flipChocolate Egg Cream from the Fountain
Chocolate Egg Cream from the Fountain
Why this dish? In the New York where Neel lived, the corner soda fountain was the poor person's penny luxury: no egg, no cream in the egg cream, just milk, chocolate syrup, and seltzer that fizzes. A sweet treat accessible even on days without a cent, between errands in the neighborhood.
A legendary New York drink, frothy and chocolaty, stirred up in a tall glass. No egg, no cream — a trick of the wrist and plenty of fizz.
Don't go looking for egg or cream in there, it's a New York joke — there's neither, and that's all the better for your purse. For a few cents at the drugstore counter, you got this frothy chocolaty thing that picked you up for the afternoon. The secret is to pour the seltzer hard, over the back of a spoon, to raise a nice white foam. A little poor man's joy, and believe me, we knew how to enjoy it.
- •Cold milk — a glass bottom (creamy base)
- •Chocolate syrup — a few dashes (flavor)
- •Seltzer (soda water) — to fill (effervescence)
Chocolate Egg Cream from the Fountain
A legendary New York drink, frothy and chocolaty, stirred up in a tall glass. No egg, no cream — a trick of the wrist and plenty of fizz.
Why this dish? In the New York where Neel lived, the corner soda fountain was the poor person's penny luxury: no egg, no cream in the egg cream, just milk, chocolate syrup, and seltzer that fizzes. A sweet treat accessible even on days without a cent, between errands in the neighborhood.
Don't go looking for egg or cream in there, it's a New York joke — there's neither, and that's all the better for your purse. For a few cents at the drugstore counter, you got this frothy chocolaty thing that picked you up for the afternoon. The secret is to pour the seltzer hard, over the back of a spoon, to raise a nice white foam. A little poor man's joy, and believe me, we knew how to enjoy it.
Ingredients (period version)
- Cold milk — a glass bottom (creamy base)
- Chocolate syrup — a few dashes (flavor)
- Seltzer (soda water) — to fill (effervescence)
Ingredients
- Very cold whole milk — 60 ml (creamy base)
- Chocolate syrup (like Fox's U-bet) — 2 tbsp (flavor)
- Very cold sparkling water — about 250 ml (effervescence)
Method
- Pour cold milk into the bottom of a tall glass.
- Add the chocolate syrup.
- Vigorously pour the sparkling water over the back of a spoon to create a white foam on top.
- Quickly stir the bottom without breaking the foam. Drink immediately, well chilled.
How it was made : The egg cream was born in the Jewish neighborhoods of Brooklyn and the Lower East Side in the late 19th century and triumphed in drugstores in the first half of the 20th. Its name remains a mystery (perhaps from Yiddish 'echt', 'genuine'): it never contained egg or cream.
The contemporary twist : A 'vanilla' version with vanilla syrup instead of chocolate, served in a frosted glass for a retro effect.
Alice Neel · Charactorium
