I went to buy a box of pudding mix at the store and they have two styles to make. What is the difference?

One kind is a cold pudding that only requires the addition of cold milk and the box mix to make the finished product in a mixing bowl. Then it just requires stirring until the powdered mix is dissolved. Finally you put it in the refrigerator to cool and harden. It is quick and very easy to prepare. The other variety is a cooked pudding. You put the contents in a saucepan on the stove top and slowly heat it up until the mixture boils. Then you continue stirring for a specified time so it thickens as it heats and cools. After it is all stirred and heated it is then put in whatever container, bowl, pie shell or whatever it will be served in to cool. The non-cooked type of pudding stays soft from to bottom. The cooked kind creates a thin slightly harder skin on top as it cools with an extra creamy pudding underneath the skin. Cooked pudding is good served hot or cold. The cooked variety is a richer consistency and flavour than the stirred uncooked variety of boxed pudding. Either variety of pudding makes a good dessert but most people prefer one kind of boxed pudding mix more than the other. One advantage to the uncooked kind is that it can be mixed quickly anywhere and you don’t have to have access to a stove to make it. The smell of the cooking kind is more intense too so it adds to the taste and sensory experience. Enjoy your pudding! Mama Nono