Like last week’s Difference Between, this one is taking a look at a couple of well known beverages. We’re investigating the difference between chocolate milk and hot cocoa. Shout out to my coworker and friend Joe for suggesting this one.
Definitions & Ingredients
Chocolate milk is milk that has been flavored with chocolate syrup or powdered chocolate. You mix it yourself, or it can be purchased pre-mixed.
Yoo-hoo consists of water, high fructose corn syrup, whey, sugar, corn syrup solids, cocoa, nonfat dry milk, salt, tricalcium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, xanthan gum, guar gum, natural and artificial flavors, soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides, Vitamin A palmitate, niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Vitamin D3, and Riboflavin (Vitamin B2).
A Little History
Chocolate milk was discovered in the early 1700s by Irish botanist Sir Hands Sloane. He reportedly observed Jamaicans brewing a beverage consisting of cacao and boiled with milk and cinnamon, although, it’s believed the Jamaicans were making the drink as early as the late 1400s.
Yoo-hoo, not surprisingly, came around much later in the 1920s in New Jersey. It really took off during the 1940s and 1950s with a Yogi Berra campaign and a sponsorship from the New York Yankees.
What the Difference Is
Chocolate milk has actual milk in it, while Yoo-hoo has water and then a couple of milk byproducts. So, Yoo-hoo is not a type of chocolate milk, but a chocolate drink.
Health-wise, chocolate milk almost definitely comes out ahead. Also, Yoo-hoo drinks are two servings and most people treat them as one.
See what the difference is between hot chocolate and hot cocoa >>
Sources:
- Dictionary.com: chocolate milk
- Fooducate: Boo-hoo to Yoo-hoo “Chocolate Drink” [inside the label]
- Reference: What is the difference between Yoo-hoo and chocolate milk?