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. Immediately, the grocery chain Kroger sells practically 3 million gallons of the drink every year.
However for a drink with a lot custom, eggnog has lengthy divided Christmas tables. When BuzzFeed ran an article in 2016 titled “Eggnog Is Scrumptious and If You Disagree You’re Fallacious,” it was paired with a missive the identical day calling the drink “Absolute Rubbish.” In 2017, when the Immediately present polled its viewers about whether or not they preferred eggnog, folks had been nearly evenly break up between those that thought it was disgusting and people who discovered it scrumptious. And lately, TikTok is laden with movies of individuals complaining about eggnog’s scent 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. Lately, eggnog has turn into my favourite Christmas deal with. All the things modified once I found that a greater eggnog is hiding in plain sight. It’s known as coquito. The creation, which is usually 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 through the Christmas season, after which give some away to buddies 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 regarded 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 ingesting the flawed variety?
The elemental deficiency with eggnog is, effectively, eggs. The drink’s uncooked eggs flip it into a simple vector for salmonella. That may make for a not-so-merry Christmas, resulting in vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. In case you’re previous or immunocompromised, tainted eggnog may even be lethal. Within the early Eighties, 5 seniors died after ingesting home made eggnog at a New Jersey nursing house.
I used to be decided to not land myself on the bathroom this December once I determined to attempt a lot of completely different eggnog recipes within the hopes of higher understanding essentially the most hated Christmas beverage. The precise elements differ, however at its core, eggnog is eggs, cream, milk, sugar, and, usually, liquor (normally rum or whiskey) which might be whisked collectively. The end result, says Dan Pashman, the host of The Sporkful podcast, is extra like “drinkable alcoholic cake” than a standard cocktail. (An eggnog aficionado, he makes the Pleasure 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 protected is simpler mentioned than carried out. Most store-bought variations use pasteurized eggs, however I couldn’t discover these at my native Dealer Joe’s. Growing older 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 may make it safer to devour. I discovered tempering the eggs to be essentially the most tenable answer, however the technique 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 a lot thick. Then there’s the flavour of eggnog. James Briscione, a chef and co-author of The Taste Matrix, instructed me that a lot 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 way of a rare quantity of sugar and spices, maybe why a couple of on-line commentator has in contrast it to cough drugs.
Both means, there’s a higher solution to sip a creamy alcoholic drink that really tastes like one thing with out having to resort to saccharine premade nog. As a substitute of looking for the delicate coconutty notes in eggnog, coquito places the aroma entrance and middle. And the drink’s major elements, coconut milk and rum, go completely collectively. “The fruity esters and tropical notes which might be coming from a coconut match rather well with these Maillard flavors—the toasting and roasting—that you just see significantly in rum,” Briscione mentioned.
Coquito has none of eggnog’s issues. The drink doesn’t want eggs to be luxurious; it achieves that texture by way of the inclusion of candy, sticky condensed milk. (Some recipes additionally name for evaporated milk and cream of coconut, which ends up in a drink that’s much more luscious.) And it’s remarkably simple to make. Once I made the drink earlier this month, I minimize 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 may appear odd to undertake a Caribbean cocktail for the vacations for those who don’t already dwell within the tropics. Coconut and rum appear extra apt for sunbathing by the pool (hey, piña coladas!), than gathering round a Christmas fireplace. However don’t let that scare you. The coconut is delicate and balanced with a festive sprint of cinnamon. In case 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 supposing so many people already know the risks of a Pink Ryder BB gun, and that “each time a bell rings, an angel will get his wings.” However the vacation isn’t really 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 bushes have fortunately been changed by electrical lights. And hardly anybody makes figgy pudding anymore, regardless of no matter “We Want You a Merry Christmas” says. The core spirits of those centuries-long traditions nonetheless exist; they’ve simply been up to date for contemporary occasions. It’s time for eggnog to get an improve too.