Making Your Own Eggnog

Eggnog has a relatively unknown backstory in the history of Christmas. Which is odd because Christmas seems to have a history for everything.

Eggnog has no verifiable roots, it is broadly defined, and it is somewhat universal. Everybody loves it and nobody knows for sure where it came from. It has ancient history from England to Japan. And, of course, eggnog is so favored in the United States it is more than a beverage – it is an official flavor of Christmas.

It’s found all over the world, dating back centuries in some cases, and while it is almost always associated with winter for some reason it also can be associated with seasons other than Christmas.

Why winter?

That is likely because its main ingredients require refrigeration. Since refrigeration was not available centuries ago it is easy to see why it was always associated with winter.

Despite all the various ancient connections to many parts of the world there are some indisputable facts of eggnog in modern times: it is popular, it flavors other food products now from cakes to candies, and it is, on it’s own, very expensive.

How expensive?

Your standard refrigerated grocery store varieties are selling for $3 to $5 a quart – better than $16 a gallon!

Get the stuff with the alcohol in it and you’re talking even more expensive than that.

No wonder Google and ChatGPT trends are skyrocketing for searches on how to make eggnog.

People want it and are going to get it – even if they have to skip the grocery store to do it.

~ How to Make Eggnog ~

There are billions of legitimate eggnog recipes online, both with and without alcohol.

The base ingredients of eggnog are usually the same: milk, cream, eggs, sugar and cinnamon and/or nutmeg.

Recipes come together quickly and even in these post-covid inflationary times making eggnog is way, way cheaper than buying it.

Despite its simplicity, and the ability anyone has to fashion it as thick or as thin as they want, as sweet as they want, or as “spirited” as they want, there are still a lot of things to consider in making eggnog.

Let’s begin with the eggs.

~ Are raw eggs really a risk in eggnog? ~

Quick: when was the last time you heard of anyone getting sick from consuming the raw eggs in eggnog? Better yet, when in history can you remember anyone getting Salmonella from drinking any kind of eggnog?

This is an American thing, kids. We’re paranoid about using raw eggs (even though we’ve all seen Rocky).

If you’re worried about food poisoning that originates in the raw egg department then just select a recipe that advises the eggs be cooked, or separated, or pasteurized.

(This all seems odd for a drink some are likely to poison with alcohol anyway.)

But, if you want a better, more authentic eggnog, keep the entire egg, yolk and all, uncooked and in your nog.

Better yet, don’t use store bought eggs.

Go get some farm fresh organic eggs straight from the hen. Trust me on this. There’s a difference.

Having never made eggnog before we have taste-tested several recipes.

Frankly, there is little difference between all of them that are out there.

We found those recipes touting the fresh, organic eggs and the freshly ground nutmeg to be out of this world delicious.

The secret isn’t the recipe – it’s the ingredients.

~ Why Fresh is Better than Store Bought ~

One of the things we discovered right away by combining the simple and cheap ingredients of homemade eggnog is that it far and away had better flavor and consistency than anything we could buy in a carton.

Why is that?

First, there’s the thorny issue of shelf life for grocers and eggnog producers.

Because eggnog is pricey and not a favorite of every holiday consumer they have every reason to make eggnog last on the refrigerated shelf for as long as possible.

People have started to notice that sell-by dates on eggnog in a typical carton can be purchased in October and still be listed as good come January.

What’s up with that?

The uber-pasteurization of eggnog these days makes that possible.

But understand those dates are only if the carton remains unopened.

Open it and have a little and you’ve got about 5 to 7 days to consume it all before it goes bad – even in the fridge.

There’s one other little thing about eggnog shelf life you need to know about: carrageenan.

What is carrageenan?

Manufacturers will tell you that it is a thickener, put in eggnog to improve consistency.

What they won’t tell you is that carrageenan is what extends that shelf life to ridiculous levels.

Carrageenan is in a lot of stuff, particularly in nut milks and other dairy alternatives.

If that stuff makes your eggnog last longer think of what it is doing to your gut.

Lo and behold, that’s exactly what the reviews on dairy products that contain this stuff say – it causes intestinal “stress”. Who needs stress with their eggnog?

So, check your ingredients and be prepared to be blown away by what your simple home recipe of eggnog will produce.

It’s called happiness and that comes with little regret – unless you really augment your nog with the booze.

Here then, is a basic recipe for eggnog to get you started:

8 large eggs
2/3 cup of sugar
3 cups of whole milk
2 cups of heavy cream
Nutmeg – to taste
Cinnamon – to taste
Cloves – to taste
Vanilla – to taste

This will make a little more than 2-quarts.

As you research recipes out there you will find these ingredients in common. Some might suggest other tweaks but this is the basic recipe.

Preparation runs the gamut. Many swear by cooking to 160 degrees, others merely mix and don’t cook at all. All seem to agree that once made you have about three days to consume it.

December is National Eggnog Month and December 24th is National Eggnog Day.

What we did was to experiment with those ingredients.

We tried whole milk and 2 percent. We tried light cream and heavy cream. We tried egg yolks alone, and whole eggs. We tried cooking it and mixing it raw. We tried organic eggs and store-bought eggs. We tried fresh nutmeg and nutmeg from a container.

Everything we tried in our homemade effort was beyond exceptional. ALL variations were easily better than store-bought anything. We’ll never go back to it.

We ended up liking the eggs raw, using whole milk and heavy cream, a splash of vanilla and fresh nutmeg.

Your mileage may vary, and the beauty of eggnog is that there are no hard rules.

That may be why eggnog defies definition, both in history and in tradition.

I’m guessing it was a little bit different in England (where they called it grog) than it came to be in the United States.

When you look at George Washington’s recipe – and it seems to be out there a lot as an interesting side note in most homemade recipes – he included brandy, rum, sherry and whiskey.

Washington was famous for his eggnog and it was clearly one of the big traditions of Mt. Vernon every Christmas.

Your concoction will be too.

I know how we will make it this year will make me an even bigger legend with the grandkids.

I’m no Washington but I’ve learned enough of making this on my own now that they will never forget it.