Cocoa Paste
Mix to a smooth paste one fourth pound of cocoa, and one half pound of granulated sugar with one half cupful of evaporated milk. Add one half cupful of water and boil for five minutes, stirring constantly. Keep in a covered jar in a cool place and use as needed.
This is a cocoa concentrate meant to be spooned into hot or cold milk rather than a confection. The whole thing hinges on getting the dry cocoa and sugar thoroughly combined before any liquid goes in.
- Mix dry firstWhisk the cocoa and sugar together while both are dry, then work in the evaporated milk a spoonful at a time. Cocoa powder wetted all at once forms lumps that will not break up later, and there is no straining step here to save you.
- What "cocoa" meansPlain unsweetened cocoa powder; natural (non-alkalised) cocoa was the common American grocery product of the period, though Dutch-process was also available. Do not substitute a sweetened drinking-chocolate mix; the sugar is already accounted for.
- Weights to volumesOne quarter pound of cocoa is roughly 1 1/4 cups, sifted. Half a pound of granulated sugar is about 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons. Weighing is more reliable, since cocoa packs unevenly.
- Evaporated milkUnsweetened evaporated milk, not sweetened condensed. Condensed milk would add a good deal more sugar and the paste would set hard.
- The boilOnly one cup of liquid total, so use a small heavy-bottomed pan over medium-low heat and keep the spoon moving against the bottom. A sugar-and-cocoa mixture this thick scorches within seconds of being left alone, and burnt cocoa cannot be rescued.
- Storage"A cool place" meant a cellar or icebox. Because this contains milk, refrigerate it in a clean covered jar and use it within a week or two; do not leave it on a shelf at room temperature.
- Yield and useMakes about 1 1/2 cups of thick paste, enough for a dozen or more drinks. Start with a generous tablespoon per cup of hot milk or water and adjust; for iced cocoa, slacken the paste with a little hot water first so it disperses.
This belongs to the wave of non-alcoholic drink books published in the United States around the arrival of Prohibition. Books of this sort set out to prove that a household could entertain, and a soda fountain could trade, without spirits, so they lean heavily on cocoa, fruit syrups, phosphates and egg drinks. A keeping paste like this one belongs to the same logic as a fountain's bottled syrups: make the flavoring base in quantity once, then build individual drinks to order in a moment. Evaporated milk, widely available in tins by the 1910s and shelf-stable before opening, is what let a home cook produce a rich concentrate without daily trips for cream.