For hundreds of years, eggnog has been part of America’s Christmas festivities. George Washington was rumored to have his personal recipe, and the concoction was the catalyst of a riot at West Level within the wee hours of Christmas morning 1826. At the moment, the grocery chain Kroger sells almost 3 million gallons of the drink annually.
However for a drink with a lot custom, eggnog has lengthy divided Christmas tables. When BuzzFeed ran an article in 2016 titled “Eggnog Is Delicious and If You Disagree You’re Wrong,” it was paired with a missive the identical day calling the drink “Absolute Garbage.” In 2017, when the Today show polled its viewers about whether or not they favored eggnog, folks had been virtually evenly break up between those that thought it was disgusting and people who discovered it scrumptious. And nowadays, TikTok is laden with movies of individuals complaining about eggnog’s odor and style—and with others mixing it into cereal and soda.
Rising up, I used to be by no means an eggnog lover. The premade, nonalcoholic model my dad and mom would purchase from the shop wasn’t terrible, but it surely wasn’t good, both. I felt obligated to gulp it down within the identify of Christmas, however absolutely there needed to be a greater choice. As of late, eggnog has turn into my favourite Christmas deal with. Every thing modified after I found that a greater eggnog is hiding in plain sight. It’s referred to as coquito. The creation, which is typically known as Puerto Rican eggnog, swaps the drink’s conventional base of cream and eggs for coconut milk and condensed milk. Puerto Ricans historically make the cocktail throughout the Christmas season, after which give some away to associates and neighbors. That’s how traditional eggnog died for me: Just a few years again, a Puerto Rican household moved throughout the road from my dad and mom and gave us a bottle of coquito. The drink appeared and smelled like eggnog, however as soon as it hit my tongue, I spotted it was lighter, extra flavorful, and simply much less bizarre. And but, in mainland America, coquito stays a novelty. What if the issue with eggnog is simply that many people are consuming the fallacious form?
The basic deficiency with eggnog is, nicely, eggs. The drink’s uncooked eggs flip it into a straightforward vector for salmonella. That may make for a not-so-merry Christmas, resulting in vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. When you’re outdated or immunocompromised, tainted eggnog may even be lethal. Within the early Nineteen Eighties, 5 seniors died after consuming home made eggnog at a New Jersey nursing dwelling.
I used to be decided to not land myself on the bathroom this December after I determined to attempt plenty of completely different eggnog recipes within the hopes of higher understanding probably the most hated Christmas beverage. The precise components range, however at its core, eggnog is eggs, cream, milk, sugar, and, typically, liquor (normally rum or whiskey) which can be whisked collectively. The end result, says Dan Pashman, the host of The Sporkful podcast, is extra like “drinkable alcoholic cake” than a conventional cocktail. (An eggnog aficionado, he makes the Joy of Cooking recipe yearly, which requires 12 egg yolks, a pound of confectioners’ sugar, and two quarts of cream.)
However making home made eggnog that’s secure is simpler stated than performed. Most store-bought variations use pasteurized eggs, however I couldn’t discover these at my native Dealer Joe’s. Ageing alcoholic eggnog within the fridge has additionally been confirmed to kill off the micro organism, however my mind wouldn’t enable me to simply accept that letting something sit round for weeks might make it safer to eat. I discovered tempering the eggs to be probably the most tenable answer, however the strategy of heating the cream, slowly whisking it right into a bowl of eggs, after which letting it cool earlier than serving was one massive, messy chore.
Eggs don’t simply make the drink dangerous; they’re additionally why so many individuals discover eggnog unappealing. The feel of conventional variations is gloopy, nearer to melted ice cream than the rest. Cooks have tried to treatment this by whipping the egg whites so as to add some airiness, however even then, the result’s loads thick. Then there’s the flavour of eggnog. James Briscione, a chef and co-author of The Taste Matrix, informed me that many of the taste from traditional eggnog comes from the rum, as a result of cream and eggs “are each comparatively flavor-neutral.” Though folks with a discerning palate would possibly savor the caramel notes imparted on the rum from barrel growing old, all I tasted was booze and dairy. Retailer-bought eggnog solves this taste deficit by means of a unprecedented quantity of sugar and spices, maybe why multiple on-line commentator has in contrast it to cough medication.
Both means, there’s a higher approach to sip a creamy alcoholic drink that truly tastes like one thing with out having to resort to saccharine premade nog. As an alternative of trying to find the refined coconutty notes in eggnog, coquito places the aroma entrance and heart. And the drink’s major components, coconut milk and rum, go completely collectively. “The fruity esters and tropical notes which can be coming from a coconut match rather well with these Maillard flavors—the toasting and roasting—that you simply see notably in rum,” Briscione stated.
Coquito has none of eggnog’s issues. The drink doesn’t want eggs to be luxurious; it achieves that texture by means of the inclusion of candy, sticky condensed milk. (Some recipes additionally name for evaporated milk and cream of coconut, which leads to a drink that’s much more luscious.) And it’s remarkably straightforward to make. Once I made the drink earlier this month, I reduce my finger opening a can of condensed milk after which dropped a spoon into the blender in a match of pain-induced negligence. However the recipe nonetheless took solely 5 minutes to finish. One classic-eggnog recipe I made, which concerned separating out the yolks and egg whites, took 3 times as lengthy, even with out the identical mishaps.
It might sound odd to undertake a Caribbean cocktail for the vacations if you happen to don’t already dwell within the tropics. Coconut and rum appear extra apt for sunbathing by the pool (howdy, piña coladas!), than gathering round a Christmas fireplace. However don’t let that scare you. The coconut is refined and balanced with a festive sprint of cinnamon. When you crave a cocktail apt for sweater climate, coquito nonetheless suits the invoice.
Christmas is a vacation of custom: The decorations, the meals, and the acquainted rituals have a tendency to remain the identical. Even the film alternatives don’t change a lot yr to yr, even though so many people already know the risks of a Pink Ryder BB gun, and that “every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.” However the vacation isn’t truly as static because it appears. Greater than a century in the past, goose was served at Christmas dinner. Now turkey is a staple. The candles that used to light up Christmas timber have fortunately been changed by electrical lights. And hardly anybody makes figgy pudding anymore, regardless of no matter “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” says. The core spirits of those centuries-long traditions nonetheless exist; they’ve simply been up to date for contemporary instances. It’s time for eggnog to get an improve too.
