[1] Make your own chocolate syrup for great chocolate milk. Photo courtesy Recchiuti

[2] Use good cocoa powder (photo © Balducci’s).

[4] An egg cream. The seltzer foam is part of the fun. The recipe is below (photo © Make Your Own Soda).

We taste a lot of products, and most of the commercial chocolate syrups don’t deliver a great chocolate experience. Most of them are cocoa-flavored corn syrup with thickeners.

It’s easy to make your own delicious chocolate syrup.
 
 
RECIPE #1: HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE SYRUP

Use the syrup in beverages or to garnish desserts and dessert plates. In the summer heat, an old-fashioned New York egg cream is a great idea (recipe below)
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MIX the hot chocolate or cocoa powder with the boiling water. Whisk until smooth. Depending on the sugar content of your mix…

2. ADJUST the sweetness. People on low-carb or sugar-free diets can use agave nectar or artificial sweetener. Don’t make it sugary-sweet: You want to enjoy the quality chocolate flavor.

3. SPICE up your chocolate syrup by adding a pinch or two of allspice, cardamom, chile, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, pepper, or other spices, or 1/4 teaspoon of extract.
 
 
RECIPE #2: EGG CREAM

The egg cream contains neither eggs nor cream. So why is it called an egg cream?

Check out the history of egg creams.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MIX 2-4 tablespoons of chocolate syrup, depending on how sweet a drink you prefer, in an eight-ounce glass. Add 4 ounces (1/2 cup) of whole milk.

2. POUR the seltzer into the center of the glass, to generate a head of foam. With a long-handled spoon, stir to blend the syrup and milk without disturbing the foam.

3. DRINK without a straw, in order to get chocolate milk and foam in each sip.