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Cacao
Appears in
By Eleanor Ford
Published 2024
Why love it
One of nature’s most complexly flavoured ingredients, cacao nibs don’t melt like chocolate (made from the same seed), so can add a nutty crunch to sweet bakes.
Match with
Bean: chocolate, coffee
Nut: hazelnut, almond, macadamia, pecan, coconut
Sweet fruit: banana, pumpkin, cherry
Tart fruit: orange
Spice & herb: wattleseed, pepper, vanilla, mahleb, ginger, bay, cinnamon, chilli
Sweet: maple syrup, honey
Extract the flavour
Usually sold roasted, otherwise they need toasting to fade the bitterness and bring the nutty chocolaty tones forward.