Hot Chocolate

A mix to keep (or share) in a jar.

Hmm. Y’know, the now-closed Jackson’s Restaurant in Methuen, Massachusetts was operated by the DuBois family; Susan (Paradis) DuBois went to high school about 50 miles Northeast of Westborough, in Lowell, Massachusetts.

The restaurant started off in the 1940s as the Skyport Diner, when the views along its Merrimack river location were primarily desirable because they offered a great view of the seaplanes taking off and landing at the Merrimack Valley Seaplane Base. The Dubois family purchased the location early in the 1980s and turned it into a large restaurant that served American classics and held events like wedding receptions and anniversary parties.

Sue passed in 2013; the restaurant closed that same year. At the time, hot chocolate cost $1.75 on the breakfast menu.

From the box of J.L. from Westborough, Massachusetts.

Hot Chocolate

2 lb. chocolate flavoring
2 lb. confectioners sugar
12 oz. coffee creamer
1 tsp. salt
10 qts. powdered milk

Mix thoroughly; 1/3 cup per cup of boiling water — great on a cold evening!

From the recipe file of Sue Dubois.



2 Comments

  1. Maelui

    What is chocolate flavouring? I mean, it says 2 lbs. of chocolate flavouring. Is that a powder, or something? I’d like to know what product of chocolate flavouring should be purchased for this recipe to turn out right. Thanks!

    • Good question! The short answer is that it’s almost certainly unsweetened cocoa powder, in this case. A good rule of thumb is that mixtures of 1:1 “chocolate flavoring” and sugar are calling for the unsweetened thing.

      But it did inspire me to look at the history of “chocolate flavoring.” It seems like until the 1930s, advertisers would refer to “cooking chocolate” and “flavoring chocolate” mostly to distinguish between unsweetened and sweetened chocolate, respectively. But sometime around 1935, things that weren’t quite chocolate started getting called “chocolate flavoring,” especially syrups, and by the 1960s, it was used to refer to both unsweetened cocoa and NesQuik powders in ads. So it’s from the context of the recipe and the 1:1 cocoa/sugar mixture that I’m saying it’s likely unsweetened cocoa.

      Hope this helps!

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