What The Heck Is Eggnog?!
It’s Christmas time and that raises the age old question, what the heck is eggnog?! Now this is arguably a simple question for our transatlantic readers, for the beverage is common fare during the winter holiday season in the US. However, for those on the European side of the pond, it’s a little trickier, we know it exists, and we know it’s a drink drunk at Christmas, but what actually is it? Well, here’s the answer…
Eggnog is essentially a sweetened dairy-based beverage made from milk, cream, sugar and beaten eggs. It is then garnished with ground cinnamon or nutmeg. As you’d expect it is thick and has a frothy texture making it rich and substantial. Obviously this is the non-alcoholic version, but commonly a bit, or a lot, of booze will be added making it, erm… more festive. The liquor of choice to be mixed varies, and can be brandy, rum, moonshine, bourbon, cognac or whisky. Eggnog is also often added to warm drinks, such as coffee or tea to add flavour and it will also double up as a great custard replacement.
A little bit of history? Well, despite it being less common on England’s green and pleasant shores it is believed to have originated here, possibly in East Anglia. As for how it got its name, it gets its froth from one of its constituent parts, and therefore its name too, egg. The ‘nog’ though, that’s less straight-forward. It may be related to the word ‘noggin’, a word used in Middle English to describe a wooden mug used for serving alcohol. Or, it may come from a truncating of the phrase ‘egg ‘n’ grog’, a term that referred to the rum laced variation of the milky tipple.
So now you know about eggnog, except how to make it, you didn’t think I was going to leave you hanging did you? Ingredients and instructions below:
- 6 large eggs
- 2 extra egg yolks
- 4 cups of whole milk
- 3/4 cup of heavy cream
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
- 1 cup of bourbon/rum/whisky/brandy
Got all that together? Excellent. Whisk together the eggs, the extra egg yolks, sugar and salt. Do this in a pan and keep going until it is well blended. Keep stirring while slowly adding the milk, don’t stop until all the milk is in and everything is merged together.
Now place the pan on some heat. Keep that heat as low as possible though. While it’s heating up keep whisking, after 25 mins or so the mixture should be at about 160F, and should stick to the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and pour through a sieve into a large bowl, this should remove any cooked egg, if not do so by hand. Add to the bowl the vanilla, nutmeg and alcohol of choice and stir. You’ll need to then cover this and put it in the fridge for about four hours.
When you’re ready to serve your eggnog, whip up the heavy cream, fold in the eggnog mixture and you’re ready to go. Pop it into some fancy glasses and serve. Beautiful! And to think you weren’t even sure what eggnog was when you began reading this. Good work.
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