Eggnog: An R&D Director’s POV

(International Food Products) – The holidays are here, and with the holidays come the seasonal beverage eggnog.

Eggnog today consists of milk, cream, egg yolks and sugar. Most home recipes call for the addition of alcohol, such as rum or whiskey. Although, early Americans didn’t seem to mind what kind of alcohol was included in their eggnog, just so long as it was included. Founding father George Washington was a fan of the holiday drink. Kitchen records at Mount Vernon reveal Washington served the drink frequently to guests and even had his own recipe for eggnog.

Sales of eggnog have quadrupled in the last 50 years, yet eggnog is widely available only three months out of the year. Popular in the U.S. and Canada during the holiday months, eggnog is generally only commercially available in grocery stores from mid-October to early January.

In order to provide the best choices for our customers, the R&D department has to be very mindful in what is required in the standard of identity for eggnog, but also to be on top of trends in flavor profiles, ideal color intensity, spice ratio and thickness is expected of a tasty product. To be called eggnog, The Food and Drug Administration created guidelines that stipulate that it must have milk, cream, at least 6.0 percent butterfat, at least 1.0 percent egg yolk solids, sweetener, and flavoring. Emulsifier and not over 0.5 percent stabilizer may be added. The most common spices found in eggnog are cinnamon and nutmeg. Eggnog can also be infused with flavors like vanilla, butter or alcohol flavors. Our eggnog powders contain the egg yolks to yield the 1% egg yolk solids, natural golden yellow colors by the form of annatto and turmeric, flavors, spices and a blend of stabilizers for a rich pour. It is basically the whole package that just needs to be added to sugar and milk/cream, which dairies and eggnog manufacturers have readily available because it is used in so many other products made in those plants.

P.S. Dec. 24 is National Eggnog Day, so make sure to sit back and enjoy a glass this Christmas Eve. That’s what I will be doing.

Written by An Ho, Director of R&D at International Food Products 

My experienced R&D team is ready to help with any custom eggnog needs. Call us at 1.800.227.8427