Chocolate, cocoa and sweet foods: ingredients, composition, processing, quality and storage.
Cocoa butter is essentially 100% fat. The USDA reference contains about 59.7% saturated fat, 32.9% monounsaturated fat, and 3% polyunsaturated fat. Stearic, oleic, and palmitic acids make up most of it.
Cocoa powder does contain caffeine. The USDA unsweetened natural cocoa reference has 230 mg per 100 g, about 12 mg in a 5.4 g tablespoon. A USDA alkalized cocoa entry is much lower, illustrating how widely products can vary. Theobromine, not caffeine, is cocoa's dominant methylxanthine.
A normal cup of coffee generally provides several times more caffeine than a cocoa drink. EFSA estimates about 90 mg in 200 mL filter coffee; 5–10 g of the USDA natural cocoa reference would provide roughly 12–23 mg. Cocoa instead contains much more theobromine.
Unsweetened cocoa powder is highly concentrated: the USDA reference provides about 37 g fiber, 19.6 g protein, and 13.7 g fat per 100 g, plus substantial magnesium, iron, and copper. A tablespoon is only about 5–6 g, so real serving amounts are much smaller.
Cocoa powder is made from cocoa solids after some cocoa butter is pressed out; chocolate recombines cocoa solids with fat and usually sugar. That is why unsweetened cocoa is typically more fiber-dense and less calorie-dense, while chocolate is richer and sweeter.
Unsweetened cocoa powder is essentially concentrated cocoa solids with no added sugar; cocoa mix is a formulated drink powder that often contains much more sugar than cocoa. A USDA reference cocoa mix has about 65.6 g sugar per 100 g versus about 1.8 g in unsweetened cocoa.
Dutch-process cocoa is treated with alkali to raise its pH. It is usually darker, less acidic, and smoother-tasting than natural cocoa, but alkalization can substantially reduce flavanols. The acidity difference can also matter in recipes that rely on baking soda.
Honey contains water plus fructose, glucose and smaller amounts of other sugars; table sugar is almost entirely sucrose. Per 100 g, honey has about 304 calories and 82 g of sugars versus roughly 387 calories and 100 g for sugar, but a tablespoon of honey weighs more: about 64 calories versus about 49 calories in a tablespoon of granulated sugar. Amount used matters more than the small nutritional differences.
Heating or pasteurizing honey can lower enzyme activity, raise HMF when treatment is intense, and delay crystallization by helping filtration and controlling yeasts. That does not make raw honey a radically different source of nutrition, and pasteurized honey is still not safe for children under one year because ordinary processing does not reliably destroy botulism spores.
Honey is made mostly of fructose and glucose. In a broad USDA analysis of honeys, averages were about 38.4% fructose and 30.3% glucose, with roughly 17.2% water plus smaller amounts of maltose, sucrose and other sugars. Total sugars in typical honey are around 82 g per 100 g, so it is not pure sugar but it is a very concentrated source of simple sugars.
Honey crystallizes when some of its glucose, which is less soluble than fructose, comes out of solution and forms crystals. It is a normal physical process and does not by itself mean honey is spoiled or adulterated. Crystallized honey is still usable; if you prefer it liquid, gentle warming in a water bath can dissolve the crystals without boiling it.
Tightly sealed honey is one of the most shelf-stable foods in the pantry: high sugar, low available water and acidity make growth difficult for many microorganisms. That does not make a jar indestructible. Honey can crystallize, darken or lose aroma over time, and added moisture or contamination can allow fermentation. A best-by date is mainly about expected quality, not a switch that makes honey unsafe the next day.