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Drink

Egg Nog

A chilled beverage made with eggs, milk, sugar, brandy, rum, and nutmeg.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Egg Nog

Why it works: Brandy and rum are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,058 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Egg Nog

six glasses

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the base

  1. Beat the egg yolks and sugar thoroughly.

  2. Beat the egg whites separately until very stiff.

  3. Mix the beaten yolks and sugar with the milk.

Assemble the glasses

  1. Fill glasses half full with this mixture.

  2. Grate a little nutmeg.

  3. Combine the brandy and rum, then divide evenly among the six glasses.

  4. Top with the beaten egg whites.

  5. Stir gently with a small spoon to create nuggets of egg white.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Brandy + rumtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Rum + nutmegtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together646 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  3. Milk + rumtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together967 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Sugar + rumtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,908 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,685 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Yolks emulsify and thicken the drink; whites add a light, foamy topping.
Milk
Provides the liquid base and creamy body of the drink.
Sugar
Sweetens the drink and balances the alcohol.
Brandy
Adds spirit strength and warm flavour to the drink.
Jamaica rum
Adds deeper, molasses-like aroma alongside the brandy.

The step that matters

Stir gently with a small spoon to create nuggets of egg white.. Beaten egg whites are a fragile foam. Gentle stirring breaks them into small pieces that stay suspended, while vigorous stirring deflates them and the topping turns flat and watery.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, sugar, brandy, rum):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Nutmegthe original
  3. Gingerfits less well
  4. Clovefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, sugar, brandy, rum. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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