Project 52: Rationing - Week 50 - Eggnog

Borden's Elsie the Cow - 1952

I don't know about you, but eggnog was a Christmas tradition in my family growing up. The holidays just wouldn't be complete without a glass of sweet, cold, creamy, nutmeg-hinted delight. I just love that stuff! I've had all kinds of eggnog over the years. Some amazing, some not that great. I even made my own cooked eggnog from scratch as a teenager once. I think I ended up scorching it on the bottom, because I don't remember it tasting that great. Regular ol' store bought eggnog, in my opinion, is too cloyingly sweet and much too thick. I always thin it out with milk. It also has a bunch of weird junk in it. Then a few years ago I tried an eggnog made from grass-fed cow's milk & cream... oh my. It was amazing! All eggnogs are definitely not created equal.

I was really excited to try an eggnog recipe for one of my final ration recipes. And I'm pretty sure that most people will not want to try this recipe. The biggest reason is because this Eggnog recipe uses raw egg.

I know this is a subject that gets people feeling testy, so this is all I'll say about it: I grew up unabashedly eating raw cookie dough and testing raw cake batter. It is sad that the salmonella issue surrounding raw eggs keeps people from enjoying raw dough and recipes like this one. I recently came across a recipe for Raw Eggnog on a homesteading site (The Prairie Homestead) and I like what she says about it. (Her blog is definitely in the raw milk camp which is a whole different topic of debate.) I like what she says about eating raw eggs though - how the main cause for concern really comes from store-bought eggs from chickens raised in unnatural and unhealthy conditions and not eggs from pasture-raised healthy chickens. We get eggs from our own chickens, so I don't feel it's a concern for me. If you'd like to make this recipe, I'd recommend getting your eggs from a farmer near you that you can trust, or you can make a cooked eggnog recipe where the egg is still in a liquid form, but it is cooked.

As far as I can tell from recipes, people in the 1940s were not worried about eating raw eggs. I've only ever seen raw egg used in drinks recipes, like a breakfast drink for instance. Eggnog is another obvious one that is perfect for the holidays- or anytime really!

So, let's get to it! The ingredients are wonderfully simple: one egg, 3/4 Tbsp. of sugar, 1 cup milk (I used whole milk), some vanilla and nutmeg.

Whisk the egg, then add the sugar, whisking it in.

Before adding in the sugar I took the additional step of straining my egg through a fine sieve. I am not a fan of stringy, slimy, egg white and definitely didn't want to be drinking it. It made a huge different in the texture of the egg, making it smooth and creamy. Just what you want for an eggnog!

Whisk the egg and sugar mixture with the milk. Add a splash of vanilla and some nutmeg to taste. Mix it up and you're done!

You may have noticed that this makes just enough eggnog for one person. How perfect!

Because everyone needs to be able to make a single-serving size of eggnog at a moment's notice!!

Oh dear. There seems to be only enough for me.
Don't mind if I do!

This eggnog was absolutely delicious! It was light, smooth, just the right amount of sweet and all around perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better eggnog. And I made it in less than five minutes. Not bad! The best thing is that the sugar and nutmeg are adjustable. That's always the benefit of making something yourself. :-)

Here's the recipe:

H for V cookbook - December 1942

Enjoy!