| How to Make Eggnog Dec 25th 2012, 02:00 Nothing says "holiday spirit" like a glass of eggnog! It tastes like Christmas, and when you combine just a few simple ingredients, you have a treat the whole family can enjoy. With either of these recipes, you can make a 24 serving batch —enough for a fun party, with maybe a little left over for Santa to dip his cookies into! Edit Ingredients Method One: Easy Egg Nog Ingredients - 12 egg yolks
- 4 cups (1L) whole milk
- 4 cups (1L) cream (light or heavy—to taste)
- 1-1/2 cups (300g) white sugar
- 2 tsp plus 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground clove
- 2 cups (500ml) rum (optional)
Method Two: Traditional Eggnog Ingredients - 12 large eggs. For those concerned about the safety of uncooked eggs, pasteurized eggs can often be found at some specialty grocery stores.
- 4-7 cups (950ml to 1650ml) milk. Use whole milk for the creamiest eggnog, or you can use 2% or skim milk if necessary.
- 1-1/2 pints heavy whipping cream (750ml)
- 1-1/2 cups (300g) sugar (superfine baker's sugar or powdered white sugar dissolves best)
- Ground nutmeg, to taste
- Bourbon, brandy, or dark rum (dark rum may have a better flavor and color). Alcohol is optional but if you use it, the measurements are:
- 2 to 4-1/2 cups (500ml to 1 liter) bourbon
- 1/2 to 1-1/2 cups (120ml to 350ml) rum
Method One: Easy Eggnog - Create milk mixture. In a large saucepan, combine the milk, clove, cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Cook on medium-low heat until the mixture comes to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Make the egg mixture. In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and the sugar, and beat or whisk until fluffy.
- Add the milk mixture slowly to the egg mixture. Whisk it in.
- Pour the combined mix back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thick (about three to five minutes). Do not let the mixture boil!
- Remove the nog from the burner. Let cool (about an hour or two)
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir in the cream, 2 tsp vanilla, the nutmeg, and if you're spiking the eggnog, add the rum.
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight to let the flavors combine, and serve with a dash of nutmeg, and a cinnamon stick garnish.
- Served.
Method Two: Traditional Eggnog - Separate the egg whites from the yolks. It's a good idea to separate the whites from one egg into a small bowl and if the separation is a success (no yolk gets in), pour the whites from that egg into the large bowl. If you get yolk in the whites, save that egg for breakfast: whites will not whip when contaminated with egg yolk.
- Beat the egg whites. On medium speed, beat the egg whites until white, then add half the sugar and beat just until soft peaks begin to form.
- Mix the remaining half of the sugar into the egg yolks, and beat until blended.
- Mix the eggs together. Gently fold the egg yolks into the beaten egg whites, pouring slowly. The goal is to keep the fluffiness of the whites.
- Add the rum. Slowly pour the rum into the egg mixture, gently folding it in. (Alcohol is optional; see Tips.)
- Add the milk. Slowly add milk, gently stirring it in. Start with 4 cups. You can add more later to adjust the consistency. If you're adding alcohol, you may not need any more.
- Some cooks recommend heating the milk and cream before adding to the egg mixture.
- Add the bourbon. Slowly pour the bourbon into the mixture, gently stirring it in. (Optional, see Tips.)
- Separate half the cream into a mixing bowl and set it aside.
- Add cream. Pour the other half of the cream into the egg mixture and gently stir it in.
- Whip it. Beat the reserved half of the cream until nearly stiff, then gently fold the whipped cream into the mixture.
- Add some nutmeg. If possible, grate the nutmeg (or just use pre-grated).
- Serve it up! Ladle the eggnog into a punch glass and sprinkle a bit of nutmeg on top of the frothy, tasty eggnog. Serve to your impressed and delighted guests.
- Whipped cream can also be added to the top of the eggnog.
- If you're having a family get-together, double the ingredients and make one alcoholic batch and one regular batch.
- You can soften the egg flavor by reserving the final whipped cream addition, refrigerating the eggnog overnight, then adding the whipped cream just before you serve it.
- If you want to make non-alcoholic eggnog, simply skip the rum and the bourbon. Then folks who want to spike their nog can add liquor to their cup as they like.
- Nutmeg may be replaced with fresh mace as it gives a pleasant citrus-like taste.
- If you don't use the full 6 cups of liquor, you can replace the difference of liquor with some milk (if desired).
- After a while, the mixture starts to separate to make a heavy fluid with a fluffy head, so when serving it, make sure you get a representative sample of each.
- To make a smaller batch, consult the recipe listed as a source below.
- Be gentle during the entire mixing process. Don't over-beat the eggs or the cream; the whipped cream will begin to taste like butter when whipped too long.
Edit Warnings - Make sure there is zero yolk in the egg whites before beating them or the whites won't be fluffy.
- Use the freshest eggs available. Salmonella is in less than 1 of every 10,000 eggs, but the fresher the better. Or you can use pasteurized eggs, if they are available in your area.
- Don't whip the cream too stiffly otherwise it'll chunk up and not mix in very well.
- If you use the full listed amount of alcohol, this drink is quite strong, so designate drivers for those who will be drinking (and make sure those drivers don't drink!).
- While eggnog is a holiday tradition, increased awareness that consuming raw eggs has the potential to cause illness has led to some advocating cooking your nog. To avoid any risk of illness, you may buy raw, pasteurized-in-the-shell eggs from many grocery stores, especially natural/health food stores (the price is slightly higher, but you can rest easy knowing that the eggs are free of any pathogens). If you make a raw, non-alcoholic nog and allow children to consume it, or if anyone with fragile health is going to drink your raw nog, it is a good idea to make it in advance, and have a couple of hardy souls try some 24 hours or so before the main festivities. The traditional explanation concerning the safety of eggnog is that the liquor is strong enough to kill whatever problems the eggs introduce. Food poisoning studies show that the risk is reduced with strong liquor. [1]
- Nutmeg allergies are rather rare, and are unrelated to peanut and tree nut allergies. If you have a family history of allergies, and have not handled fresh nutmeg before, grind it with a friend or family member nearby who can get help if you have a serious allergic reaction.
Edit Things You'll Need - Mixing bowl
- Egg whisk or electric mixer
- Mixing spoon
- Heatproof glasses or mugs
Edit Related wikiHows Edit Sources and Citations |  |
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