Sack Posset Pie

Calling all egg nog lovers!

(You can tell this is a recipe from the fifties; just look at the candied fruit!)

 

I'm not a big fan of cooking with egg nog. I like to drink it, in moderation of course; even without rum, it is rich stuff. I once used it for french toast because there was till some in the house after the Yule Tide went back out. It worked, though the result tasted strongly, and not surprisingly, like chewy egg nog.

(Speaking of which, the egg nog purchased in cartons from the grocery store lasts a disturbingly long time. Not sure what they put in there to inhibit bacterial and fungal growth, but it works.)

As I typed the title of this post, I wondered: are there other kinds of nog? In case questions like this trouble you too, here's what I discovered: nog can be a strong ale brewed in Norfolk, England, a psychedelic novel, and a Firengi character from Star Trek.

The food timeline says that the term "egg nog" wasn't used until the 1700s, but that the stuff itself was around well before hand. The term for it back in the 1600s was "Egg Caudle" or "Sack Posset", which I think explains the name change.

Here's a 1685 version you may not have tried:

Egg Caudle

Boil ale or beer, scum it, and put to it two or three blades of large mace, some sliced manchet and sugar; then dissolve four or five yolks of eggs with some sack, claret or white-wine, and put into the rest with a little grated nutmeg; fire to a warm and serve it.

Don't forget to scum it. That really is the most important step.

You can sip it while watching this:

Happy nogging!