The answer of who invented chocolate syrup, history has chalked it up to the ingenuity of American soda fountain operators in the late 19th century and dairy farmers in the early 20th century.
Regardless of which side you fall on, chocolate syrup has left an enduring legacy on American cuisine and culture.
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History of Chocolate Syrup
The complex history of chocolate syrup began with medicine at the turn of the 20th century. Rather than ice cream and flavored milk, it rose at a time when Herhsey’s was peddling chocolate syrup to American apothecaries to mask the bitter flavor of some of everyday medicine.
Hershey's Chocolate Company did not begin manufacturing and marketing chocolate syrup until 1926. The factory's Laboratory and Experimental Department, led by Chief Chemist Sam Hinkle, worked long hours to produce the product of chocolate flavored syrup in cans.
This unlikely origin of chocolate syrup as shared by the Smithsonian, was unearthed when pastry chef and author Stella Parks was researching her latest book Bravetart: Iconic American Desserts.
By the 1700s, the drink had been sweetened to make it more appealing. Because of the increased calories, this drink was initially suggested to people suffering from "wasting disease."
The European Industrial Revolution drove the demand for easy-to-swallow tablets, resulting in the development of sugar-syrup coated pills. Eventually, pharmacists began coating the pills in a sugar and chocolate mixture.
This was the main use-case until the mixture began being used to sweeten daily desserts, and chocolate syrup evolved from a necessity to a favorite.
The Rise and Fall of Chocolate Syrup
From the early twentieth century until the 1960s, soda fountains selling carbonated beverages were often built alongside drugstores. These functioned as a social space for people of all ages and to gather during the Prohibition.
Soda fountains made use of the pharmacist's practical chemistry skills. This understanding of chemistry and chemical processes enabled the development of drinks using syrup concentrate, ice cream, carbon dioxide, and water.
In the US, almost every pharmacy featured a soda fountain and were eventually serving ice cream sodas and then ice cream sundaes with chocolate syrup.
Chocolate syrup contributed significantly to the popularity of ice cream sundaes. Apart from Hershey’s chocolate syrup, a separate physician claimed to have invented Bosco Chocolate syrup in 1928 in Camden, New Jersey.
Unfortunately, the Blue laws of the time banned the selling of sodas on Sabbath. The ice cream sundae was born from a work around to this prohibition since only sodas were banned on Sundays; ice cream wasn't.
Ice cream sundaes have a few origin stories mentioning how several people invented the ice cream sundae:
- Pharmacist Charles Sonntag created it from the urging of patrons to “create something different” and named the dish after himself. Ice Cream Sonntag where Sonntag is German for Sunday.
- Ed Berners, a soda fountain operator, decided to serve ice cream with chocolate syrup and a cherry on top, calling it the "Cherry Sundae” in Evanston, Illinois in 1892.
- In Two Rivers, Wisconsin in 1881, pharmacist Edward Berners swapped chocolate syrup for soda in an ice cream soda to comply with the Blue Law. If the legend is accurate, the sundae was named because Berners used to only offer it on Sundays before adding it to the regular menu.
- One Sunday in May of 1892, in Ithaca, New York researchers at the History Center in Tompkins County, New York recounted how their first ever sundae came to be. A minister requested vanilla ice cream from Chester C. Platt. Platt sprinkled cherries and cherry syrup on top of the ice cream. The minister liked the improvements and suggested that the ice cream be named after the day it was made. Platt agreed and later changed the spelling to avoid offending anyone.
By the 1970's soda fountains suffered a total loss eventually leading to their demise with the combined birth of fast food, commercially-made ice cream, and bottled soda.
Chocolate Syrup + Milk
Another popular American treat is chocolate milk. It’s essentially chocolate syrup and milk combined.
Chocolate milk's history is intrinsically linked to the ancient Mesoamerican frothy bitter cup of chocolate beverage. According to historian James Delbourgo, Jamaicans began brewing "a hot beverage brewed from shavings of freshly harvested cacao, boiled with milk and cinnamon" as early as 1494.
In 1662, The Indian Nectar by Henry Stubbe provided procedures utilizing eggs, sugar, and milk to produce chocolate as a stomach elixir. Sir Hans Sloane, an Irish botanist, introduced chocolate milk to England in 1689 as a modified alternative to the bitter Jamaican spiced chocolate milk beverage.
In 1849-1875, the Cadbury brothers launched a milk chocolate drink in a tin that propelled their company into a thriving drinking chocolate company. Sometime in the early 20th century, American dairy farmers used chocolate syrup to create chocolate milk.
Dairy farmers were looking for ways to raise milk consumption. They started marketing the idea of mixing chocolate syrup into milk to make a tasty and nutritious beverage that kids would enjoy.
The concept was a smashing success, and chocolate milk immediately became a popular beverage in the United States.
Chocolate Syrup Uses
Today, chocolate syrup remains a favorite condiment and ingredient to many recipes. It’s used in a variety of desserts and drinks to add flavor, improve consistency or presentation.
In cakes in particular, chocolate syrup keeps sponge or pound cakes moist while adding sweetness. You can even use it to rim drinks and to garnish plates for memorable serving.
- Pour it over ice cream for a nice topping or to make an ice cream sundae.
- Stir it into milk to make chocolate milk
- Pour it over warmed brownies topped with ice cream (brownies ala mode) or angel food cake.
- Layered it in a chocolate trifle.
- Swap chocolate syrup for maple syrup in pancakes or waffles.
- Drizzle a little bit of syrup on top of the cream cheese frosting over warmed cinnamon or sticky buns.
- Use it as a dipping sauce for fruit.
- Line a glass for iced coffee, milkshakes, milk tea or other blended drinks like a non-caffeinated Frappuccino.
- Make homemade chocolate syrup to give away as gifts for the holidays or as hostess gifts.
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