TIP OF THE DAY: Cocoa vs. Hot Chocolate
| We have addressed this topic before, but it has surfaced as the Tip Of The Day on TheNibble.com (so we hope you enjoy it again). Yes, Virginia, there is a difference between cocoa and hot chocolate. Cocoa is made from cocoa powder and hot chocolate is made from shaved chocolate bars or other bits of whole chocolate. Hot chocolate is much richer because of the higher cocoa butter content of the solid chocolate. Both cocoa and hot chocolate can be made with either milk or water; milk, of course, makes it richer. You can’t make cocoa powder at home (unless you have a hydraulic press). However, you can make shaved chocolate. It is often marketed as “drinking chocolate,” but you can save money by shaving your own from your favorite chocolate bars—dark, milk, white or flavored. Shaving is a relative term; you can use anything from knife to a chocolate curler or grater to a pulsing food processor. |  Our favorite, from Burdick Chocolate, shows that glamour can live inside plain packaging. (Alternatively, glamorous packaging does not guarantee a great-tasting product.) |
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| The better quality of the bar, the better quality of the hot chocolate. That’s why some of the finest brands are $25 a box (our favorite from Burdick Chocolate, shown at the left, is $14.00 for 12 ounces and $35.00 for two pounds). Read our review of more than 65 hot chocolate and cocoa brands in THE NIBBLE online magazine. | ||
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