are on. I know you have been here awhile (Dave from Tempe :) ). I just think maybe you are over-analyzing. But, I'm not going to prove anything to anyone other than me :)

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Permalink Reply by Dave on May 16, 2009 at 8:56pm

cool :)

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Permalink Reply by Susan Virginia on May 16, 2009 at 5:00pm

There IS a difference, but if you like it, and you're ok with it not actually being raw, have at it.

I'm of the opinion that the more raw the better, and that we should aim for 50% MINIMUM. If a little seasoning isn't raw, it doesn't bother me all that much.

Its your life, make of it what you will.

((sounds like a bum smoothie to me, tho. I'd have thrown a lot more in there.))

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Permalink Reply by Dave on May 16, 2009 at 8:57pm

lol yeah. i don't do well with maca it makes me want to take over the world. im not ready for it yet :)

i'm trying to be simple right now thats all... small little monomealing fruit... liquids... little bits i'm cleaning good right now

i have to say the local totally raw honey is amazing and is a total food on its own so it pretty much owns the smoothie

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Permalink Reply by Bettina on May 16, 2009 at 5:08pm

I say do what you gotta do! :) Everyone has their opinion, and looking into it might be interesting!
But be careful... "i feel pretty dang good right now" doesn't necessarily mean its great for you. You might feel awesome because you're getting that energy kick, but you could crash if you have too much. Bottom line raw cacao or Hershey's....it's still a stimulant for me so I stay away... all depends on your body :)

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Permalink Reply by Vince Wendling on May 16, 2009 at 5:08pm

I owned a raw chocolate company for two years, so I've done my research. Here is the difference in my understanding.

- doubt it's organic. Cacao can be heavily sprayed, especially the cheap stuff.
-The cheap stuff is generally of the lowest quality variety, grown in Africa using child and possibly slave labor, where punishment can be dismemberment or death.
-Since it's such a cheap product it's processed with Alkali to remove the bitterness.
-Contamination, fungus, microbes, etc are vastly higher on cheap cacao. Roasting kills them, thankfully.
-The whole fair trade issue.

So in conclusion: If you're looking for a high quality, minimally processed, cheaper cacao powder,go with Dagoba, Green & Blacks, or something like that. I've been including 'cooked vegan chocolate' in my diet for a while now with no noticeable difference in how I feel vs when I eat raw chocolate. But I choose my cooked chocolate very carefully.

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Permalink Reply by Susan Virginia on May 16, 2009 at 5:12pm

I've enjoyed the Green & Blacks in a pinch, yep.

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Permalink Reply by Dave on May 16, 2009 at 8:59pm

thank you. i will pursue the organic stuff now.

yeah so far so good. i feel pretty much the same but i don't know. i wonder how it will effect my skin as i notice that the good raw cacao makes my skin silkier/stronger. i wonder how the hersheys does it... by the way this isn't processed with alkali " i don't think"

i say that because there was the exact same hersheys product next to it, 50 cents more i think... advertised as various dutch and regular cocoas... on the back it said "processed with alkali"..but on this regular hersheys stuff it does not say that

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Permalink Reply by Vince Wendling on May 17, 2009 at 6:31pm

You are very welcome.

alkalized chocolate can also be called 'Dutched'.
I'm not sure on what the regulations are for needing to disclose this on the label or not though. I think at this point companies may just be responding to the market realizing it may be a selling point to label their unalkalized chocolates.

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