Troy Warren for CNT

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE PUDDING DAY

Each year on June 26th, National Chocolate Pudding Day gets us all excited for a serving of this creamy dessert. Children and adults alike love chocolate pudding and have done so for generations. Usually eaten as a snack or dessert, chocolate pudding is also used as a filling for chocolate creme pie.

Chocolate pudding is usually made with milk and sugar, flavored with chocolate and vanilla then thickened with flour or cornstarch. However, some recipes do use eggs when making the pudding. Historically, chocolate pudding is a variation of chocolate custard, using starch as a thickener instead of eggs. The 1903 edition of Mary Harris Frazer’s Kentucky Receipt Book and the 1918 edition of Fannie Farmer’s Boston Cooking School Cook Book, both printed recipes for the earlier version, using both eggs and flour.

In 1934, General Foods (Jello) introduced a chocolate pudding mix as “Walter Baker’s Dessert.” However, in 1936, they renamed it “Pickle’s Pudding.”

Chocolate pudding can be purchased ready-made and sold in grocery stores, convenience stores, and gas stations. The popular brands include Jell-O by the Kraft Foods Corporation and Snack Pack by Hunt’s.