Calling all chocolate lovers! National Milk Chocolate Day is celebrated annually on July 28. When solid chocolate is combined with either powdered, liquid or condensed milk; it’s known as milk chocolate. Milk chocolate is the most popular member of the chocolate family and with good reason. It’s creamy, smooth and mostly used in candy bars. It is believed that in the mid-1800s, milk chocolate was first created as a beverage in Germany. The first milk chocolate, in the form of a bar that we all recognize today, was created by Swiss chocolatier Daniel Peter while collaborating with Henri Nestlé, the founder of his Nestlé chocolate company. So if you’re a true chocoholic, get ready to celebrate all things milk chocolate!
National Milk Chocolate Day timeline
The Olmec, one of the earliest civilizations in Latin America, turns the cacao plant into chocolate.
While in Jamaica, Irish physician Hans Sloane adds milk to the ‘chocolate water’ to make it taste better and he brings his discovery back to England.
The Van Houten company in Amsterdam invents the cocoa pressing method to produce a light, fluffy chocolate powder that can be easily dissolved in water or milk.
Swiss chocolatier Daniel Peter adds dried milk powder to chocolate to create milk chocolate.
National Milk Chocolate Day Activities
Eat a candy bar
Since it's National Milk Chocolate Day, your task is a delicious one. Grab your favorite milk chocolate candy bar and enjoy. With so many mouth-watering choices like caramel, coconut or cookie nugget — take your pick. Then, spend some time licking the melted good stuff off your fingers.
Bake a cake
During the Victorian era, baking a cake was expensive because sweet ingredients like sugar, chocolates and exotic fruits, were considered as luxuries. Only the nobility and the upper middle class could afford cakes for birthdays, weddings or holidays. As prices dropped, every special occasion included a cake, ideally made out of milk chocolate and stacked in multiple layers.
Drink your chocolate
No kids allowed. Dessert cocktails are perfect when you’re having a chocolate craving. They’re rich, creamy and made to satisfy that sweet tooth. Your favorite alcoholic beverage can be a perfect complement to milk chocolate.
Why We Love National Milk Chocolate Day
It’s the perfect ingredient
Nothing gets us more excited to bake than the idea of whipping up a milky, chocolaty dessert when we're done. Whether the recipe uses milk chocolate chips or a milk chocolate bar, a chocolate craving provides the perfect excuse to create a decadent, totally self-indulgent treat. Chocolate pudding, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, a triple-layered cake, whatever, just as long as the main ingredient is milky, silky, chocolate. Don't forget to lick the bowl!
It's sweet yet adaptable
We all know you can eat the sweet treat but did you know there are other uses for it, too? Milk chocolate is sometimes used in products for hair and skin care because it contains little-known ingredients that are beneficial to your skin. The level of antioxidant compounds in cocoa is higher than that of green tea, black tea or red wine.
Don't believe the negative hype about milk chocolate not being nutritious
Ok, so the nutritional benefits of milk chocolate are not as extensive as those found in dark chocolate. But milk chocolate still has a lot going for it. For example, milk chocolate gives you stamina because it stimulates your brain and your emotions. Also, eaten in moderation, milk chocolate gives our bodies the fat we need in our daily diet.
National Milk Chocolate Day dates
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | July 28 | Sunday |
| 2025 | July 28 | Monday |
| 2026 | July 28 | Tuesday |
| 2027 | July 28 | Wednesday |
| 2028 | July 28 | Friday |
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