From Weddings to Riots, Everything to Know About Eggnog’s History
Getty Images It’s that time of year again, when streets are lined with twinkling lights and supermarket shelves are stacked with brightly decorated cartons of eggnog . How eggnog landed on supermarket shelves, synonymous with the winter holidays, is a story as rich as the creamy, spiced, egg-laden drink itself. While eggnog’s roots are in Europe, American history is to thank for the drink we know and love today. Eggnog’s Early Origins The origin of eggnog is difficult to pinpoint, but most culinary historians believe its earliest traceable relative is a hot and heady concoction called posset, which was imbibed in early modern Britain . Sasha Handley, a professor of early modern history at The University of Manchester , writes that posset had medicinal uses and was also the “culinary pinnacle of 17th-century wedding celebrations,” enjoyed by bride, groom and wedding guests to cement the bonds of a new marriage. At an early modern English wedding, the bride’s family might prepare