Chocolate Milk

Chocolate milk is a sweetened, usually cold, cocoa-flavored milk drink. It is created when chocolate syrup (or chocolate powder) is mixed with milk (from cows, goats, soy, rice, etc.). It can be purchased pre-mixed or made at home with either cocoa powder and a sweetener (such as sugar or a sugar substitute), or with melted chocolate, chocolate syrup, or chocolate milk mix. Other ingredients, such as starch, salt, carrageenan, vanilla, or artificial flavoring may be added. Chocolate milk should be refrigerated like plain milk. A suspension is required to blend in the two flavors (milk and chocolate, hence the name of the mixed drink). When chocolate milk begins to spoil, it gives off a coffee-like odor, unlike plain milk, and due to the properties of the carrageenan, certain brands are known to, after a certain amount of time, coagulate into a viscous, chunky bottom layer and a thin, watery upper layer. It was invented by Hans Sloane in the late 1680s.