Eggnog has been around for a long time. Captain John Smith reported that eggnog was consumed in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia.
‘Nog’ is an English word for strong ale, and eggnog was originally made with ale. Eggnog is descended from the English drink ‘posset’ or ‘sack posset’, which was a hot drink made with sweetened milk and ale or a Spanish wine called ‘sack.’
Americans adapted it but used American liquors, like rum, or even cider. Early American cookbooks listed eggnog recipes in sections for the sick and infirm.
-Food Facts & Trivia
Southern Custard Eggnog
Soft Custard (below)
Prepare Soft Custard. Just before serving, beat whipping cream, powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla in chilled mixing bowl until stiff. Stir rum and food coloring into chilled custard. Stir 1 cup of the whipped cream gently into custard.
Pour eggnog into a small punch bowl. Drop remaining whipped cream in 4 or 5 mounds onto eggnog. Sprinkle nutmeg on whipped cream mounds. Serve immediately. Make about 10 servings of about ½ cup each.
Soft Custard
Mix eggs, sugar and salt in heavy 2-quart saucepan. Stir in milk gradually. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture *just coats a metal spoon, 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove custard from heat; stir in vanilla. Place saucepan in cold water until custard is cool. (If custard curdles, beat vigorously with hand beater until smooth) Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
Wassail!
*Current estimates show that there is a 1 in 10,000 chance that the eggs in your nog could contain a harmful bacteria. To avoid the possibility of food poisoning it is recommended that you slowly heat the eggs to 160º F before using. Another way to tell if the eggs are ready is if they coat a metal spoon.
Here's a little history about this delightful little drink!
Eggnog translated from an old English dialect word, East Anglia from unheard-of origins was used to describe a kind of strong beer called noggin and means eggs inside a small cup. An alternative name from Britain is egg flip. The term eggnog was used on both sides of the Atlantic in the early nineteenth century but earliest records indicate its use as early as the seventeenth century.
Still it appears to have originated as an English where eggnog was the trademark drink of the upper class where recipe descended from a hot drink called posset, which consists of eggs, milk, and ale or wine. Some speculate that eggnog was used for medicinal purposes, served to serfs who were under the weather and it wasn't long before people realized it tasted too good to be medicine,
Eggnogs From Around the World
A welcome concoction it has been easily adapted around the world.
Germany The Germans had a favorite drink which they consumed in alehouses called Biersuppe, meaning Beer Soup, an egg based ale.
France Had a drink called Lait de Poule, a mixture of egg yolks, milk, sugar and spirits, such as sherry, rum or brandy.
Hence the name may have been taken from the German ale and the ingredients from the French Lait de Poule, changed and somewhat derived from became the modern term known as Eggnog.
Netherlands "For your collection: Eggnog in the Netherlands is called "advocaat", and is made of eggs, sugar, vanilla and brandy," says sloebertje.
Puerto Rico Not surprisingly, rum is the liquor of choice and has been readily adopted by the nog lovers in the United States. However, in Pueto Rico it has the added novelty of being made with fresh coconut juice or coconut milk.
Mexico Eggnog is called rompope and added to the recipe a heavy dose of Mexican cinnamon and rum or grain alcohol, enjoyed as a liqueur. Created by the nuns of Santa Clara in the state of Puebla.
Peru Further south Peruvians celebrate the holidays withbiblia con pisco an eggnog made with the Peruvian pomace brandy called pisco.
American South Bourbon has replaced ale the richer and stronger, the better. In New Orleans it is referred to as a sillabub, a less potent mixture than eggnog but just as rich. It’s made with milk, sugar and wine and is somewhere between a drink and liquid dessert.
Author and noted historian James Humes writes about eggnog in To Humes It May Concern, 1997.
" You have to remember, the average Londoner rarely saw a glass of milk. There was no refrigeration, and the farms belonged to the big estates. Those who could get milk and eggs to make eggnog mixed it with brandy or Madeira or even sherry. But it became most popular in America, where farms and dairy products were plentiful, as was rum. Rum came to these shores via the Triangular Trade from the Caribbean; thus it was far more affordable than the heavily taxed brandy or other European spirits that it replaced at our forefather's holiday revels."
Happy Holidays!
Compiled from
Eggnog:
http://www.geocities.com
The Story of Eggnog:
http://www.inglewoodcarecentre.com/history