Bosco Chocolate Syrup
Encyclopedia
Bosco Chocolate Syrup is a brand of chocolate syrup
first produced in 1928. The company that produces it is based in New Jersey
, and it is sold throughout the United States, Western Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
cooking vats. Minor ingredients and flavorings are blended into the batch separately, through a custom blender device, following product handling and quality assurance codes. While in the vats, Bosco is pasteurized for product uniformity and then cooled for bottling. Computers measure and monitor the product temperatures. Malt extract is added, which combined with Bosco cocoa powder yields the distinctive Bosco taste.
Bosco was once packaged in glass jars, but is now sold in plastic squeeze bottles.
As of 2010, Bosco is produced in several flavors in addition to the original chocolate: berry blue, strawberry
, caramel
, sugar free, and "sugar free pancake syrup" (presumably maple
).
in the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock
's black and white film Psycho
(1960). This same technique was used in other black and white horror films, including Night of the Living Dead
(1968).
Vik Muniz
, a modern artist, is famous for recreating well-known works of art, such as The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
entirely in Bosco Chocolate Syrup. A Bosco portrait by Muniz sold for $110,000 in 2007.
In the Seinfeld
episode "The Secret Code", George Costanza
reveals his ATM PIN "Bosco" to J. Peterman's mother on her deathbed, who in turn repeats the word as she dies. Peterman later blamed George for his mother's death.
On the American television show Laverne & Shirley
Lenny and Squiggy eat Bosco Chocolate Syrup with any kind of food. The girls have to buy it for them frequently because they go through it so quickly.
On the American television show "M*A*S*H", Radar O'Reilly compares the newly arrived, regular U.S. Army Colonel Potter to Radar's stringent aunt, saying "You have to always say 'please', you can't dunk your Zweiback in your Bosco."
TV Land
, during its early years, featured a 1950s era Bosco commercial as one of its "TV Land Retromercials." The commercial featured the brand's icon, a talking bear also named Bosco that remains the mascot of Bosco products today.
Bosco Chocolate Syrup, at that time called Bosco Milk Amplifier, was heavily advertised on children's shows during the late 1950s and early 1960s, such as The Popeye Club, a local Atlanta, Ga. program featuring Popeye
cartoons, as well as live action sequences.
Chocolate syrup
Chocolate syrup is a chocolate flavored condiment. It is often used as a topping for various desserts, such as ice cream or mixed with milk to make chocolate milk.-Basic ingredients:...
first produced in 1928. The company that produces it is based in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and it is sold throughout the United States, Western Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Production process
Bulk materials are added via automatic measuring devices into stainless steelStainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
cooking vats. Minor ingredients and flavorings are blended into the batch separately, through a custom blender device, following product handling and quality assurance codes. While in the vats, Bosco is pasteurized for product uniformity and then cooled for bottling. Computers measure and monitor the product temperatures. Malt extract is added, which combined with Bosco cocoa powder yields the distinctive Bosco taste.
Bosco was once packaged in glass jars, but is now sold in plastic squeeze bottles.
As of 2010, Bosco is produced in several flavors in addition to the original chocolate: berry blue, strawberry
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
, caramel
Caramel
Caramel is a beige to dark-brown confection made by heating any of a variety of sugars. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, and as a topping for ice cream, custard and coffee....
, sugar free, and "sugar free pancake syrup" (presumably maple
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
).
Cultural references
Make-up artist Jack Barron used Bosco Chocolate Syrup as fake bloodTheatrical blood
Theatrical blood or stage blood is anything used as a substitute for blood in a theatrical or cinematic performance. For example, in the special effects industry, when a director needs to simulate an actor being shot or cut, a wide variety of chemicals and natural products can be used...
in the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's black and white film Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
(1960). This same technique was used in other black and white horror films, including Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent black-and-white zombie film and cult film directed by George A. Romero, starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman. It premiered on October 1, 1968, and was completed on a USD$114,000 budget. After decades of cinematic re-releases, it...
(1968).
Vik Muniz
Vik Muniz
Vicente José de Oliveira Muniz, known as Vik Muniz , is a visual artist living in New York City.-Early career:Muniz began his career as a sculptor in the late 1980s after relocating from Brazil to Chicago and later to New York. His early work grew out of a post-Fluxus aesthetic and often involved...
, a modern artist, is famous for recreating well-known works of art, such as The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
entirely in Bosco Chocolate Syrup. A Bosco portrait by Muniz sold for $110,000 in 2007.
In the Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
episode "The Secret Code", George Costanza
George Costanza
George Louis Costanza is a character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Jason Alexander. He has variously been described as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man" , "Lord of the Idiots" , and as "the greatest sitcom character of all time"...
reveals his ATM PIN "Bosco" to J. Peterman's mother on her deathbed, who in turn repeats the word as she dies. Peterman later blamed George for his mother's death.
On the American television show Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
Lenny and Squiggy eat Bosco Chocolate Syrup with any kind of food. The girls have to buy it for them frequently because they go through it so quickly.
On the American television show "M*A*S*H", Radar O'Reilly compares the newly arrived, regular U.S. Army Colonel Potter to Radar's stringent aunt, saying "You have to always say 'please', you can't dunk your Zweiback in your Bosco."
TV Land
TV Land
TV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
, during its early years, featured a 1950s era Bosco commercial as one of its "TV Land Retromercials." The commercial featured the brand's icon, a talking bear also named Bosco that remains the mascot of Bosco products today.
Bosco Chocolate Syrup, at that time called Bosco Milk Amplifier, was heavily advertised on children's shows during the late 1950s and early 1960s, such as The Popeye Club, a local Atlanta, Ga. program featuring Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
cartoons, as well as live action sequences.