December 16, 2008

Homemade Chocolate Syrup: Delicious & Plastic-Free

Hershey’s. Nestle. Santa Cruz Organic. Ah!Laska. Dagoba. What do these syrups have in common? (Besides some form of chocolate?) Some are conventional. Some are organic. Fair trade. But all of them are packaged in plastic squeeze bottles. Michael and I have begun wondering how products can be labeled organic when they are packaged in plastic. What do you think? Should chemicals from plastic packaging be considered in organic certification?

Well anyway, Michael and I need our chocolate syrup in order to be happy. So I found a very simple recipe on cookingcache.com and have been making it regularly.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup Recipe

[04/27/10 Note: I have updated this recipe since it was first published in Dec 2008. Some people found the syrup to be too thick. Therefore, I have changed the cooking instructions. Below is the procedure that works for us.]

1 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened) (Organic, purchased from Rainbow Grocery bulk bin)
2 cups sugar (Whole Foods bulk bin — I use 1/2 dark brown sugar and 1/2 granulated sugar. Note: Rainbow Grocery carries organic, fair trade sugar in the bulk bin.)
1/4 teaspoon salt (Still using cardboard carton. Will switch to bulk.)
1 cup cold water (Tap, of course!)
1 tablespoon vanilla (Glass bottle with small plastic cap.)

Combine cocoa and sugar and blend until all lumps of cocoa are gone. Add water and salt and mix well. Cook over medium heat, bringing it to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue stirring on the stove for just a couple more minutes, being careful not to let the sauce burn on the bottom of the pan. The sauce should still be fairly runny. Remove from heat and let cool. The sauce will thicken up as it cools. When cool, add vanilla.

Nowadays, we keep our chocolate syrup in a small ceramic pitcher in the refrigerator. The syrup should not be too thick to pour.

Note: This is NOT fudge sauce. It is fat-free syrup and will not be as thick as fudge, which necessarily contains fat, and lots of it! This syrup is great for chocolate milk, hot cocoa, and ice cream topping.

Enjoy!

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December 16, 2008 by Beth Terry
Filed under: Plastic Packaging, Recipes, sweet treats
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Comments

49 Comments on Homemade Chocolate Syrup: Delicious & Plastic-Free

CindyW on Tue, 16th Dec 2008 10:15 pm

It looks so yummy! Better yet, I am trying to make a homemade condiment/dessert for a vegan friend. This will be great.

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A Slice of the Pie on Tue, 16th Dec 2008 11:42 pm

We gave up chocolate syrup when I cut high fructose corn syrup out of our diet, so it’s good to hear there’s a good recipe out there! Thanks for sharing!

Kel

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Robj98168 on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 12:13 am

I wonder if I can make this sugar free??? GUess I will rustle my fat butt out to the laboratory err I mean kitchen and find out. Looks good- Thanks Beth

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Kim on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 1:32 am

Maybe it’s because I live in Alaska, and it’s local…but I can get the AH!laska cocoa and syrups in glass! Although, they do still have that little plastic piece around the lid…

This recipe sounds quite tasty, I’ll have to try it!

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knutty knitter on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 3:38 am

If I went plastic free round here we’d starve! We just don’t have any access to bulk anything much except sweets and a few dried fruits.

I agree with you on the organic plastic thing – cheating I think!

viv in nz

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Citizen Green on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 5:57 am

I agree that it does not make sense to package an organic product in plastic. It shows how plastic has crept into every aspect of our lives and consumers take it as normal. Even at “natural” grocery stores like Trader Joe’s, you can see stacks of products packaged in plastic – with Trader Joe’s brand on them.

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seppie on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 6:54 am

I’m a regular reader but never comment. But not I just can’t help myself. OMG I love you!!! We go through SOOOOOO much chocolate syrup (4 kids who love chocolate milk and hot chocolate) and I can’t wait to try this!

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Mother Earth aka Karen Hanrahan on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 6:56 am

I absolutely regularly wonder this about organics, stores like whole foods — -what’s with ALL the packaging? A peanut butter I recommend that uses sun dried peanuts ( no mold ) switched part of their line to plastic jars… fortunately they still do some in glass…we used glass before plastic – couldn’t we go back to that ??

Not sure if stevia would be an alternative sweetener, in powdered form it tends to be a tad bitter

I like the evaporated cane or turbinado as a choice too

I am still stumped as to how to avoid the plastics foods come in

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greeen sheeep on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 7:33 am

I am totally with you on this one Beth. Organic food in plastic is one of my biggest pet peeves. Kind of defeats the purpose, no?

I am currently searching for organic sugar NOT in plastic. Know of any? All conventional sugar comes in paper bags, so why doesn’t the organic? What’s up with that?

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Scott Wells on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 7:58 am

@greeen sheeep. Not only is so much organic sugar in plastic, but often comes from far away. Together, I have opted for plain white sugar in a bag. Blogged about it here: http://lowplastic.com/2008/12/15/plastic-free-sugar/

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Susy on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 8:05 am

Yum Yum! Sounds delicious. I think I’d make a lower sugar version, I like my stuff chocolatey and not so sweet.

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Bridget on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 8:35 am

Looks delicious!

If you want REALLY healthy fudge (and it comes in glass, although I’m pretty sure with the ring around the top…silly), try Wax Orchards:

http://www.waxorchards.com/

All of their fudge is fruit-sweetened, and so delicious!

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Angie on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 9:36 am

Beth, I love when you post stuff like this. I was at the supermarket yesterday and needed some sour cream and I thought to myself, “All the sour cream comes in plastic tubs. What would Beth do?” I am sorry to say, I bought the sour cream. But I’d love to know what I can do instead. Do people make sour cream at home?

How long do you think that chocolate syrup would keep in the fridge?

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Anonymous on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 10:15 am

You can make your own vanilla extract pretty easily: cut open a few beans lengthwise, put them in vodka for 3 months or so, and it’s done when a drop tastes more like extract than like vanilla-flavored alcohol. One major plus: the kind you buy at the store is often made with extra sugar, and you can avoid it when you make it yourself. Finding vanilla beans NOT packaged in plastic might be tough, though.

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Fix on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 10:35 am

Agave syrup might be worth a try for a low-glycemic version. The organic kind I had came in plastic, though!

Megan

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Fake Plastic Fish on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 11:21 am

Hi Angie. You can make your own sour cream. I did it last year with cream and buttermilk. But I have to admit that unless you own your own cow, there will be some plastic involved — either the plastic coating on the cardboard cartons or the plastic cap on the glass bottle. I do think it’s worth it though — tastes better and uses less plastic overall. Here’s a recipe:

http://www.mex-recipes.com/sour-cream-recipe.html

Anonymous, I think I’ll try making my own vanilla. I believe I can buy vanilla beans in bulk from Whole Foods. They have a whole spice section. I guess I should get started now, if it’s going to take 3 months.

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John Costigane on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 11:58 am

Hi Beth,

Home-made wins every time. Think of all the foodstuffs in plastic bottles. You could do a massive recipe book.

The chocolate syrup would be a summer favourite.

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Green Bean on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 2:53 pm

Now you’re talking!!

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Colleen on Wed, 17th Dec 2008 8:53 pm

Sounds yummy! I love that alternatives like this are probably economically better too…not only are you saving the plastic, you’re probably saving some money too!

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Satria Sudeki on Thu, 18th Dec 2008 2:55 am

It is happy to see your posting. Yes really informative article. I will tell this information again to my friend, oh yes I suggest you to check my blog on Chocolate Fountain , I hope the article on my blog will be usefull for you… and we can share each other. thank you… ;-)
http://top-chocolate.blogspot.com/

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Angie on Thu, 18th Dec 2008 7:08 am

Beth, fantastic, thanks for the sour cream recipe! I’ll try it. I love the idea of a previous poster about a plastic-free recipe book.

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Anonymous on Thu, 18th Dec 2008 12:45 pm

FPF, here are directions with more detail than you ever wanted!
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Vanilla-Extraction/
http://tipnut.com/homemade-vanilla-extract/

Since I had to buy beans by number and not by weight, I guessed and have 4 beans in slightly less than 500 ml of vodka.

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Condo Blues on Thu, 18th Dec 2008 2:36 pm

Chai tea is my favorite,especially on soggy wet days. I found organic chai tea at Meijer no less(!) My husband beat me to the first tea bag, which he pulled out of the box and said,”what’s wrong with this picture?” Our organic tea bag was wrapped in plastic. All of the other nonorganic tea bags in the house – have paper wrappers.

Situations like this make me believe that greener eating is coin toss. Often it’s a desision between organic/local food packaged in plastic vs. non organic/local food packaged loose (veg, etc.), or in compostable/at least recyclable packaging. *sigh*

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Hayley on Thu, 18th Dec 2008 2:56 pm

Ahh, late comment, but I did just have to comment.
I didn’t even realize syrups all come in plastic bottles! Why? Well, my mom has lots of lots of time on her hands (just kidding…kinda), and likes ot whip up her own batches of chocolate and caramel syrup whenever the oppurtunity arises. So if anyone needs a recipe for either, I can make her type it up and send it in!

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Crunchy Chicken on Thu, 18th Dec 2008 4:02 pm

Beth, Beth, Beth. Have I taught you nothing? You forgot the liqueur elements of your chocolate syrup.

Try replacing 1/8 cup of the water with Kahlua, Franjelico or Bailey’s. Hell, try all three.

If you want the alcohol to remain in the solution, add it after cooling (with the vanilla). If you just want the flavor but no alcohol, boil it with the rest.

You’ll probably need to reduce the amount of sugar a tad. Or not. I usually just wing it.

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JessTrev on Thu, 18th Dec 2008 6:30 pm

You know, I have been wondering this about ketchup lately. Not only are most of them in plastic, a couple are in #7 plastic which is even more patently bad news. The only glass one I can find is not organic. I *love* your idea to include potential packaging toxins in organic certification. Would get a lot of companies right back to glass and wax paper, I bet. Why, btw, did yogurt switch from wax-coated cardboard, and why did cereal switch from wax paper bags inside a cardboard box? Cause plastic’s so cheap?

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Fake Plastic Fish on Thu, 18th Dec 2008 8:17 pm

Karen — I could be wrong but I believe you can grind your own peanut butter at Whole Foods. Bring your own container. And I think you can set the grinder for smooth or crunchy. Maybe not all the stores have the capability, but I think ours does.

Greeen Sheeep — the next time I buy bulk sugar, I need to check and see if it’s organic. I thought it was, but I could be wrong. I’m pretty sure the cocoa was organic, but I bought it a long time ago. That’s one of the drawbacks of bulk bins — no labels to check later.

Hayley — be thankful your mom is doing something green, and she might not even realize it!

Crunch — Are you kidding? I pour kahlua directly on my ice cream from the bottle. (Oh, except I don’t really buy it anymore because of the plastic cap. I do have some principles.)

JessTrev — I’ve been meaning to try making homemade ketchup, except we eat so little of it, we still have a partial plastic bottle in the frig from over 18 months ago. Mustard too. Is it time to ditch them???

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Fake Plastic Fish on Mon, 22nd Dec 2008 6:24 pm

Hi Scott and Greeen Sheeep. I went to Rainbow Grocery here in SF over the weekend and found organic, fair trade sugar in the bulk bin. I just updated my blog post. So it does exist. I guess it’s a matter of asking your bulk foods store to carry it.

And Anonymous, while I was at Rainbow, I checked out the bulk vanilla beans. Unfortunately, each one was individually wrapped in plastic. Will check at Whole Foods and see if it’s the same story. Maybe the plastic is to keep them from drying out? And don’t know. Ended up buying a large glass bottle of Frontier fairtrade, organic vanilla extract instead. Hopefully it will last a while.

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SavvyChristine on Mon, 2nd Mar 2009 9:23 am

I tried to make this recipe, but found that the chocolate sauce solidified once it hit something cold. It turned into fudgy muck! My sugar didn’t completely dissolve, so I’m pretty sure I need to use less next time. Anyone else with a similar experience?

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Fake Plastic Fish on Mon, 2nd Mar 2009 2:57 pm

Hi Savvychristine. I’ve made this recipe several times now and never had this problem. And we do store it in the refrigerator. Did you bring it to a complete boil on the stove? The recipe says to cook it until it’s thick, but I just bring it to a boil (stirring the whole time) and then turn off the burner and let it sit and cool down before putting in the vanilla.

Are you stirring the whole time?

I really don’t know why the sugar wouldn’t be completely dissolving for you. Mine does. But also, I use 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar. I wonder if that’s part of it.

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SavvyChristine on Wed, 11th Mar 2009 7:49 am

Hi Beth —

Strange! I used 1 C. light brown sugar, and 1 C. granulated sugar, and I boiled it until it was thick, stirring the whole time, because it didn’t seem like the sugar was dissolving.

I wonder if organic vs. non-organic sugar is the problem. This calls for some experimentation!

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kerin on Sat, 18th Jul 2009 12:01 am

I thing this is something made by some chemical and used in chocolates,it seems like plastic and appears like plastic .

Free Satellite TV

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lauren on Wed, 3rd Feb 2010 9:11 am

I’m really excited about this recipe! How long will it stay good in the fridge? Thank you!

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Beth Terry on Wed, 3rd Feb 2010 10:34 am

Lauren, for us it stays good for months.
.-= Beth Terry´s last blog ..Red Hot Plastic Valentine’s Hug =-.

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Taco Seasoning on Thu, 25th Feb 2010 5:04 pm

that’s awesome i make and bottle in reused containers a lot of the stuff i cooked with but never even considered chocolate syrup,that’s a good idea and my kids will like it too.

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QponCutie on Tue, 27th Apr 2010 9:18 am

Not sure what I did wrong with this recipe, but man, did it set up THICK! I mean like frosting-thick! Useless for chocolate milk, that’s for sure! LOL and it got a crunchy skin like frosting that gets left out for a bit…

It was phenomenal straight out of the pot, though! LOL

oops…
.-= QponCutie´s last blog ..STILA Cosmetics on sale at HauteLook! =-.

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Beth Terry on Tue, 27th Apr 2010 5:54 pm

Hi QponCutie. I need to update that recipe. While the original recipe says that you cook it until it’s thick, that’s not actually what we do. We stir it constantly on medium heat just passed the boiling point. Then, we take it off the stove, pour it into a ceramic pitcher, and let it cool down. Once refrigerated, it thickens up just enough so you can still pour it. I’m guessing you may have cooked it too long. Could that have been the problem?

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robbiekay on Sun, 13th Jun 2010 10:44 pm

Thank you so much for posting this. Last week my husband was wondering why it took me so long in the grocery store. It was because I was trying to find a chocolate syrup that didn’t contain HFCS and could not find ANY options. Thanks to you, next time I’ll know where to go to find a recipe to make my own!

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Sunny on Fri, 2nd Jul 2010 12:51 pm

Thanks for the great recipe. I followed it just as written (with your updated directions) and I even used a timer to be sure I stirred it for just 2 minutes after it came to a boil. It turned out perfect. The recipe filled a 2 cup canning jar. The only trouble I have is convincing my two boys that just 1/2 a spoonful of syrup is enough for a glass of chocolate milk; they like to take a big spoonful because it’s just so yummy!

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Beth Terry on Fri, 2nd Jul 2010 2:05 pm

I’m so glad it worked out for you, Sunny! We love it. In fact, I need to make another batch right now before Michael gets home and wants to know where his chocolate syrup is. (I sometimes eat spoonfuls right out of the container.)
Beth Terry´s last [type] ..Plastic grocery bags- Ban them- tax them- or knit fake plastic fish

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Tina on Fri, 2nd Jul 2010 4:21 pm

This sounds good and there are a lot of good suggestions on here. Little by little we are changing for the better.

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Sunny on Thu, 26th Aug 2010 3:35 pm

I’ve made this a few times now – my kids love me all the more for it!

It is really important that when it comes to a boil you keep stirring for no more than two minutes to keep it runny enough to pour. I keep ours in a cleaned out glass bottle that used to have store-bought salad dressing in it. Pours out easily and is less messy than spooning it out of a jar. However, the one time I wasn’t paying attention and boiled it too long, the sauce was too thick. It still made good chocolate milk, it was just too thick to pour. No one complained about licking the extra thick sauce off the spoon though ;)

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Trish on Sun, 12th Dec 2010 12:27 pm

This worked great!
In fact I’m drinking some milk made with it as I write this. Yum!
I made a make a couple of changes though:
1) With no brown sugar on hand, I added 2 tbsp of molasses (the actual conversion rate is to add 2 tbsp for each cup but I wasn’t sure how it’d work).
2) On my 2nd round I wanted a less sweet, dark chocolate taste, so I increased the choc powder to 1 & ¼ cup and kept the sane sugar amount.
Both changes worked well, though I may try to add more molasses on the next batch.

I bottled them in recycled glass maple syrup bottles. (Thanks Freecycle!)
Since I live in New England and it is winter, I stashed them in a cool, dark kitchen cabinet, instead of the fridge,

I doubt I’ll get to it this year but I’m hatching a plan for next year’s holidays gifts.
I’m going to try and add small amounts of orange and (very small amounts) of peppermint extract to make Chocolate L’Orange and ChocoPeppermint syrups!

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Beth Terry on Sun, 12th Dec 2010 2:32 pm

Trish, yes! My husband made our last batch and couldn’t find the vanilla so he used mint extract instead. It was delicious!
Beth Terry´s last [type] ..Last Minute Recycled Christmas Tree Give Away – This Weekend Only

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Trish on Thu, 27th Jan 2011 8:27 am

Has anyone tried this using raw cacao powder instead? If so how did it work? Any changes to the recipe?

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Beth Terry on Thu, 27th Jan 2011 10:42 am

Trish. I haven’t tried it, but if you do please let me know how it turns out.

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Katie on Thu, 27th Jan 2011 9:24 pm

Just a note – this syrup cannot be fat-free as cocoa powder contains fat, sometimes up to 24%!

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Beth Terry on Thu, 27th Jan 2011 9:37 pm

Katie, that’s interesting. I wonder why Hershey’s syrup label says it has 0 calories from fat when it is also made with cocoa. By the way, in case anyone’s wondering how this recipe compares to the ingredients in Hershey’s syrup, here they are: HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP; CORN SYRUP; WATER; COCOA; SUGAR; CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE); SALT; MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES; XANTHAN GUM; POLYSORBATE 60; VANILLIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR

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Trish on Sun, 30th Jan 2011 11:52 am

You’re both right.

Here’s a nutritional breakdown of unsweetened cocoa powder (dutch proc.) with 11% sat. fat. You can look up other ones on here too.

Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened, processed with alkali [Dutch cocoa]
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/5472/2

As with Hershey’s my bet is that they use very little real powder and a lot of cheap artificial flavoring. Even though it’s last on ingredients list, you don’t need much volume when you’re using industrial strength flavorings.

I wouldn’t worry too much about the saturated fat though. At least it’s natural. The HFCS and other franken-food ingredients in the mass marketed ones have to be a lot worse for you.
Remember fake-fat margarine was supposed to be healthier for us. We now know that butter is in fact the healthier one.

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