It’s National Chocolate Pudding Day! For those who love chocolate pudding this day must be Heaven on Earth. Of course, you can have chocolate pudding everyday but then it’s not a national holiday like today.
Chocolate pudding is made from milk, sugar, and chocolate, with a little vanilla added to even out the flavor. Add flour or cornstarch and you have pudding! Add eggs and you have custard!
The first mention of chocolate pudding came in, Mary Harris Frazer’s Kentucky Recipe Book, in 1903. Another recipe appeared in, Fanny Farmer’s Boston Cooking School Book, in 1918. Both recipes used eggs instead of cornstarch though (doesn’t that make it custard???)
Anyway, in 1934, General Foods (Jello) started producing chocolate pudding for the public. It was a prepared mix you had called, “Walter Baker’s Dessert”(remembering Baker’s chocolate). Then it was up to you whether or not to make chocolate pudding or chocolate custard. In 1936, for some unexplained reason they changed the name to “Pickle’s Pudding”. I am betting that chocolate pudding sales went down!
Chocolate pudding is used in many cake recipes to make them moist and full of flavor. This is very popular in the UK. Heck, it’s actually very popular anywhere.
There’s also chocolate pudding pie. Maybe not as popular but still good.
And of course there is the dark chocolate pudding, adding a little mint and a raspberry or two, just for good measure.
Chocolate pudding is readily available today under the label Jello, made by Kraft Foods and Snack Packs by Hunts.
How to celebrate: Have a chocolate bar, it’s easier. Go to your local gas station and buy a package of chocolate pudding and share it with the mechanic. Add a little whip cream to your chocolate pudding and live on the edge.
Unboxing the Bizarre™ 