Is eggnog American or British?
You might associate eggnog with the classic American Christmas, but it originates from medieval Britain, and was adapted from posset, a drink made by curdling hot milk with wine or beer.
Eggnog is a traditional 'American' drink but it started life in the UK as a kind of 'posset' (hot milk mixed with wine or ale and spices). There are a very few old mentions of eggs being mixed in as well. During the middle ages, possets were used to help treat colds and the flu.
The British sometimes call it egg flip, but its most common name is related to old English, writes Icelandic food historian Nanna Rognvaldardottir for What's Cooking America. “Nog” is an obscure dialect word that was used throughout English history to describe strong beer, and it might be where “eggnog” comes from.
Nobody seems to know the exact origins of eggnog, but it originated in England centuries ago. According to a food blog (which now appears to be defunct), written by Frederick Douglass Opie, a food history professor at Babson College, it originally was a wintertime drink for the British aristocracy.
The exact origins of eggnog are unknown. It has 13th-century English roots, developed into a beverage for aristocrats, and found its home as an essential Christmas drink in colonial America.
It has a long history that dates to the early medieval days with its roots in Britain. But back then, the drink was not a Christmas tradition for the masses. Traditional eggnog today is made up of a mixture of milk, cream, sugar, eggs (both yolks and whipped egg whites), and rum, bourbon, or brandy.
Throughout Canada, the United States and some European countries, eggnog is traditionally consumed over the Christmas season, from late October until the end of the holiday season.
According to the dictionary, the first known use of eggnog, defined as "a drink consisting of eggs beaten with sugar, milk or cream, and often alcoholic liquor," came around 1775. Opie told USA TODAY the drink "evolved out of tavern culture in England" and is tied to the U.S.'s culinary and colonial history.
For example, eggnog, a popular wintertime beverage in the US, is commonly flavored with rum, which is not Halal. It can easily be prepared in compliance with Halal standards, though, using just milk, cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla bean, and nutmeg.
brekky in British English
(ˈbrɛkɪ ) noun. a slang word for breakfast.
What is egg on toast called in England?
While you'd rarely find people tinkering with the name eggs Benedict, what to call a fried-egg-in-toast remains in flux today. It's earned a slew of monikers, from the strange to the provocative: bird's nest, egg-in-a-basket, the Popeye, the one-eyed jack, and in a confusing twist to Brits, a toad-in-a-hole.
Americans and British people both say “cheers” when they are out drinking and clink their glasses together. The difference is that people from the UK also use “cheers” to mean “thank you”.
: a strong ale formerly brewed in Norfolk, England. [by shortening] : eggnog.
The origin of the drink was likely a monastic holiday beverage called posset, made of milk and eggs and usually laced with ale, wine, or barleywine. It is first attested in medieval England in the 14th century.
References
- https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/cooking-tips-tutorials/a41603288/what-is-eggnog/
- https://www.surrey.ac.uk/news/science-behind-eggnog
- https://www.isahalal.com/news-events/blog/why-should-beverages-be-halal-certified
- https://www.eater.com/2016/2/19/11056800/eggs-in-toast-egg-in-a-hole-basket
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffwilliams/2016/11/29/a-brief-history-of-eggnog-its-past-is-stranger-than-you-think/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggnog
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/long-rich-boozy-history-eggnog-180961511/
- https://www.thespruceeats.com/origins-of-eggnog-760173
- https://www.eurocentres.com/blog/quick-guide-slang-uk-america
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nog
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/12/04/eggnog-why-called-eggnog-started-riot-west-point/4297711002/
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/eggnog
- https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/eggnog
- https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/brekky