A new series that explores the food and drinks that make the holidays extra special.

by Alexander Quebec

When it comes to eggnog, there are two kinds of people in the world: those who love the creamy winter time treat and those who are hateful beings populating the planet (you can already tell which camp I am in). For those of you who aren’t familiar with eggnog, read on and learn all about the sweet and spicy concoction available only this time of year.

History

Like many food traditions, the history of eggnog is nebulous at best. The word Nog itself is thought to have come from an old English word for a strong brewed beer from “East Anglia” (Now Eastern UK). Alternatively, the word nog was a shortened form of the word Noggin, which was a wooden mug for serving alcohol (pictured right). Flashing forward to colonial America, we also find the word Nog used either as a serving mechanism for grog (aka Rum) or as the name of the drink itself. It wasn’t until 1775 that the term Eggnog came about, from a poem written by clergyman Jonathan Boucher, which was published 30 years after his death.

Fog-drams i’ th’ morn, or (better still) egg-nogg,

At night hot-suppings, and at mid-day, grogg,  

My palate can regale…

One more theory suggest that eggnog was derived from posset , which was a popular cure-all during the Medieval period in Europe made of warm milk and either wine or ale.

What’s it made of?

While there are many national and regional variations, many egg nogs are made with eggs, milk, sugar, spices and some sort of alcoholic beverage. In the southern US, for example, Bourbon is added to the concoction. Rum or brandy, however, seem to be the most popular liquors added to egg nog. Aside from the US/Canadian version, there are other similar beverages around the world: Pompope is a similar version from Mexico; Coquito, which is made with condensed milk, coconut and a few other ingredients and is popular in Puerto Rico. Japan has tamagozake, heated sake with sugar and a single egg, and finally, Soda sữa hột gà (pictured left), a popular soda beverage similar to eggnog found in Viet Nam.

If you are going to give home made eggnog a try, give this recepie from foodnetwork.com a shot for some awesome eggnog this holiday season.

Check us out again tomorrow for a new entry on our Chrismaterials series. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Cover photo: foodnetwork.com