There’s nothing quite like a warm, steaming cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day — even more so if you’ve topped it with marshmallows, whipped cream, chocolate shavings… or all of those! In the United States, the terms “hot chocolate” and “hot cocoa” are generally interchangeable. But did you know there’s a difference between the two drinks? Read on to see which beverage you’re actually enjoying.
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What is hot cocoa?
What you consider hot chocolate is most often actually hot cocoa. It’s made with cocoa powder, sugar, and milk or water. You know those packets at the grocery store that say “hot chocolate” on them but it’s a powdered mix? That’s hot cocoa. Some packets have spices in them, some have milk powder in them, and many come with tiny marshmallows to sprinkle on the top of your mug.
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What is hot chocolate?
Actual hot chocolate is essentially chocolate melted into milk. The chocolate can come in the form of shavings, chocolate pebbles, bars, or even a fudgy style sauce — the important part is that it’s melted solid chocolate and doesn’t typically have added sugar. Hot chocolate is also often called “drinking chocolate,” especially outside the United States.
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What is the difference between hot cocoa and hot chocolate?
You’ll be able to tell whether you’re drinking hot chocolate vs. hot cocoa due to a few factors:
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Ingredients
Hot chocolate has fewer ingredients than hot cocoa. With hot chocolate, all you need is solid chocolate and milk. The chocolate itself brings the sugar necessary to sweeten the drink. With hot cocoa, you’ll have a packet of cocoa powder with some sugar added, milk or water to dissolve it in, and likely a packet of marshmallows to go along with the cup.
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Taste
Because hot cocoa has sugar added in, the taste is going to be sweeter than you’d get with regular hot chocolate. You can change the hot cocoa taste as well by using either hot milk or hot water as the mixer — milk will make it taste richer. Hot chocolate can lean toward darker, more bitter flavors, but many spots serving it will also give you optional mix-ins, like chili powder, cream, cinnamon, vanilla or almond extract, or other spices. If you’re making it at home, you can make the chocolate lighter by adding more milk than what the recipe calls for.
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Consistency
Hot cocoa is usually made by mixing water into a cocoa powder and sugar mixture, and that makes it more watery and less creamy. You can boost the creaminess a little by using milk instead of water, but to really get the richest, creamiest drink, you’ll want to go with hot chocolate. You’re melting down actual chocolate with hot chocolate, including all the milk fats and cocoa butter inherently in the food — so expect it to be smooth, silky, and super rich.
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Why do Americans call hot chocolate hot cocoa?
For most Americans, especially those in the United States, hot chocolate and hot cocoa are the exact same thing. They’re both a hot chocolatey drink. It likely has something to do with the American culture of always being on the go rather than slowing down to enjoy a drink — so turning the classic hot chocolate into a powdered version that can be made instantly makes a lot of sense.
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Which is healthier, hot cocoa or hot chocolate?
If you’re hoping to say healthy while also having a little treat, opt for hot cocoa. It doesn’t have the cocoa butter or milk fats that hot chocolate has. Plus, you can usually find low-sugar options at the grocery store, or make your own from scratch so you can choose just how much sugar to add in. Plus, making hot cocoa with water instead of milk cuts down on the calorie count.
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What is Mexican hot chocolate?
Mexican hot chocolate is a delicious drink flavored with warming spices like cinnamon and cayenne pepper. You can make it out of either hot cocoa or hot chocolate, though the hot chocolate route might need a little bit of extra whisking to get everything blended together. If you want to be true to Mexican heritage, though, you’ll want to make champurrado — a similar hot and chocolatey drink but made with masa (corn flour).
This article originally appeared on Goldbelly.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org
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