Chocolate puddings are a class of desserts in the

pudding Pudding is a type of food. It can be either a dessert or a savoury (salty or spicy) dish served as part of the main meal. In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, in ...

family with

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civil ...

flavors. There are two main types: a boiled then chilled dessert, texturally a

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency f ...

set with

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...

, commonly eaten in the U.S.,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, Sweden,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, and

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and

South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

; and a steamed/baked version, texturally similar to

cake Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...

, popular in the UK,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, Australia,

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

North American and Asian version

The U.S./Canada and Asian version is one of the most common varieties of ''sweet'' or ''dessert''

served in these countries. It is usually eaten as a

snack A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home. Traditionally, snacks are ...

dessert Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and most parts o ...

. It is also used as a filling for chocolate (pudding) pie or

black bottom pie Black bottom pie is a type of pie originating in the United States that features a layer of chocolate pastry cream or pudding, the "black bottom," topped with whipped cream or meringue. The single crust is pre-baked and of variable composition, but ...

. Historically, it is a variation on

, with starch used as thickener rather than eggs. Early versions of the dish using both egg and flour can be found in the 1918 edition of Fannie Farmer's ''Boston Cooking School Cook Book'' and in the 1903 edition of Mary Harris Frazer's ''Kentucky Receipt Book''. In the late 19th and early 20th century, chocolate pudding was thought of as an appropriate food for invalids or children as well as a dessert. It was not considered a health food in the modern sense of the term, but as a wholesome, high-calorie food for those with poor appetites.

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...

(Jell-O) introduced chocolate pudding mix in 1934 as "Walter Baker's Dessert". It was renamed "Pickle's Pudding" in 1936. Modern chocolate puddings are usually made with

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulati ...

and sugar, flavored with

and

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

and thickened with a

such as

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many c ...

cornstarch Corn starch, maize starch, or cornflour (British English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thicken sauces or soups, ...

. Occasionally, eggs are still used when making chocolate pudding. Usually it is cooked together on the stovetop, but other methods exist including microwaving,

steaming Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. This is often done with a food steamer, a kitchen appliance made specifically to cook food with steam, but food can also be steamed in a wok. In the American southwest, steam pits used for cooking hav ...

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferre ...

(sometimes in a

bain-marie A bain-marie (; also known as a water bath or double boiler), a type of heated bath, is a piece of equipment used in science, industry, and cooking to heat materials gently or to keep materials warm over a period of time. A bain-marie is also ...

) or freezing (using gelatin as a thickener). Sometimes

white chocolate White chocolate is a confectionery typically made of sugar, milk, and cocoa butter. It is pale ivory colored, and lacks many of the compounds found in milk and dark chocolates. It is solid at room temperature because the melting point of cocoa ...

pudding is made. Chocolate pudding is commonly purchased ready-made in stores; popular brands include

Jell-O Jell-O is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert ( genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a ...

Pudding by the

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arra ...

Corporation and Snack Pack by Hunt's. Many people make their own chocolate puddings at home, but commercially produced tinned or refrigerated versions are commonly available in supermarkets.

Nutritional information

Chocolate pudding is a relatively light dessert in comparison to others. Additional nutrition facts can be foun
here

British Isles and Australian version

In Britain, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, chocolate pudding is similar in preparation to the Daily Do versions in early 20th century United States. It is a steamed dessert which consists of

baking powder Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid. The base and acid are prevented from reacting prematurely by the inclusion of a buffer such as cornstarch. Baking powder is used to incre ...

, sugar, whole eggs,

aroma, and cocoa powder or

mixed together to make a batter and steamed or

baked Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...

similar to

Christmas pudding Christmas pudding is sweet dried-fruit pudding traditionally served as part of Christmas dinner in Britain and other countries to which the tradition has been exported. It has its origins in medieval England, with early recipes making use o ...

. Texturally it is similar to chocolate cake, but denser courtesy of being steamed or baked with boiling water poured over the pudding batter.

References

* ''Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook'', Ruth Berolzheimer, ed. (1988). * ''Larousse Gastronomique'', by Prosper Montangné (1961). * * ''The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book'' by Fannie Merritt Farmer. "Steamed Chocolate Pudding" (1918). (http://www.bartleby.com/87/r1195.html). * ''Kentucky Receipt Book'' by Mary Harris Frazer. (1903). (http://www.oldlouisville.com/Recipes/Puddings/chocolatepudding.htm)
A History of Jell-O Brand 1930-1940

BBC recipe of Chocolate self-saucing pudding - a good example of the British and Australasian version of chocolate pudding

Aunt Betty's Chocolate Fudge Pudding. A commercial example of the British version on sale in New Zealand
{{Puddings Puddings Chocolate desserts Steamed foods

North American and Asian version

Nutritional information

British Isles and Australian version

See also

References