I need to make gallons of hot chocolate, how?

[Marty]

The first night or two of our Christmas light show we are going to be set up in the driveway by the road giving out cups of hot chocolate and candy canes to the traffic. It's just a little payback from us to our little mountain community who has been so supportive of us.

My question is how, or what can I use to make it by the tons and be able to keep it hot?

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

can you get or rent those big huge coffee pots they use for big meetings and stuff ( Do they still even use those) the big ol silver things that are like the size of a 3 gallon bottle)

 

[Jill]

I think Lisa's got a good idea! I actually used to have a couple of those but no longer do. They hold at least 3 gallons and keep it hot hot hot!

 

[Marty]

I was thinking about one of those. We have one at Church I was just using when we made the Thanksgiving baskets this week.

I'm sure I can borrow it but didn't know it would work with hot chocolate. I can ask today.

 

[Jill]

Marty --

The ones I used to have were for when I did seminars at community centers. It would keep the coffee hot for hours. Now I do my seminars at Country Clubs, so I'm not making the coffee these days

But, I think to use one for to keep the hot chocolate hot, you'd just make it like usual, and pour it into one of these and plug it in. You wouldn't need to use the perculator (sp?) parts of it.

Jill

 

[rhea]

Just remember to stir it frequently! At work we used those, and if you didn't stir it the hot chocolate would burn, which was reeeaally disgusting...

 

[Kathy2m]

Or you can do like our horse club does, just keep the water hot in the big coffee pot and make them up one at a time with the individual packages.

 

[sfmini]

For our Christmas tree farm, we keep one of those huge coffee pots full of hot water, then allow the customers to mix from those big tubs of hot chocolate mix. The all seem to love it, and nobody has to remember to stir, none wasted since it is just hot water.

 

[Bess Kelly]

You can use the igloo water coolers, too. You do have to swirl or stir every so often.

 

[Cathy_H]

If the above does not work - how about one of those electric heater stick things (a new one) that you stick in a bucket to heat water quickly.. Sorry don't know the name of it but it is straight - you stick it in a bucket & have hot water very quickly....... You can then use it in your barn. I saw one recently where the electricity shuts off once the water gets to a certain level . You would have to use a metal container though.. You could just heat the water & let each person mix his own....... If you had a couple of metal tea kettles or metal coffee pots you could stick the heater in those to heat the water quickly also or heat the water in a deep metal pot ( then transfer to a smaller one if it works out easier).

 

[Reble]

Another Ideal they do at the Conservation area is hot apple cider with the candy canes, than you do not have to worry about the chocolate burning...

 

[Marty]

Thanks everyone. I think my neighbor across the road is going to help with the hot chocolate part now and me and her daughter and Dan will be running it to the cars in the road. That's if anyone shows up.

I need to get up more lights.