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Eggnog came up this weekend, so I looked up a couple of recipes I have at home -- one w/alcohol the other without. I used to make the second one a lot when I was a kid, for our family. Tastier than the commercial stuff, by far!
I was wondering how far back the tradition goes of having eggnog for the winter holidays, because it uses milk, cream, and eggs.
Nowadays most people don't really think about this sort of thing, because factory farms mess with staggering the schedule for when cows get pregnant, when chickens moult, etc. Even here in Ashfield the lights have been on a bit earlier and a bit later to lengthen the day for the past month, because once the chickens start moulting, there won't be any eggs for a while. I expect they'll be moulting soon though, as the demand for eggs is down at the moment, and they do need to moult after all. The local small dairy finished milking for the season on December 1. There's still some yogurt and cream available, but that's it. In a sustainable community, this would be the norm, with people having made some of the dairy products into butter and cheese for the rest of the winter/spring, and making different types of bread that don't require milk or eggs (yes, they exist and are tasty).
At first I was thinking that eggnog was an industrial revolution marker, but in theory it could go back further, because if you store milk properly, it's good for avg. of 38 days for pasteurized milk. Raw milk on avg. is 7-10 days, but you could freeze it, though that can affect the taste somewhat. Farm fresh eggs are good for a few months, as long as they haven't been scrubbed (yes, you can wash them them without scrubbing the protective coating off). So even if the lighting hadn't been fiddled with for the chickens this winter, we'd still have some eggs left by Christmas/Solstice.
So, it's possible to have eggnog without it being a modern novelty, and it might have been such a big deal _because_ it would be one of the last time people would be enjoying eggs and milk. Only for people who can afford rum or an equivalent. Also, it occurred to me that if you made it a bit ahead of time of the holiday celebration, with alcohol, that would help to stabilize the drink and kill/prevent-growth-of unhealthy bacteria.
And consider that clove, one of the spices used in eggnog, has preservative properties, which may also assist in providing a longer shelf-life. Preparing treats for the holidays could start weeks before the official celebratory time, so it isn't a completely crazy idea for eggnog.
Well, free-thinking is all well and good, but I also did a quick search for the History of Eggnog, and got this site and this site plus a bunch that quoted parts of the first site listed here.
Best info available says eggnog only goes back to the 19th century, that alcohol was used to help preserve the perishable milk and eggs, and that eggnog is descended from English possets (like eggnog, served hot). And apparently it was a social status thing in London -- not everyone could afford milk in the 19th c., esp. if you live in a city. In England madeira, brandy or sherry were used. In America rum was used most because it was more affordable.
So, I was right about alcohol being used to increase shelf-life and that it was a special treat (for those who could afford the rum/brandy). And while eggnog is not very old in and of itself, possets go back further, to the Middle Ages. There's a good Wikipedia entry on possets. They were used as minor remedies for things such as colds and such. Ah well, it wouldn't be the first time something medicinal in origin became a treat!
I was wondering how far back the tradition goes of having eggnog for the winter holidays, because it uses milk, cream, and eggs.
Nowadays most people don't really think about this sort of thing, because factory farms mess with staggering the schedule for when cows get pregnant, when chickens moult, etc. Even here in Ashfield the lights have been on a bit earlier and a bit later to lengthen the day for the past month, because once the chickens start moulting, there won't be any eggs for a while. I expect they'll be moulting soon though, as the demand for eggs is down at the moment, and they do need to moult after all. The local small dairy finished milking for the season on December 1. There's still some yogurt and cream available, but that's it. In a sustainable community, this would be the norm, with people having made some of the dairy products into butter and cheese for the rest of the winter/spring, and making different types of bread that don't require milk or eggs (yes, they exist and are tasty).
At first I was thinking that eggnog was an industrial revolution marker, but in theory it could go back further, because if you store milk properly, it's good for avg. of 38 days for pasteurized milk. Raw milk on avg. is 7-10 days, but you could freeze it, though that can affect the taste somewhat. Farm fresh eggs are good for a few months, as long as they haven't been scrubbed (yes, you can wash them them without scrubbing the protective coating off). So even if the lighting hadn't been fiddled with for the chickens this winter, we'd still have some eggs left by Christmas/Solstice.
So, it's possible to have eggnog without it being a modern novelty, and it might have been such a big deal _because_ it would be one of the last time people would be enjoying eggs and milk. Only for people who can afford rum or an equivalent. Also, it occurred to me that if you made it a bit ahead of time of the holiday celebration, with alcohol, that would help to stabilize the drink and kill/prevent-growth-of unhealthy bacteria.
And consider that clove, one of the spices used in eggnog, has preservative properties, which may also assist in providing a longer shelf-life. Preparing treats for the holidays could start weeks before the official celebratory time, so it isn't a completely crazy idea for eggnog.
Well, free-thinking is all well and good, but I also did a quick search for the History of Eggnog, and got this site and this site plus a bunch that quoted parts of the first site listed here.
Best info available says eggnog only goes back to the 19th century, that alcohol was used to help preserve the perishable milk and eggs, and that eggnog is descended from English possets (like eggnog, served hot). And apparently it was a social status thing in London -- not everyone could afford milk in the 19th c., esp. if you live in a city. In England madeira, brandy or sherry were used. In America rum was used most because it was more affordable.
So, I was right about alcohol being used to increase shelf-life and that it was a special treat (for those who could afford the rum/brandy). And while eggnog is not very old in and of itself, possets go back further, to the Middle Ages. There's a good Wikipedia entry on possets. They were used as minor remedies for things such as colds and such. Ah well, it wouldn't be the first time something medicinal in origin became a treat!
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