Ingredient of the Week- Cocoa Butter

What is Cocoa Butter? (theobroma Cacoa Seed Butter)
...is an edible vegetable fat obtained from cocoa beans. Cocoa Butter contains natural antioxidants, provides a barrier on skin to help retain and restore moisture and improves skins elasticity (good for use on a pregnant tummy). Cocoa Butter is a stable butter with a shelf life of 2-5 years.
(From http://www.brambleberry.com/newsletter.html )

How is Cocoa Butter Extracted?
The fat or cocoa butter can be extracted from the bean in a number of ways. Pure press butter is extracted from the cocoa mass by horizontal presses. Sub-standard cocoa beans can be pressed without deshelling by using continuous expeller presses. Pure press butter needs no cleaning but it is often deodorized. A solvent extraction process can be used to extract butter from the cake residue left after the expeller process; this type of butter must be refined.
(From http://www.icco.org/questions/chemical.htm )

How is Cocoa Butter Deodorized?
Deodorization of cocoa butter is done using superheated steam under vacuum. It entails the steam stripping and distillation of volatile substances from the butter. The process can take between 30 minutes and 3 hours depending on the degree of deodorization required.

Cocoa butter is pumped into the deodorizer and heated to about 105oC. A vacuum is drawn and superheated steam is admitted through the bottom of the deodorizer and distributed through the cocoa butter via a sparging system. The volatiles are carried over to a condenser where they are removed. The condensate contains mainly free fatty acids and cocoa butter as well as theobromine, caffeine, phospholipids, diglycerides, tocopherols. After releasing the vacuum the cocoa butter is cooled to less than 70oC and pumped into storage
(From http://www.icco.org/questions/deodorisation.htm)

How is Cocoa Butter and other Cocoa Products used in the Cosmetics Industry?

Cocoa butter - It is widely used in cosmetic products such as moisturizing creams and soaps.

Potash from cocoa pod husk - Cocoa pod husk ash is used mainly for soft soap manufacture. To prepare the ash, fresh husks are spread out in the open to dry for one to two weeks. The dried husks are then incinerated in an ashing kiln.
(From http://www.icco.org/questions/byproducts.htm)