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Yah, so for all of those caught in da snowstorm du jour and are enjoying a quiet fire in da fireplace or an evening out in da hot tub, here's a question for yeh...

 

Who makes the best hot chocolate?

 

I'm not tallking da cheap buckets of instant cocoa the youth buy. I'm talking the real deal, premium stuff suitable for a discerning adult!

 

Hot chocolate is one of da special things for snowy nights and cold weather campouts. What do yeh find is the best treat for when the snow flies?

 

Beavah

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I think the BEST hot chocolate is homemade with real milk and cocoa powder but as far as instant mixes go, I like either Ghiradelli or Land o' Lakes. Can't use it on Scout outings but a little Bailey's or Kahlua help make the hot chocolate so smoooooth. ;)

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There is this thing called Abulita. Apparently it is mexican hot chocolate. It is very good. You just heat some milk and put this chuck of cocoa/sugar into the milk. Wisk and add heat until all of the cocoa bar thing is dissolved. Pour into a mug and serve. This is the best.

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I am being completely modest when I say that I make the best hot chocolate. I take whatever raw stuff I can find at the store (Swiss Miss is just so cute!) and then double or triple the strength, and add even more raw, dark chocolate from a brick that weighs a ton, testing the taste until it is just right. If I have any left (I use a lot) instead of the brick from some European source, I use the crude, hand-made balls of raw chocolate that I get from Costa Rica or Caribbean sources. Mmmmmmmmmm.

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I read several food blogs, and one in particular (written by pastry chef Shuna Fish Lydon) talks about the difference between hot chocolate and hot cocoa. For years, I'd heard the best possible hot chocolate is made with shaved chocolate (high-quality, of course) and cream. Shuna's post elaborates:

 

http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2007/11/01/hot-cocoa-hot-chocolate/

 

Now I should add that in order to hit the right spot on the BSA medical forms charts, I'm not consuming such things any more, so I haven't tried her recipe. But I still think her discussion is interesting.

 

Guy

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Yes, Abuelita is probably the best. And even though I don't think the instructions say this, it will, of course, be richer if you use milk instead of H2O.

 

We also order various food from Honeyville Grain, and their Mexican Hot Chocolate mix is as good, or better, than Abuelita. They also have various other flavors. As far as instant hot chocolate mix, it's the best. I have links to some of the flavors on this page. I don't have a link to the Mexican style, but if you click on the sampler, you should be able to find it:

 

http://www.w0is.com/miscpages/FoodStorageStaples.html

 

When I was in Scouts, someone brought along some army surplus food (possibly dating back to WW2, or at least Korea), which included "Hershey's Tropical" candy bars. As the name suggests, these were such that they would not melt in tropical conditions. They were basically the consistency of wood, and had a slightly waxy taste to them. I loved them, but most of the other scouts didn't. So everyone pooled theirs and put them into hot chocolate, which I have to admit was pretty good (once they finally melted, which they eventually did upon the application of enough heat).

 

The downside, of course, was that the other Scouts found a use for their Hershey's Tropical bars, which meant that they stopped giving them to me.

 

If you're looking for Abuelita, it's probably in the Mexican aisle of the supermarket, and not with the other hot chocolate. And while you're there, be sure to check out the Nestle Nido, which is powdered milk. Before you gag from the words "powdered milk", please hear me out. This stuff, when properly reconstituted, actually tastes like milk. Really. Scout's Honor. The difference is that it is not dehydrated skim milk--it is dehydrated whole milk. For that reason, it is more expensive (more than the milk it's replacing), and has a relatively short shelf life (6 months or so, unopened). But it would be an excellent choice for camping or backpacking.

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I agree about the dehydrated whole milk. It's almost the only thing you can get in the islands and it is really fine. Hard to find in the states though, compared to the skim milk (chalky water) stuff.

In the islands they sell it as unlabeled bags of white powder.

Note for travelers: if you try to bring that stuff back to the states in luggage you risk a nice polite conversation with the DEA somewhere along the way.

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