Other than eggs, sugar, a milk product and some kind of spirit, little is certain about eggnog, especially in terms of how it came to be. Food historians believe the creamy drink, which has been associated with Christmas and New Year’s celebrations for at least 100 years, started as a British concoction of the 17th Century (or so) that found its way across the Atlantic and around the world in the following 200 years. The rest of the story makes for interesting historical conjecture and modern-day musing:
1. LIBERTY BELL AND WET YOUR WHISTLE: Philadelphia claims the first official American reference to eggnog — at a February 1796 breakfast at the City Tavern, according to “The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America” by Andrew Smith (Oxford University Press, 1,541 pages, $250). It took another 43 years for eggnog recipes to start showing up in American cook-books.
2. A MIGHTY SPIRITED GEORGE: Commander in chief George Washington was said to like a very robust eggnog. His personal recipe was known/thought to contain brandy, rye whiskey, Jamaican rum and sherry — and a dozen eggs.
3. LET THE SPIRITS ROAM: Whereas the well-to-do British mixed their eggnog (or egg flip, as it was then called) with brandy, Madeira or sherry, Americans preferred rum. Caribbean rum. Cheaper than those European spirits. Different regions of the U.S., though, came to embrace different spirits — thus, Southerners and their bourbon-laced eggnogs. And different countries, for that matter, embraced different incarnations of the drink. Mexican eggnog is called rompope, and traditionally calls for cinnamon bark and rum. In Italy, zabaione is an eggnoggish dessert sauce that is spiked with sweet Marsala wine.
4. AN EGGNOG A DAY … In the 19th Century, eggnog was used to nourish the ailing. In “American Christmases” (John F. Blair, 319 pages, $24.95), Joanne Martell includes this 1863 Christmas Day correspondence from a nurse with the Confederate Army: “We have had quite a pleasant one [Christmas]. Miss W. [Womack] and myself were up hours before daylight making eggnog. We wished to give some to all in the hospital, but could not procure eggs enough; so we gave it to the wounded who are convalescent, the cooks, and the nurses.”
5. NO AILING HERE. Ricky Moore, executive chef at The Parrot Cage, a new restaurant in the South Shore Cultural Center, shared his recipe for a modern eggnog with an exotic twist.
Moroccan Spiced Orange Eggnog
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
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Chilling time: 2 hours, optional
Yield: 6 servings
SPICE MIX:
10 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
Peel from 1 orange, cut into strips
1 piece (2 inches) ginger root, sliced
5 sprigs fresh mint
3 strips lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon each, whole: fennel seeds, coriander seeds
1/2 cup milk
BASE:
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 container (1/2 pint) whipping cream
Juice of 1 orange
1/2 cup milk
GARNISH:
Grand Marnier or orange liqueur, to taste, optional
Orange zest
Freshly grated nutmeg
1. Combine cloves, cinnamon, orange strips, ginger, mint, lemon strips, fennel and coriander in a small sauce-pan; crush until coarse with a wooden spoon. Stir in milk. Heat to a simmer over medium heat; remove from heat. Set aside to steep for 5 minutes. Pour mixture through a strainer into a medium bowl. Discard strained solids; set mixture aside.
2. For base, whisk together yolks, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan; gradually whisk in cream, juice and milk, whisking until smooth. Cook, stirring, over medium-low heat until mixture thickens to the consistency of thick cream. (Do not boil.)
3. Stir milk mixture into mixture in saucepan until well mixed. Serve warm; or transfer to a large bowl. Cover; chill until cold.
Nutritional information per serving:
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296 calories; 55% of calories from fat; 18 g fat; 11 g saturated fat; 194 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 89 mg sodium; 0 g fiber
Nutritionals by Jodie Shield
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