Why it works: Cocoa and milk work together. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 643 recipes. Both carry methyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
Breakfast Cocoa
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Measure 1/2 teaspoon prepared cocoa, 2 cups milk or 1 cup boiling, 2 teaspoons sugar, water and 3 cups milk, 2 cups boiling water, and a few grains salt.
Make the cocoa
Scald the milk; mix cocoa, sugar and salt, add boiling water, and stir till smooth.
Boil 5 minutes or more; add scalded milk and boil a minute.
Beat with Dover egg beater to prevent scum.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 6 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Beverages | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Cocoa + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together643 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
-
Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Cocoa + sugartop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together956 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Prepared cocoa
- Provides the chocolate flavor and color of the drink.
- Milk
- Adds body, creaminess and richness to the drink.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the cocoa's bitterness.
The step that matters
Beat the drink while it boils. Milk proteins and fats rise to the surface and form a skin or scum as the liquid heats. Beating the hot liquid breaks up these particles and keeps the drink smooth.
Swap the cocoa
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar):
- Cocoathe original
- Almondfits about as well
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Peanutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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