Nell, I'm sorry, I thought I could help you with a trick I used to use to tell cocoas apart: stir cocoa with a little bit of water, then add a pinch of baking soda. If it's natural cocoa; it'll fizz; if Dutch-process, it won't. I just tried the test using Ghirardelli natural, though - and no fizz. So I don't know if it's just the Ghirardelli, or that all natural cocoa is being somewhat deacidified. At any rate - you could try that, and if one of them DOES fizz, it's natural. Beyond that, I'm just not familiar with European cocoas, so don't know what they'd be - have you checked the manufacturer Web site? That's what I'd do. As for fat, fat does tend to change "mouth feel," giving an impression of richness; but unless you're using the cocoa in a very plain application (e.g., hot cocoa, or chocolate frosting with little more than confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and milk), then I don't think you'll really notice a difference in full-fat vs. 10%-11% fat cocoa. Will the fat go rancid? Eventually, like any fat. If cocoa isn't used within several months, it would probably be best to freeze it. Hope this helps - PJH

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