Hot chocolate: it’s a winter staple. Amidst falling temperatures and dreary skies, there’s nothing quite like taking a swig of this sumptuous beverage and seeking warm refuge in the delights of a steaming mug. Hot chocolate is as straightforward as drinks go: at its core, it’s milk, cocoa powder, and sugar. Despite its simplicity, this cold-weather classic is swirling with science.
The backbone of any decent hot chocolate is milk. Beyond water, milk is perhaps the most basic and familiar substance to humans. We’re all born drinking some form of it, but how often do we stop and think about its underlying science? Milk is an emulsion, which is a mixture of two immiscible liquids—in this case, water and fat. The water-based component of milk is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and protein and contains immiscible fat globules suspended throughout. How do water and fat coexist peacefully in solution together? The answer lies in emulsifiers, which are molecules that are both water- and fat-soluble. Milk contains proteins, namely casein, that attract and unite the fluids that would otherwise separate. Rich, silky, and chemically intriguing, this dairy product serves as the perfect vehicle for chocolate (1).
