Eggnog An Essential Holiday Tradition
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love eggnog and fruitcake, and those who mock them.
Every December, I get on my soapbox and preach about the importance of enjoying these two traditional holiday treats. Do not listen, I say, to those who scoff at eggnog and fruitcake; these scoffers are the enemies of real pleasure. They have shriveled psyches. They would have us mark the holidays by eating raw turnips and other forms of fiber.
December is not the month to be concerned about fiber. It is a time to celebrate, to indulge, to link ourselves with foods and folks of years gone by. It is a time to do the same old thing in the same old way.
When making eggnog, I stick to a recipe using egg yolks, sugar, bourbon and whipping cream, ingredients that some modern-day turnip-huggers probably regard as belonging on “murderers’ row.”
I also stick to the story that this eggnog possesses powers, some seemingly miraculous, some predictable. In the seemingly miraculous category, this nog has been known to soothe tensions between notorious hostile camps. It has calmed a husband and wife who have spent hours in “spirited discussions” about how to decorate the Christmas tree.
As for predictable responses, sipping the nog has been known to lead to that warm, fuzzy feeling, followed by the strong urge to take “a long winter’s nap.”
Standing up for something you believe in, whether it is old-time eggnog, real fruitcake or the right to put a colored light bulb in the angel at the top of the Christmas tree, often results in like-minded folks sending you letters of encouragement.
Each holiday season I receive testimonials about the amazing powers of eggnog from the fans of the potion. For example, one woman wrote me to say that she had come into possession of an old recipe for “Virginia Eggnog” which instructed the faithful to pour a pint of cognac and half pint of rum into a dozen raw egg yolks. The recipe claimed that “pouring the liquor into the yolks has the effect of cooking them more lovingly than any stove could.”
Does the liquor actually have the effect of cooking eggs so that they are safe for eating or drinking?
At one point in my research I spoke by telephone to an expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. His answer, in effect, was, “No way, Jose.” You make eggnog with raw eggs, he told me, and you take your chances. The chances of getting food poisoning from a bad egg, however, are about 10,000 to 1.
Which gets me back to my original point. There are two kinds of people in the world: those who take chances and those who don’t.
Rob Kasper’s Eggnog
2 cups bourbon
1 cup plus
2 tablespoons sugar
6 egg yolks, beaten
4 cups whipping cream
Blend bourbon and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Let stand overnight.
Beat egg yolks until they turn dark yellow. Add to bourbon mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Whip cream and add to bourbon mixture. This nog starts off very creamy, and becomes soupy the longer it survives.
Yield: 10 to 12 servings.
Note: Because of the possible threat of salmonella (a bacteria that causes food poisoning) from raw eggs, health officials recommend that the very young, the elderly, pregnant women and people with serious illnesses or weakened immune systems not eat raw or lightly cooked eggs. Keep this in mind and consume raw or lightly cooked eggs at your own risk.