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Monday, January 27, 2014

From the Beverage Aisle: PDQ

Product: PDQ
Company: Ovaltine
Years: 60's-80's

For the record, there is absolutely nothing wrong with regular ol' white milk. It's good, and good for you, but there are a bunch of companies out there that just want to spice up your milk drinking experience. Some are still around (such as Nestle Quik and Hershey's syrup), and some are but a memory (Milk Mate and Pinch N' Sip), so I was surprised when an internet friend of mine was selling something I didn't know anything about: PDQ.

Photo by Grickly
PDQ was created by Ovaltine in the mid to late 60s. It wasn't a powder like many of the other similar products, but instead was more of a small pebble/chip of the flavoring that would dissolve in milk. It came in Chocolate, Strawberry, and the seasonal Egg Nog. I wish that last line was a typo, but it wasn't. They actually made Egg Nog Milk flavoring.

Part of the appeal of this product is that you could also use it as a topping on ice cream ("Who want's some Egg Nog Flavored Ice Cream!!!" said the worst parents ever.)
 
Something else you might remember of these bottles was that they would often have a collectable label or lid, such as Endangered Species/Cars/and Marvel Superheros in the early 80s.
Like many of the items I blog about, I'm surprised this one somehow made it past my kid "unhealthy food" radar. Nestle Quik was always in my house growing up, so I'm guessing it was just never brought to my attention. It sort of looks like a jar of coffee grounds to me. Maybe that's why I didn't care.

Plus, as a side note, I'm surprised they used the abbreviation P.D.Q., since that stands for "Pretty Damn Quick". I guess you could argue that it stands for "Pretty Darn Quick", but you would be wrong. And I guess it's better then the first name they pitched, "PMFGDQ".

You figure it out.

Photo by Grickly



85 comments:

  1. I used to eat the chocolate flavor with a spoon right out of the jar.

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    1. So was it like eating a spoonful of little chocolate chips? Or did it have a different flavor (pre-dissolved)?

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    2. Hmm. They were very light in weight and were somewhat "airy". In terms of texture, they were probably somewhat like a nugget of Rice Crispies, but smaller. I don't recall how strong (or weak) the chocolate flavor was. I've always hated milk as a drink, which is probably why I ate this instead of using them as advertised. I think I used to enjoy letting them melt in my mouth (since they're made to dissolve in liquid).

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    3. If you ate too many, though, they would abrade the roof of your mouth right off.

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    4. I ate it with a spoon too or put them in ice cream. They were crispy.

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    5. Use to put it in my ice cream!

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    6. they should have made banana!

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    7. I used to eat it with a spoon as well, and on ice cream! We never had the strawberry flavored and never knew about the egg nog flavored (thank God). Loved that stuff!

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    8. PDQ was packaged in Evansville. Indiana across from my cousin's house.
      PDQ=Pebbles Disolve Quicker.

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    9. I loved pdq all the flavors
      Wish i cld still find it!
      I think the strawberry n the egg nog was my favorite๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ‘

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    10. I loved PDQ... It made surplus powdered milk taste like something the Gods had left behind

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  2. I am with azog....the chocolate flavor was staple in my house when I was a kid. Used it in milk, on ice cream, whip cream topping, toast...etc etc.

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  3. Um -- why would a mom or dad offering eggnog-flavored ice cream to a child be a bad parent? Eggnog ice cream is divine!

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    1. Damn, I've been looking for this since I was a kid. I absolutely loved the Egg nog one.
      Like other commenting peeps here, I to ate it in a dry form as well. I also remember the strawberry one but not as fond of it as I was the egg nog one. I am THE NOGGER! lol
      Every year I but egg nog and freeze it until summer and pull it out at a BBQ with some good 'ol rum. Why do all the good things disappear? Kinda like shopping at Costco!
      I would love a case of this to hoard on to.

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    2. I loved the egg nog pdq. Wish they still had it.

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    3. I could do with a case of the PDQ Eggnog....I hate the taste of plain milk...LOVED the Eggnog.

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  4. You said an internet friend was selling it. Is there any more available?

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  5. Nope, he only had the one jar, and he sold it over a year ago. But I do see empty bottles show up on Ebay from time to time. Full jars (if you'd be daring enough to drink it) are pretty uncommon, in fact, I think I've only ever seen the one.

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    1. Thanks, I've looked about everywhere and it doesn't look like there is any more to be had. I did find that a company in the Netherlands makes a very similar product called Benco Instant Choco Drink. I have been unable to find a U.S. distributor and the ones I found in Europe want a fortune to ship it here.

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    3. I loved that eggnog in the jar,.Got it in about 1971, and up,..I wish they'd make it again, cause a year is too long too wait for my eggnog,.dammit.!! Lynda,.kid of the 70's, and music lover from the 70's,.

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    4. LJP, I am with you!
      Freeze your egg nog, it will keep really well.

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  6. Replies
    1. No. I respectfully disagree. I had totally forgotten about this product til my brother showed me this page today. And then it all came flooding back. The eggnog flavour of PDQ is why I still can't stand eggnog, all these decades later.

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    2. I too, wish they still sold the egg nog!!! We didn't drink it, but my mother put it in her special French Toast recipe and it was the greatest. I have never been able to duplicate that French Toast. It was heavenly!!!!

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    3. Eggnog I miss, very much,.! had it from 1971-75 yr.b4 I started high school,.Never found it again,.so sad..

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    4. I agree, I would love to be able to get the egg nog flavored pdq.

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    5. I loved the egg nog! I was so disappointed the first time I tasted "real" egg nog (still from a carton -- not homemade, which is a different beast entirely) and it wasn't nearly as sweet. It was sort of an egg custard flavor. It may even have had nutmeg. And it was better on ice cream than in milk -- creative parents, not the Worst Ever!!

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    6. Loved, Loved, Loved the Eggnog Flavour....wish they would bring it back....for somebody who has trouble with dairy and eggs I was able to tolerate this....too bad...

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    7. I still remember the jingle. "PDQ ... eggnog flavored beads!" Loved it because you could still have eggnog flavored milk when it wasn't Christmastime anymore. It tasted like eggnog, but lighter, of course. Thanks to PDQ, I still prefer my nog mixed with milk to mimic that lighter consistency.

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    8. I totally agree with you!! The eggnog was the best. To this day I have to thin out my store bought eggnog with milk to make it lighter. I would do almost anything to get PDQ again!!!

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  7. Gosh I wish we could still buy some. This was the best and brings back so many childhood memories. Loved it on top of ice cream and would eat from the spoon also.

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  8. Eggnog PDQ was heaven! I still drink Ovaltine Classic Malt. Yummy.

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  9. We enjoyed PDQ eggnog. Sometimes we would add it to our French toast dip.

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    1. I can see it working out for french toast but I grew up putting salt and pepper on my french toast, not syrup! And I still do today.
      Come on, egg, milk and bread? sounds like an egg sandwich not a waffle!

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  10. Instant Breakfast also used to come in Eggnog. Why do they get rid of the best products?

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    1. You mean like banana flavored iced cream?
      Just try to find that anymore. At least in Canada.

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  11. The chocolate PDQ sprinkled on vanilla ice cream...I still dream about it.

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  12. I read that Benco Instant Choco Drink taste just like PDQ. I have not tried it, but I found it on amazon.

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  13. What was the 'choose your flavor' milk powder product that had chocolate, strawberry and banana in one 'can?' It had a twistable lid to let you choose which powder would pour. I think it was 3 flavors. Banana was the 'new' to me milk flavor. The store I know we got it at sometimes had it for sale above the ice cream or popsicle case. This was probably late 60's and maybe early 70's.

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  14. I enjoyed the egg no and strawberry

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  15. The egg nog cookie recipe was awesome. Nostalgia is big. Someone should be the recipe and resurrect this.

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  16. loved the eggnog. you would put it on icecream or simply mix it in milk. it dissolved as the name suggested pdq, and if you were lucky you got that magical sugary sludge in the bottom of your glass. i think that was my favorite part

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  17. We always seemed to have the eggnog flavor in our house. My recollection is that the pieces seemed like instant coffee powder.

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  18. I remember this product when I was still in grade school because my sister-in-law used to put it in her frosting and it was so delicious. Strawberry was my favorite. When my brother and sister-in-law celebrated their 50th anniversary, we were asked to do a letter to them with what meant a lot to us and what we remembered about them, and her frosting with PDQ in it was one of the things I wrote about in the letter to them. Today I found that letter as I was going through old photo albums and had to look up PDQ on the internet to see what I could find and could not resist sharing my comments. Thank you.

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  19. Loved to dipp a spoonful of peanut butter in the jar...1st Reeces..

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  20. Hey there, my name is Dillon Reedy. My grandpa patented/created PDQ, Milford Bonner! He fought like a 3 month legal battle in Jamaica over this! If you'd like to talk with his widowed wife about this product please email me at dillon.reedy123@gmail.com

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  21. PDQ was the greatest. I remember getting a new jar and hitting the paper lid with a spoon. It would make aloud 'pop'. Yummy on ice cream.

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  22. I remember this because my mother thought Ovaltine was better for you than Nestle Quick. I liked the strawberry flavored one but I'd use alot to make it taste up to my standards. I still have a sweet tooth and when I see companies like Nestled quick saying 50% less sugar I cringe. Now you need to use more, which I'm sure the company knows, so they kill two birds with one stone. You satisfy mom's around the world by making them think less sugar, and get those same mom's to buy more because it goes faster. Bunch of scamers lol.

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  23. Please bring back P. D. Q.!!! I love this stuff and want my children and grandchildren to experience the awesome flsvor. I liked them all but eggnog was my favorite because my mom would not by the ready made eggnog much. With this I could drink it all year!

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  24. i thought the eggnog flavor was the greatest myself (our family used all the flavors). wish there was something equivalent (i like real eggnog too but it's only available around holiday time) and i'd like to be able to mix this with hot water to be like cocoa. i don't like coffee by the way, don't like the bitter aftertaste.

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  25. I would love for PDQ Milk to come back.

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  26. OMG! PDQ! out of all the chocolate drink mixes I grew up with, NEstles Quick, Hersheys, Ovaltine, this was the best! Best flavor. Best texture. In milk. With a spoon. Didn't matter. Best stuff ever. Although I have to say I never had the eggnog one and I think I am glad about that!

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  27. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  28. I loved PDQ EGG NOG chips ... Perfect out camping when we were little kiddies !!

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  29. I remember hearing that it was bad for you and pulled... As a kid; I loved the eggnog.... does anyone have any information on the ingredients or bad publicity, law suits; etc.

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  30. WE LOVED PDQ @ OUR HOUSE. THIS IS THE BEST WEBSITE EVER!! THANK YOU X A MILLION!!!

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  31. Where can you buy the PDQ Eggnog beads now or are they gone forever?????
    GJAK MN

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  32. Love this as a kid
    Vanilla icream with strawberry sprinkles
    Mmmmmmm the best

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  33. PDQ childhood favorite wish I could share this favorite childhood drink mix with my family now
    Mmmmmm

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  34. Used to love the PDQ eggnog flavored sugar crystals/pellets. Never tried them in ice cream or french toast, but loved it in milk. I've often thought about PDQ over the years. Wish it was still around!

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  35. I loved, loved, loved this stuff! The egg nog was my favorite and I liked it in my milk and on top of vanilla ice cream.

    And yes, PDQ did stand for "Pretty Damn/Darn Quick" because it was a fast way to make milk taste better. Now I want to go looking for this on Amazon or EBay.

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  36. Add me to the people who loved this as a kid. I wish they still had it. And I LOVED the eggnog on ice cream! My favorite was chocolate though, by far.

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  37. PDQ was awesome, especially the Eggnog flavor. I miss it a lot and wish they would consider bringing it back.

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  38. PDRight eggnod was awesome. The best. You couldn't get it in the middle of the year without PDQ, unless you made it from scratch, which, by the way, isn't all that tough, just not as quick.

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  39. https://www.modernistpantry.com/culinary-crystals-eggnog.html

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  40. I loved the chocolate as a kid. I miss drinking it. I drive by Nestle a lot on the highway and think about PDQ. Wish it would come back.

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  41. Pdq taste the best specially the eggnog dont know what it was that
    Was bad for you but it couldn't be any worse than some of the products
    Out there now.I think they should go retro and bring things like pdq
    Back.After all they still sell yahoo milk liked as a kid,but tried
    It as an adult and it was just plain nasty

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  42. I would love if they brought it back !

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  43. They really need to bring it back

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  44. I still have about half a cobtainer of egg nog. Its so old now not sure its safe. Loved it though and have kept it all these years hoping it made a comeback

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  45. The Egg Nog variety was so good. You didn't have to wait for Christmas to have egg nog. Loved it as a kid. Just thought about it for the first time in a couple of decades this morning!

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  46. I'm quite sure I was not dreaming - I saw one container of PDQ in our local Food Lion in the last ten years. I was feeling poor that day and thought I would come get it later. I never saw it again. Can anyone explain that?

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  47. I use to cover the top of my Rice Krispies for breakfast and then drink the delicious chocolate milk.where did you go? Please come back.

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  48. The chocolate was good, but I adored the egg nog!! It also made wonderful French toast and bread pudding. I wish they'd bring it back, even if just for awhile.

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  49. When my children were young. They are late 40yr to middle 50 now I always bought Eggnog PDQ BUDD it was a part of our Christmas tradition we all loved that eggnog and we still talk about it today. Has the Holidays are coming up my children has already talking about PDQ buds. We all wish it would become available. It is sad but sometimes you have to let go of some of your dreams.

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  50. "Egg noggie crunchies you can drink". The PDQ Egg Nog was the best.

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  51. I loved the “egg nog” stuff and drank it too much! I broke out in an itchy rash on the insides of both arms.
    Mom tried everything to cure it. She finally decided to take away my beloved pdq eggnog and, sure enough, the rash went away!
    Wonder if others had a bad reaction and that’s why it was discontinued.
    ๐Ÿฅ›

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  52. I drank chocolate PDQ every single morning of my life from at least first grade through 1980 while pregnant with my daughter. My daughter was born in 1980, so I quit drinking chocolate because I was nursing her. And then it was sadly gone. I sure would like to have some PDQ right now.

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