Decisions, decisions. Obviously, white milk was yucky. So how did you go about flavoring it, making it fit for consumption by a seven-year-old?
In the 60's, there were a number of choices. Some are still around, others have passed along the wayside.
In my home, it was either Nestle's Quik, or PDQ.
I'm not sure which I preferred. Nestle's had a very good taste, but PDQ was processed in the form of those cool coarse granules. Plus, the jar had an ultra-modern shape to it.
Interestingly, the modern look still appeals to me. In fact, my wife and myself have spent a good chunk of bucks remodeling our house in a modern look. But I digress.
Anyhow, the other choices to be had in my locale were Hershey's chocolate syrup (tricky. Too much or too little in the milk was equally distasteful) or Hershey's cocoa powder (simply not an alternative, IMHO. Not sweet enough).
Folks in the northeast US and areas of the west coastal states could opt for Bosco. I never saw it in Miami, Oklahoma, but it showed up as mentions in TV programs from time to time, and had an unforgettable name.
And there was Ovaltine. Broadway Joe himself hawked it! Sadly, I never tried it. I really don't know why. Its flavor was described by reader Patrick as being tad salty. It wasn't unusual to be eaten dry, right out of the jar.
Of course, for those who insisted their milk be flavored, there WAS one other choice.
I hesitate to bring it up at all. I tried it once, circa 1967, and its foul taste still lingers on my tongue.
Of course, I'm speaking of Nestle's Quik! STRAWBERRY!
It was a bad idea from the word go. Strawberry milk? Obviously, chocolate is the only artificial flavor ever intended to transcend milk to the next level.
Well, unless you count Bailey's Irish Cream.
Comments (10)
You for got good tasting OVALTINE. It was a tad salty and grainy. It was better raw right out of the jar.... we ate it til our tongues were raw....like we used to eat kool aid.
But I still remember.... the Bosco song. I had a teacher, Sr.Mary John Bosco. Great lady! And, Yes....I remember that fateful day Kennedy was shot...will never forget it.
Posted by Patrick | March 21, 2007 1:55 AM
Posted on March 21, 2007 01:55
I was a chocolate milk FIEND as a kid. I drank Bosco, Quik, Instant Breakfast -- you name it. Except for Ovaltine. I thought it was vile. Like granulated cardboard.
Posted by Rhea | March 21, 2007 9:28 AM
Posted on March 21, 2007 09:28
I was in love with Nestle's Quik. I'd dump it in the milk and my fave were the lumps that didn't dissolve. I'd spoon the lumps of chocolate into my mouth and enjoy the explosion as the chocolate bubble burst. Hershey's Chocolate Syrup was a favorite in our home, too.
Posted by Wendy | March 21, 2007 1:45 PM
Posted on March 21, 2007 13:45
I believe it was Nestles. I hated white milk. My stepfather was in the army and we were stationed in Fort Ord, California. This must have been about '60..yeah, it was. And he made me drink white milk. I puked it all over the dining room table. From then on, it was chocolate milk and only a little or I'd do the same thing with that!
Posted by Dorothy | March 21, 2007 4:23 PM
Posted on March 21, 2007 16:23
Bosco with the "Bosco Bear" was the best! Chocolate milk was a rare treat at my house, but we had Bosco when we had it!
Posted by Mary | March 21, 2007 8:00 PM
Posted on March 21, 2007 20:00
Isn't it funny how one can not think about something for years, but the mere mention of it brings back the exact taste?
Just reading what you wrote about eating Ovaltine right out of the jar, made my "taste buds" taste the long forgotten flavor on my tongue!
Posted by Davida | March 21, 2007 10:32 PM
Posted on March 21, 2007 22:32
I loved Nestles, Ovaltine, and Bosco. The one I could not stand (just my personal opinion) was YooHoo chocolate drink in the bottles.
Posted by David S Paleg | March 22, 2007 5:58 AM
Posted on March 22, 2007 05:58
And how about those drinking straws that had the flavor sticks inside them. The white mild was magically flavored as you sipped through the straw. Does any one else remember?
Posted by Tom | March 22, 2007 10:33 AM
Posted on March 22, 2007 10:33
Oh yes, do I remember the rich chocolaty taste of Ovaltine! People are discussing this very topic over at:
http://topicbuzz.com
Just look in the "Food" section once your at the website. What lovely memeories....I love my bon-bons too!
Posted by Sal Desileo | March 23, 2007 10:51 PM
Posted on March 23, 2007 22:51
PDQ wasn't bad, it dissolved better than Quik. We usually got either Bosco or Cocoa Marsh, which were pretty much the same. YooHoo was just bad, despite Yogi Berra's commercials, i just couldn't take it.
Posted by Bigfoot | March 24, 2007 11:25 PM
Posted on March 24, 2007 23:25