Eggnog's Checkered Past

Our beloved Christmas drink, eggnog, has not only fuelled debates amongst food historians but also has created a riot and sent a man to jail. Yes, clearly there's more to this drink than "meets the eye."

Providing an exact location and time for the drink's origin has prompted many theories, which have been widely debated on the Internet. Our "innocent looking" holiday drink has left a few ruffled feathers behind on more than one occasion.

Citing historical manuscripts and medieval cookbooks, food historians have come up with three intertwined theories regarding its origin. The first theory, and probably the most popular with Americans, claims that the drink, if made with eggs, milk, sugar and rum, could be an American creation dating back to our Colonial ancestors according to Robert Sietsema, author of Nothing But Nog.

"It's tempting to assume eggnog is British, partly on the basis of the Anglo-Saxon derivation of the name, and partly because of English punches it resembles. But what if eggnog is really an American invention? That would explain why, unlike the English prototypes, no modern American version features ale or beer. Also, the presence of rum in our most common recipes is a reminder that rum -- a byproduct of the trade in sugar cane and slaves in the New World -- was the most abundant alcohol in the Colonies. Finally, an additional piece of evidence for an American origin involves Alexis Soyer, the French expatriate chef and enterprising humanitarian who invented the soup kitchen to address the Irish famine and the camp stove to cook for wounded Crimean War soldiers. It seems one of Soyer's more harebrained schemes, described by Sarah Freeman in her book "Mutton & Oysters," was to open an American-style bar in London serving American cocktails. One of the cocktails prominently mentioned? Eggnog, of course." ¹

Sietsema's mild mannered and jovial article caused quite a stir over at Fewmet Online where Katja Davidova Orlova Khazarina responded to Sitsema's article with the following commentary, "The author cites unsupported accounts as to the egg drink's origin being in the 18th Century in Virginia or maybe as far back as the Jamestown Colony in 1607, I say, and he claims that the celebratory egg drink is an American invention since it contains rum," further adding, "Interesting theory and, yes, I know Salon.com does not attempt to offer up serious culinary history research, I explain, but egg drinks date back to the early Middle Ages and were incredibly popular in Renaissance Europe. No, they weren't called egg nog-they were caudels and possets. While they were originally medicinal cures rather than beverages per se, they have marked similarities to the holiday drink in question. Unlike the Salon author, however, I think it is not only "tempting to assume that egg nog is British," I think the recipes in period cookbooks fairly well support that the origins of the drink lie in the Old World, not the New World. In his defense, I'm betting that author doesn't have a bookcase full of culinary history references!" ²

The more commonly accepted theories amongst historians for explaining the elusive origins of eggnog claim the beverage is a derivative of caudels and possets, medieval drinks made long before Columbus discovered America.

Most historians believe the lineage of eggnog begins with the caudel, a warm wine or ale-based drink mixed with bread or gruel to which is added beaten eggs, sugar and an assortment of spices. Others believe the posset to be the true predecessors of today's eggnog. which I find more plausible based on the obvious omission of milk or cream in caudel recipes. There are many variations for making a posset, however generically speaking, a posset is a warm milk, wine or ale based drink to which is added beaten eggs, sugar, and, as with the caudel, an assortment of spices.

Digging deep into their archives and medieval transcripts, historians have brought forth several theories regarding both the naming of and origin for the drink, but questions still remain. In all likelihood a final answer will not be forthcoming any time soon.

There appears to be a general consensus amongst most food historians that the creamy egg and milk beverage, which we know today as eggnog, received its name in two possible ways. Both are based on interpreting the word itself. Eggnog, or egg nog as some prefer to call it, is a drink made from beaten eggs, milk, sugar, and often, rum, which in colonial America was called grog. For this reason, some historians believe the word eggnog to be a shortened form of "egg and grog." Others claim the name comes from a small wooden mug called a noggin, which was used for serving drinks in taverns during that period. "I'll have an egg noggin" or "I'll have an egg grog" over time became "I'll have an eggnog."

For something, which looks luscious and elegant, as eggnog does, with its frothy texture garnished with a sprinkling of nutmeg, it's hard to imagine there exists a darker side capable of criminal activity. And yet, sadly there does.

Following an announcement that the holiday should be observed without alcohol, high-spirited Southern cadets (in particular) smuggled whiskey into the academy barracks and holiday festivities deteriorated into violence, including attempted murder.³ Cadet Jefferson Davis led the riot, according to the American Heritage Magazine.

"... Jefferson Davis of Mississippi and several other hell-raising cadets had organized a Christmas party to initiate their friends into the mysteries of eggnog. The party turned into a riot that became a pitched battle between cadets and tactical officers ("tacs"), the commissioned regulars who were-and still are-the academy's disciplinarians. Before the upheaval subsided, Davis's roommate had tried to shoot an officer with a pistol that fortunately misfired, and every "tac" on the roster was a mass of bruises from the stove wood, stair railings, and chair backs the cadets had flung at them. Almost every window in the barracks was smashed. Nineteen cadets were expelled, but Davis, put under arrest and sent to his room before the riot started, survived to be graduated in 1828."⁴

Eggnog, despite its colorful background, remains popular amongst Americans during the Christmas and New Year's holiday season, where it is served as both a hot or cold beverage.

References:

1 Nothing But Nog, Robert Sietsema, December 19, 2006, Retrieved December 14, 2007, http://www.salon.com/mwt/food/eat_drink/2006/12/19/eggnog_history/index1.html

2 Caudles and Possets: The Original Egg Nog? Cooking with Katja, Katja Davidova Orlova Khazarina, January 2007, Retrieved December 14, 2007, http://fewmet.thescorre.org/online/2007/January/CwK.htm

3 Preface from ... A Frontier Army Christmas, Lori A. Cox-Paul and Dr. James Wengert, June 30, 1998, Retrieved December 14, 2007, http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/books/ourbooks/xmaspref.htm

4 WEST POINT IN REVIEW, The old school is alive with the memory of men like Lee, Grant, Pershing, and Eisenhower, Thomas Fleming, American Heritage Magazine, April 1988, Volume 39, Issue 3, Retrieved December 16, 2007, http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1988/3/1988_3_42_print.shtml