Love it or hate it—we happen to love it— a staple of the Christmas season that dates all the way back to George Washington—and even to the British settlers before him who transported it to the colonies in the first place—is eggnog. This iconic beverage is made with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, spices like cinnamon or nutmeg, whipped egg whites and alcohol, often rum, which may sound unappetizing or even gag-inducing depending on how you think about raw eggs.
From our perspective, since raw eggs are associated very rarely with Salmonella, we recommend the store-bought versions below which are pasteurized—especially for those who are immunocompromised.
On the other hand, if you’ve ever eaten raw cookie dough, and lived to tell the tale, go ahead, and drink up!
The reason that eggnog became associated with Christmas?
Because traditionally two of the primary ingredients, eggs, and cream, were prohibitively expensive in wintertime and so could only be enjoyed as a treat over Christmas—unless you were rich, in which case it probably didn’t matter.
Apparently not much has changed from Colonial times—the cost of eggs in December 2023 is sky-high because of inflation.
But ‘eggflation’ be damned—we plan to “shell” out the money because eggnog is too delicious for us not to make it.