Chocolate egg cream (no egg, no cream)
A fizzy, frothy New York drink, despite its misleading name with no egg or cream: chocolate syrup, cold milk and seltzer water, whipped to form a tight white foam on top.
A fizzy, frothy New York drink, despite its misleading name with no egg or cream: chocolate syrup, cold milk and seltzer water, whipped to form a tight white foam on top.
I gotta tell you something: the egg cream, there's no egg or cream in it, go figure! It's a New York name, that's all. When you were little, you'd go into the candy store, the guy would make it for you at the counter: the chocolate syrup at the bottom, the milk, and then he'd hit it with the seltzer water in one sharp pour to raise a tight white foam. You drink it fast, while it's still fizzing, before the foam falls. It's the neighborhood sugar, the two-bit luxury.
- •Chocolate syrup (like Fox's U-Bet) — a glass bottom (cocoa sweetness)
- •Whole milk, very cold — a little (creamy body)
- •Seltzer water (pressurized) — to fill (fizz and foam)
Chocolate egg cream (no egg, no cream)
A fizzy, frothy New York drink, despite its misleading name with no egg or cream: chocolate syrup, cold milk and seltzer water, whipped to form a tight white foam on top.
Why this dish? The egg cream is New York's comfort drink, sold forever at the counters of candy stores and delis in Queens. A frothy treat for a few cents, the little sweet pleasure you treat yourself to on the corner — exactly the kind of daily comfort for neighborhood kids.
I gotta tell you something: the egg cream, there's no egg or cream in it, go figure! It's a New York name, that's all. When you were little, you'd go into the candy store, the guy would make it for you at the counter: the chocolate syrup at the bottom, the milk, and then he'd hit it with the seltzer water in one sharp pour to raise a tight white foam. You drink it fast, while it's still fizzing, before the foam falls. It's the neighborhood sugar, the two-bit luxury.
Ingredients (period version)
- Chocolate syrup (like Fox's U-Bet) — a glass bottom (cocoa sweetness)
- Whole milk, very cold — a little (creamy body)
- Seltzer water (pressurized) — to fill (fizz and foam)
Ingredients
- Chocolate syrup — 3 tbsp (cocoa sweetness)
- Very cold whole milk — 60 ml (creamy body)
- Very fizzy cold sparkling water — 180 ml (fizz and foam)
Method
- Pour the chocolate syrup into the bottom of a tall cold glass.
- Add the cold milk on top without mixing.
- Pour the sparkling water in one brisk stream, aiming at the center, to raise a thick white foam.
- Quickly stir the bottom of the glass with a spoon without breaking the foam on top.
- Drink immediately, while still fizzy and icy.
How it was made : The egg cream appeared in New York's working-class neighborhoods in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, served at the counters of soda fountains and Jewish candy stores. The origin of its name remains a tasty mystery: perhaps a Yiddish corruption, perhaps a reference to its foam 'like beaten egg white'. Fox's U-Bet syrup from Brooklyn remained the legendary standard.
The contemporary twist : Served in a vintage soda glass, striped straw, overflowing foam. A vanilla version with clear syrup for a color variation.
Sources : Kenneth T. Jackson (dir.), The Encyclopedia of New York City
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