A Brief History of the Three Most Iconic Holiday Foods
By: Jennifer Mittler-Lee
Tags: Holidays, Culture, Recipe, History, Food

Who needs facts when the stories are so much fun?

Gilbert Scott Wright (24 July 1880–1958), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Every year after enjoying cranberries with Thanksgiving dinner, I ask myself, “Why don’t I make cranberries year-round?”

Then I remember.

The stores don’t carry them, and I’m never forward-thinking enough to freeze a few bags.

But why is that? Why are certain foods associated only with the holidays?

My waistline may appreciate that eggnog is only available in the winter, but in a world where holiday decorations start to appear in September, this restraint by eggnog manufacturers seems odd.

Let’s start there. What is eggnog anyway?

Eggnog/ Dinner Series, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Even the origins of the name are obscure. Some make reference to the old term for rum, grog, added to noggins, the quaint word for wooden mugs.

Others point to the Oxford English Dictionary, where the word nog is defined as a strong beer brewed in East Anglia.

Either way, it is known that British aristocracy favored warm wintertime beverages made with milk and alcohol. While the wealthy could afford sherry in their drinks, others like 13th-century monks, used ale. These types of hot beverages made with milk, ale, and eggs were referred to as possets and were often used to toast good health and prosperity.

Though the warm drink was often consumed in the colder months, eggnog didn’t officially become linked to the holidays until the 1700s. When the American colonists brought the recipe from home, they had to make do with local, less expensive spirits, mainly rum from the Caribbeans.

Eventually, different styles would crop up. For instance, in the Southern colonies, folks spiked their eggnog with whiskey.

The alcoholic drink became a little too festive in 1826. Cadets at West Point Academy, enraged by the restrictions outlawing alcohol in their eggnog, rioted. The now infamous Eggnog Riot of 1826 began on Christmas Eve when a large amount of whiskey was smuggled into the academy. With spiked eggnog on hand, the cadets proceeded to enjoy a very festive Christmas party, one that only ended with the court-martialing of 20 cadets.

In the 1940s, with improvements in shelf-life due to pasteurization and preservation, and innovations in the shipping industry, the nonalcoholic eggnog that we know made its way to the grocery store shelves. Since then, the basic recipe has not changed. Though home preparation of eggnog has dwindled over the years, mostly due to fears about raw eggs, for the curious a recipe is included.

However, please consume eggnog responsibly. This warning comes not because of the alcohol, but for the calories. A cup of eggnog can easily surpass 300 calories.

Ingredients:

6 large egg yolks

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

ground cinnamon , for topping

optional- a splash of brandy, rum, bourbon, or whiskey

Instructions:

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a medium bowl until light and creamy.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the cream, milk, nutmeg, and salt. Stir often until the mixture reaches a bare simmer.

Add a big spoonful of the hot milk to the egg mixture, whisking vigorously. Repeat, adding a big spoonful at a time, to temper the eggs.

Once most of the hot milk has been added to the eggs, pour the mixture back into the saucepan on the stove.

Whisk constantly for just a few minutes, until the mixture is just slightly thickened (or until it reaches about 160 degrees F on a thermometer). It will thicken more as it cools.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour the eggnog into a pitcher or other container and cover with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate until chilled. It will thicken as it cools. If you want a thinner, completely smooth consistency, you can add the entire mixture to a blender with 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk and blend until smooth.

Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon, and fresh whipped cream, if desired.

Store homemade eggnog in the fridge for up to one week

Cranberries

This holiday favorite is more straight forward. Cranberries are only harvested from September through November. But let’s explore further.

Whether due to a legend or fact, cranberries are best associated with Thanksgiving. As one of only three fruits native to North America (the others are Concord grapes and blueberries), the Native Americans used cranberries for many purposes. Aside from eating, they used the berries as medicine and for dyeing cloth.

It is plausible that these Native Americans would include cranberries for that first harvest celebration with the pilgrims, later known as Thanksgiving, in 1621.

Eventually, sugar found its way into cooking cranberries resulting in the traditional sauce that we know today. In fact, one of the first recipes for cranberry sauce was found in the 1796 cookbook, American Cookery, by Amelia Simmons.

By the Civil War, cranberries had become such an important fixture at Thanksgiving, that General Ulysses S. Grant ordered the dish to be included with the soldiers’ meal. Soon, the combination of turkey and cranberry sauce would become forever linked.

Cranberry wet-harvest/Keith Weller, USDA-ARS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How cranberries were harvested used to be a completely different process. As late as the early 19th century, farmers were dry-harvesting the berries straight from the vine.

That all changed in the 1930s when Ocean Spray introduced a new method of harvesting, the wet harvest.

The company was also responsible for creating canned cranberry jelly. This was both an attempt to sell damaged, “imperfect” berries, and a way to tempt consumers with cranberry jelly year-round.

Apparently, this is necessary because one-third of yearly cranberry sales are made during Thanksgiving.

The very best cranberry sauce:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh orange juice, from two oranges

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 (12 oz) bag fresh or frozen cranberries (do not use dried)

Zest of one orange, about 2 teaspoons

Pinch salt

In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the orange juice, water, and sugar to a boil. Add the cranberries, orange zest, and salt and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and boil gently for 10 to 12 minutes, until most cranberries have burst open. (You may need to mash them a bit with a spoon.) Transfer sauce to a serving bowl. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Candy canes

Sunshine Pub.Co.Phila., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

For another holiday statistic, look no further than this iconic Christmas-time candy. The candy cane is the best selling non-chocolate candy in the month of December.

Though the origins of the candy cane are also shrouded in mystery, a fun legend likes to point the finger at the choirmaster of the Cologne Cathedral in Germany. In 1670, this frazzled choirmaster wished to quiet his hoard of rambunctious children.

What better way than to bribe them with sugar?

To justify his actions, he bent the sugar sticks to resemble shepherds’ crooks.

As lovely as that story is, at least the time period is likely correct. In the 17th century, pulled sugar candy was popular.

What is known is that by the mid-1800s, candy canes arrived in America, specifically in Wooster, Ohio. German immigrant August Imgard brought the recipe, but there was one critical difference.

These candy canes were pure white.

The peppermint-flavored red stripe didn’t appear until later at the turn of the 20th century.

One last fun fact about candy canes — did you know there’s a proper way to eat them? An important survey was conducted to determine people’s candy cane eating habits. The results? The majority of folks start with the straight portion, while the minority eat the hook first.

So this season, kick back, enjoy that cup of spiked eggnog with a candy cane, and don’t forget to freeze a bag of cranberries!