Yoo-hoo Chocolate

Practically everyone knows what a Yoo-hoo is, right? A simple chocolate drink, mostly sugar, cocoa, dry nonfat milk and some phosphates. This isn't a traditional chocolate phosphate though. Yoo-hoo is not carbonated.

Honestly, I haven't had a Yoo-hoo in about 35 years. I used to drink them as a change of pace from Coke or Pepsi. (Oh, yeah, I had cavities.) The drink discussed here is the original classic chocolate version. Other flavors include strawberry and double fudge(!) and a "lite" version of the chocolate with less calories.

Even when I was a kid, Yoo-hoo was an old drink. Created back in the 1920s in New Jersey by Natale Olivieri, a fruit flavor maker, the drink became a hit once Mr. Olivieri discovered a way to effectively pasteurize the concoction before bottling. The drink was heavily promoted by the New York Yankees championship teams in the 1950s. Today Yoo-hoo is produced by Mott's. Yes, the applesauce and fruit juice company.

Back when I was drinking Yoo-hoos, they were in glass bottles resembling the taller thinner soft drink bottles of the day. Today, Yoo-hoos are normally found in the squat glass bottles often used for juices or sports drinks. Though it can be found in cans and small juice box style containers.

I bought my sample at a local grocer, paying around $2.00 for the 15 oz container.

Presentation/Appearance - 6/10 The bottle lacks style and the drink looks like a decent glass of chocolate milk.

Smell/Odor/Aroma - 6/10 The chocolate is definitely there, but it smells more like a powdered cocoa mix. The water base is detectable, too.

Taste/Flavor - 5/10 Tastes like sugary cocoa water. The sugars (really corn syrups) coat the mouth, but not pleasantly. I wonder what this would taste like with cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. If I remember correctly, I think I tried to make this with Nestle’s Quik, some table sugar and water when we had run out of milk when I was a kid.

Finish/Satisfaction - 5/10 The sweetness lasts longer than the chocolate. After a glass, I felt a little twinge in my stomach. Too sweet for me to consume too much. However, it does deliver a shot of milk chocolate flavor with every mouthful.

Overall - 5.2/10 Yoo-hoo is a kids' drink all the way. Simple chocolate taste delivered in a sugar water solution.

Someone has Yoo-hoo memories. Let’s hear them. What kind of snacks did you have with your Yoo-hoos? I remember Ho-hos and King Dons (Ding Dongs).