Egg cream explained

Egg cream
Type:Fountain beverage
Origin:United States
Flavor:Various; primarily chocolate, but can be any flavored syrup
Ingredients:Flavored syrup, milk, soda water

An egg cream[1] is a cold beverage consisting of milk, carbonated water, and flavored syrup (typically chocolate or vanilla), as a substitute for an ice cream float.[2] Ideally, the glass is left with liquid and foamy head.[3] Despite the name, the drink contains neither eggs nor cream.[4]

The egg cream is almost exclusively a fountain drink. Although there have been several attempts to bottle it, none have been wholly successful, as its refreshing taste and characteristic head require mixing of the ingredients just before drinking.

Etymology theories and speculations

The peculiarity that an egg cream contains neither eggs nor cream has been explained in various ways. Stanley Auster, who claims that his grandfather invented the beverage, has said that the origins of the name are "lost in time."[5]

The egg cream originated among Yiddish-speaking Eastern European Jewish immigrants in New York City, so one explanation claims that egg is a corruption of the Yiddish German: echt 'genuine or real', making an egg cream a "good cream".[6]

Food historian Andrew Smith writes: "During the 1880s, a popular specialty was made with chocolate syrup, cream, and raw eggs mixed into soda water. In poorer neighborhoods, a less expensive version of this treat was created, called the Egg Cream (made without the eggs or cream)."[7]

Another explanation comes from reports that it grew out of a request for French: chocolat et crème from someone, possibly the actor Boris Thomashefsky[8] who had experienced a similar drink in Paris.[9] [10] His heavy accent altered the name into something like "egg cream," which then developed into the current term.

In popular culture

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 19 December 2019 . The New York Egg Cream . ArcGIS StoryMaps . 12 March 2022 . 27 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231127112448/https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/305dec8b7c5c4ac38bce5dfd10712743 . live .
  2. Web site: Stuart . Marcia . The New York Egg Cream . EGO . Epicurus.com . 12 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150331195502/https://www.epicurus.com/blog/the-new-york-egg-cream/1824/ . 31 March 2015.
  3. News: Stern . Michael . Stern . Jane . Jul 10, 1985 . Egg Cream is a delicacy at candy store in Bronx . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160418082907/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19850710&id=7m5IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ilkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7034,2249395&hl=en . 18 April 2016 . 29 March 2015 . The Evening Independent . 3B.
  4. Web site: Arenstein . Noah . 2014-11-19 . 12 things you didn't know about NYC egg creams . . 12 March 2022 . 2022-05-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220517224152/https://www.thrillist.com/drink/new-york/things-you-didn-t-know-about-egg-creams-nyc . live .
  5. Book: Mariani, John F. . 1999 . Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink . Lebhar-Friedman:New York.
  6. Web site: Ringler . Rachel . 16 June 2021 . What is an egg cream and why is it so Jewish? . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . 12 March 2022 . 21 December 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211221195917/https://www.jta.org/2021/06/16/food/what-is-an-egg-cream-and-why-is-it-so-jewish . live .
  7. Book: Smith, Andrew F. . 2014 . New York City: A Food Biography . Rowman & Littlefield . 111.
  8. News: Gould . Jillian . 2002 . Candy Stores and Egg Creams . Jews of Brooklyn . UPNE . 203.
  9. Web site: Stradley . Linda . 17 April 2015 . New York Egg Cream Recipe and History . What's Cooking America . 12 March 2022 . 20 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220320040029/https://whatscookingamerica.net/history/nyeggcreamhistory.htm . live .
  10. News: Lee . Jennifer . 5 August 2008 . Can the Egg Cream Make a Comeback? . City Room . The New York Times Company . 12 March 2022 . 28 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220128092933/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/can-the-egg-cream-make-a-comeback/ . live .