A little cup of chocolate pudding is one of the most perfect snacks ever, in my personal opinion. For kids or adults. Do you make your own or go for store-bought?
Let's do a three-way comparison for this one: Jell-O instant pudding mix, Jell-O pudding cups, and Martha Stewart's homemade chocolate pudding. All costs were taken from Peapod Online Grocery unless otherwise noted.
• Jell-O Instant Chocolate Pudding from Peapod
• Jell-O Chocolate Pudding Cups from Peapod
• Chocolate Pudding from Martha Stewart
COST BREAKDOWN
• Jell-O Instant Chocolate Pudding
Pudding Mix: $1.29
2 cups milk: $0.77
TOTAL: $2.06
PER SERVING (4): $0.52
• Jell-O Chocolate Pudding Cups
TOTAL: $3.50
PER SERVING (6): $0.58
• Homemade Chocolate Pudding
1/3 cup granulated sugar: $0.12
2 tablespoons cornstarch: $0.10
2 tablespoons cocoa powder: $0.16
1/4 teaspoon salt: $0.01
2 cups milk: $0.77
2 large egg yolks: $0.42
4 ounces semisweet chocolate: $1.16
1 tablespoon unsalted butter: $0.15
TOTAL: $2.89
PER SERVING (4): $0.72
TIME BREAKDOWN
• Jell-O Instant Chocolate Pudding: 5 minutes
• Jell-O Chocolate Pudding Cups: 0 minutes
• Homemade Chocolate Pudding: 15 minutes active time; another 40 minutes to set
CONVENIENCE
If you like to bake, you probably have all of these ingredients already stocked in your cupboard. At that point, the difference between whisking a powdered mix with some milk or whisking together a list of ingredients becomes less of a big deal.
There is some stove-top action that has to happen with homemade pudding, while instant pudding can be made in a single bowl with cold milk. The need to actually cook homemade pudding can be an inconvenience if, for instance, we want immediate pudding gratification.
And admittedly, homemade pudding can be rather fussy. There is the constant whisking. There are the eggs, which can curdle during cooking if we're being less than observant. There is Martha's recommendation to strain the pudding (probably a good idea if your eggs curdled) and then to cool it over an ice bath. There is also the potential that you didn't cook the pudding long enough and it ends up thin rather than thick and creamy.
I think if you make pudding frequently, it would get easier and the steps would become more intuitive. But if you only make it occasionally, it's probably going to feel less quick and easy than you'd like it to be.
TASTINESS AND HEALTHFULNESS
Homemade pudding can be chancy. If you get a good recipe, it's the best stuff on earth. I literally can't keep it in the house, it's so good. But I've also followed recipes that result in grainy, watery, overly-sweet, and bland puddings that aren't arguably much better than what you get from a mix.
At least with a box mix and with the snack packs, you get consistency. The flavor is usually pretty mild, but there's something comforting about its milky sweetness. And the texture is always perfect: thick, creamy, and silky smooth.
Of course, that perfection is because both the powdered mix and the snack packs are made with a bevy of thickeners, stabilizers, and enhancers. Our homemade pudding might not have quite that consistent texture, but at least it's made with ingredients that we know and recognize.
MAKE OR BUY?
Even considering the chanciness of making homemade pudding, I still make my own over buying it at the store. I get the craving rarely enough that I enjoy the whole process of standing over the stove and anticipating that first spoonful. Then again, if I made it more frequently, I'd probably zero in on the best recipes a lot more quickly and avoid the disappointment of a bad batch!
But between the powdered mix and the snack packs, I tend to favor the mix. It's made with fewer unpronounceable ingredients and I like being able to make it with fresh milk. Those snack packs are super convenient, especially if you're packing kid's lunches every day; but in the end, I feel like making the powdered mix and packing it straight into reusable containers is the better way to go.
VERDICT: First place goes to homemade. Runner up is the powdered mix.
What are your thoughts?
Related: Easy Summer Dessert: Homemade Pudding Bar
(Images: Peapod and Martha Stewart)
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The first time I left my kids home alone my son admitted "soda will be drunk, pudding will be made."
Kate- very funny
Make. I love homemade chocolate pudding. A local cafe has a good one I buy. But Jello tastes bleh.
If you must buy, buy Cozy Shack. Pretty natural and tastes much better.
Homemade all the way! Once you've had the good stuff, store bought (and mixes) just taste fake-y.
I've got a great recipe for low-fat choc pudding if you're worried about all the calories in homemade. It's from Cook's Country magazine and doesn't contain any low-fat ingredients (unless you use 2% milk instead of whole) - it just skips the eggs.
Kozy Shack is tasty, especially the rice pudding.
I really like the My-T-Fine chocolate pudding mix but maybe I'm just being nostalgic - it gets a thick skin on the top. I did try to make pudding once and it was too much work. The cooking part was OK but I think washing it out of my strainer pushed me over the edge.
Kate (NC) so funny! Kids are so funny!
I love the cooked kind of Jell-O pudding. The other kinds taste nothing like it. Plus I am in the "I love skin on top" school of pudding eaters. Seems to be a love it/hate it thing with that pudding.
I've home-made pudding, but never does it form the skin!
guys i think were running out of things to post about...
Make...all the way. 15 minutes and the joy of cooking recipe. But I think pudding skin is gross and always press plastic wrap on the top so it doesn't form.
Like so many of the items featured in "Make or Buy," I don't consider homemade pudding and packaged pudding to really be the same food. If I'm craving pudding, I'm craving one or the other; they aren't interchangeable.
Yikes. Homemade only. And it's to die for.
From scratch, obviously.
I never grew up on the store-bought stuff, only occasionally having it at a friends house without much enthusiasm. On a lark I made some from scratch about a year ago and it was delicious. Though Trader Joe's has a decent store bought version, the two really aren't comparable.
Cook the pudding and eat it warm! Duh.
Belsoy makes a chocolate pudding that's SO good.
My mom made everything from scratch...but not pudding. So in my mind it's a mix thing and thus I never actually make it. I really should try some recipies out!
store bought-
homemade makes me nauseous. : ( Not sure if we grew up with mixes or totally homemade, but whatever it was I couldn't eat it.
oh homemade. i only use 4 ingredients though: cocoa, sugar, cornstarch, milk. maybe a dash of salt if i remember. 2T cocoa, 1T sugar, 1T cornstarch for 1 cup of milk. not too thick, not too soupy.
also @ charlotte: my homemade pudding always forms skin, just don't cover it while it's cooling and the skin should form. (it's my favorite part, too!)
homemade with spoon licking bonus all the way! only one of the kids likes pudding (weirdos)... so it's a treat I love that no one will touch.
Pudding is something I would never buy. Homemade all the way and this post has left me with a hankering. There is a recipe in one of the recent cooks illustrated that I've been meaning to try.
Make! I am vegan, and I make pudding with almond milk, chia seeds, and vanilla. I add cacao powder for "chocolate" pudding, or nuts, seeds, or spices!
Seriously, this series is growing old. There isn't a thing that anyone has majoritarily said they would rather buy than make. *yawns* You've already made the point earlier in the series that homemade was better than buying anyway. I think The Kitchen needs a new feature series.
I like this series, but maybe the focus should be on comparisons, not picking homemade vs. bought. It is interesting to see the price differences and learn about the flavors that differ. I've yet to find a good chocolate pudding recipe as I tend to dislike the taste of too much cocoa powder. Making vanilla is fun, but nothing beats pudding cup 4-packs, 10 for $10 and the 11th one is free! So many flavors!