What is the best-tasting eggnog? No, it's not whichever one has the most rum in it.
Not content with blindly numbing my eggnog beyond reason, I held a test taste of (non-alcoholic) eggnog. A couple of people told me that the only eggnog worth drinking is a fresh batch made at home, so I stole borrowed Martha Stewart's recipe sans the booze. (Martha likes a boozy eggnog.)
The four eggnogs were Hiland Dairy's, Anderson Erickson's, Shatto's and mine, er -- Martha Stewart's.
The only problem is, I'm not a fan of eggnog. So I recruited two of the biggest eggnog lovers I know (full disclosure: one was my brother). Among the three of us, we made one eggnog and tried four.
Thanks to my wonderful culinary-school knowledge, making the eggnog was a snap. A trick I learned for separating eggs in class: Use three bowls. Separate over the first bowl, and put the yolk in the second bowl and the egg whites in the third. The advantage to this method is that should you muck up one egg and blend whites and yolk together, the other egg whites and yolks are saved.
For better or worse, I made some slight changes to Martha's homemade recipe. Besides keeping it virgin, I whipped the egg white to less than a meringue and I used nutmeg powder instead of fresh nutmeg. It still tasted fine, so ahead we went with the tasting. The order is from best to worst.
Hiland Eggnog: A heavy egg/light cream nog. "Are you sure there's nothing in here? It smells alcoholic," My brother said. I assured him that it was just egg, cream and nutmeg. Oh the nutmeg! John Legend has found his eggnog with the Hiland. The nutmeg smell is strong and so is the flavor. This is the eggnog for people who like their eggnong thin and spicy, which just so happens to describe two of the judges.
Anderson Erickson: As I was pouring this one, I noticed the nutrition info. For the same serving size of one-half cup, AE's eggnog has 80 more calories than Hiland's (250 to 170.) Fortunately, you can taste where all those extra calories are going. It's into the heavy cream that smothers your mouth when you take a sip. "It tastes like liquid ice cream," said the third taster. There's almost no spice, but it doesn't matter. This is a creamy-cream-with-extra-cream-on-top eggnog. The difference in flavor and texture between Anderson Erickson and the Hiland was the difference between Coke and Diet Coke. This is the eggnog for overindulging and for people not watching their calories.
Martha Stewart's eggnog: "Was the cream you used fresh?" Fortunately, the question was a joke, but it underscored an important point. The quality of homemade eggnog is only as good as the cream. I used what the grocery store had, and it turned out to make a decent eggnog but not one superior to the others. Hindering me was that it was my first time making eggnog. As with all cooking, a little practice would have done me a world of good, as would using fresh nutmeg. By messing with the recipe before mastering it, I showed that eggnog is best left to professionals. If you're going to make it for a holiday party, practice ahead of time.
Shatto Dairy: If the Hiland was too eggy and the Anderson Erickson too creamy, then the Shatto was just right. It wasn't too thick or too thin. Unfortunately, all three people agreed that the Shatto was the worst-seasoned. The specks of nutmeg (Shatto was the only grocery-store nutmeg to have specks in it) were strong in one sip and completely absent in another. The unevenness caused Shatto to fall to a low score, even though it was still very edible and came in the coolest bottle. It's also the most expensive.
Final Verdict: As the eggnog novice, I preferred Anderson Erickson but was outvoted two to one by both tasters picking Hiland. The nutmeg and fewer calories ended up adding more than the feel of cream in the mouth. With booze, any of them will get the trick done but go with the Anderson Erickson when co-workers don't care about calories, go with the Hiland when you need to impress eggnog lovers, and go with Shatto when you want an awesome bottle and some drinkable-but-not-great eggnog.
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I have had numerous store-bought eggnogs over the years but there is NO doubt in my mind that AE makes the best, hands down. All others are just disappointments. PS: counting calories simultaneously while drinking eggnog is just ignorant.
i agree, the ae version tastes like liquid ice cream--certainly NOT a bad thing in my book. I can down the whole thing in a day easily. its deadly stuff
I highly recommend Silk Nog for both texture and flavor. While it's still not exactly "light" or health food, it is a little easier to rationalize;-)
I saw the Hiland's in pint form but not the AE. You are more than welcome to take my extra egg nog off my hands. I got like half-bottles left of all and frankly, I'm eggnogged out.
Not surprising that you enjoy the nog that feels like cream in your mouth.
I've never had the Hiland, but AE does indeed take the Shatto back behind the woodshed. It's way too thick though. Is it available in pint form? Since that is all I can make it through in an entire holiday season.
I'm a big fan of making my own. Here's my favorite recipe (via Josey Packard) and while its a bit labor-intensive and requires some advance planning, it's nummy. And decidedly of the alcoholic variety:
12 eggs
1 lb powdered sugar
3 cups bourbon
3 cups dark rum
2 qts heavy whipping cream
1 cup peach brandy (optional)
nutmeg for garnish
Separate eggs.Refrigerate whites, covered. Beat yolks until light colored. Add powdered sugar and beat to combine. Very slowly, add 1 cup of bourbon and 1 cup of rum. Cover and let sit for one hour. During this time the eggy taste disappears and a boozey and sugary miracle occurs.
After the hour is up, add the remaining bourbon & rum, 2 qts whipping cream and the optional peach brandy (if using; I don't because I've never really liked it) and mix. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours.
Take the egg whites. Beat until stiff. Put egg nog base in pretty punch bowl and fold egg whites into it. Time this so the nog can be consumed right away. I don't recommend putting ice into the punch bowl. Serve in coffee mugs or punch cups and sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg.
Jeffrey Morgenthaler had a recipe in the Times recently that is much simpler and I'm anxious to round up my usual suspects and give it a go sometime in the near future.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12...
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