Meadow Gold chocolate milk brings home the gold in my chocolate milk taste test

By Jon Cox

November 6, 2006 | Whenever I drop by to visit my 3-year-old nephew, Colby, he gives me a big hug, then asks the same question: "Chocolate milk?"

He knows I'm a pushover. Now, I've learned to bring the goods when I come to visit.

As any good uncle would, I decided to rank the different milks in order of highest quality to provide the highest level of enjoyment to "my little cheese" (Colby's nickname). The following brands were selected, available for purchase at almost any Cache Valley supermarket: Nesquik, Meadow Gold, Western Family and Gossners.

I administered a blind taste test to 10 participants who were asked to rate the four varieties in order of highest quality. Each milk container got an equal 10 shakes before administering the test, to mix up any residue that might have shifted to the bottom of the container. Participants drank from identical cups so as not to be biased by preconceived opinions. Only after they had completed their rankings did I inform them of the different brands they had just tasted.

To provide as accurate an assessment as possible, each chocolate milk product was purchased in the low-fat variety. Then again, can anybody out there explain the percentage system of milk? The numbers seem to make some sense at first: skim (or 0 percent), 1 percent and 2 percent. But then, all of the sudden it skips to whole milk (does that mean 100 percent?). Why such a big jump?

For the purposes of this assignment, I stuck with 2 percent.

Nesquik proved to be the most expensive chocolate milk of the bunch, costing 6.8 cents per ounce. Meadow Gold followed at 4.7 cents. Western Family charged 3.9 cents. And Gossners will cost you 3.7 cents an ounce.

In the case of Gossners, low cost seems to translate over into lower quality. All 10 taste-testers rated the milk the lowest of the four. Nearly every participant made some comment about the milk's poor quality. No one even finished the entire sample cup. One participant spat out the milk right after drinking a swig. Another one said: "Whoa. Did they mix some cheese in there or something?" Even with the 10 shakes, an occasional chunk would drop into the serving cup. Let's face it, nobody wants chunky milk.

On the flip side, apparently higher cost is not always an indicator of higher quality when it comes to chocolate milk. Participants ranked Nesquik third best out of the four brands, even though it is considerably more expensive than the others.

Meadow Gold received the highest marks, rated No. 1 by six of the 10 participants. The other four participants ranked it second-best. Western Family barely beat out Nesquik in quality to receive the No. 2 ranking.

Consistently, taste-testers commented that the three flavors besides Gossners were very similar. They shared nearly identical textures and colors. The only difference proved to be the taste. Several said the Nesquik seemed just a little too rich.

One participant was surprised to learn he had ranked Nesquik third, commenting that he always thought that was his favorite brand. The Meadow Gold brand that he ranked best was not the Nesquik as he had originally thought.

All four brands share similar health ratings. Every cup of chocolate milk contains approximately 200 calories per cup in each of the four brands. They all provide 30 percent of your recommended daily intake of calcium per cup in addition to other vitamins. No real differences separated the four in nutritional value. The difference came down to quality.

If you want floaties, reach for your local Gossners brand. If you want good chocolate milk at a lower price, try Western Family. If quality is your No. 1 concern, stick with Meadow Gold. And if you just want to show off how rich you are to your friends or your 3-year-old nephew, go for the Nesquik.

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