As cocoa prices are increasing and availability becomes very tight, replacement of cocoa by other ingredients becomes eminent for many in the food industry. Buisman Ingredients offers a cocoa powder alternative based on caramelised sugar, which is available in various qualities, meeting the demand for the range of colour/flavour tones normally achieved with cocoa powder.
Main benefit of using caramelised sugars to replace cocoa is that the flavour profile has quite some similarities in both bitter/acid notes and some roasted notes. Also, caramelised sugar has a reddish/brown colour which depends on the degree of caramelisation, and powder properties are quite similar to cocoa powder as well (although not that fine)

Recipe adjustments:
Replacement of cocoa powder is a hard ball to play, as cocoa has a very specific sensory profile, depending on origin, alkalisation- and roasting degree. Many types are available, mainly driven by customer specific flavour/colour demands.
Also, the sensory profile achieved is not only determined by the type of cocoa powder chosen, but very much depends on the recipe and processing conditions as well. Parameters such as pH, sugar content (sweet/bitter balance), presence of aroma’s/flavours (vanilla), etc have a great impact as well. In order not to change that specific sensory profile, we advise not to exchange all cocoa powder (which in fact is impossible with whatever alternative ingredient).
Also, besides exchanging the cocoa powder part, all other mentioned parameters influencing the final sensory profile need to be taken into account to achieve an acceptable replacement.

Replacement advise:
As a standard rule of thumb, it is advised to start with replacing 20-25% of the cocoa powder in the recipe. The exchange rate depends on the alkalisation degree of the cocoa powder and the caramelisation degree of the caramelised sugar. For natural cocoa powders, Buisman offers a light caramelised sugar, for the more darker/reddish cocoa powders, more pronounced, darker caramelised sugars types are available.
A basic replacement ratio to start of with, is 1 part of caramelised sugar replacing 3 parts of cocoa powder. The two remaining parts can then be filled up with e.g. sugar, milk derivatives, fat, etc depending on the recipe and further flavour tweaking.
For natural and medium alkalised cocoa powders, the advise is to start with a 4 to 1 replacement rate.

Cost in use effect:
Cost implications are evident. Based on a 3 to 1 replacement ratio, calculating with €4,25/kg cocoa powder and €1/kg for filling, a cost saving up to 50% is possible. Even at low cocoa powder prices (€2,25/kg), the replacement with caramelised sugar is still beneficial in cost.

Proven Applications:
Today, succesfull introductions to the market place have already been done, eg in instant drinks, brownies, glaces and non temper coating products.
Another mentionable application of the Buisman traditionally caramelised sugars is their specific coffee like aroma tones, being able to reduce coffee percentages in your recipe. In flavour ranges such as Mocha, Cappuccino and Irish coffee, these caramelised sugars work out very well at a very effective cost in use.
Our technical specialists are available to assist you in this process and advise on the right type of caramelised sugar used.