Talk:Egg cream
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article is supported by the Soft Drinks WikiProject, a group dedicated to improving Wikipedia's coverage of topics related to all non-alcoholic beverages. Please participate by editing the article, and help us improve articles to good and 1.0 standards, or visit the wikiproject page for more details. |
| ??? | This article has not yet received a rating on the quality scale. |
This was invented in 19th century New York...how could it be a Jewish ethnic food? Just because there are a lot of Jewish people in Brooklyn, where it started, or that it exists in modern Israel? Was that listing an act of vandalism? Kaz 15:37, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC) particularly silly comment...most jewish food was created in non-jewish countries....fact is many jews regard egg-creams as somewhat jewish and do not regard other soft-drinks as such. the connection is Russian jews bringing seltzer to the states
- I disagree it is a "Jewish ethnic food." Unless there is some strange egg cream history I'm not aware of, there is no connection to Jewish ethnicity or religion. In fact, it was served as drug stores ("candy stores") with fountains, and could not be served at the once ubiquitous Jewish delis, becuase it contains dairy. -- Cecropia | explains it all ® 17:58, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)
-
- OK, I agree...I'm gonna delete the ethnic food reference, if someone has more info they can always put it back...Kaz 03:12, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)
My family experience is that it is a "Brooklyn Jewish" drink. Despite growing up in the Brooklyn area and just knowing it as a drink from the corner store, for some reason the only people who share my fond memories of it are other New York Jews. Is "New York Jew" an acceptable sub-ethnicity? We are a distinctive group, after all. :D ~ ---
Contents |
[edit] Any Geezers Tasted One?
OK, now that the actual question's out of the way...has anyone ever actually tasted this stuff? I mean, it's supposed to have been the finest drink known to man. Is this just because the standards were so much lower, as with Chaplin movies being brilliant back then but WAY over-rated by modern standards, or maybe it's because this was the best liquid delivery system for the addictive substance "chocolate", or was it really that good? It sounds pretty overblown...I mean, a tiny bit of chocolate syrup and milk mixed with seltzer water? Nectar of the gods? Kaz 03:17, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)
- You don't have to be a geezer to drink 'em. They serve them at Canter's in Los Angeles. It's just chocolate soda, almost a little bit sharp b/c of the seltzer. I'm not saying it's the world's greatest drink, but there is something addictive about 'em. Damn. Now I want one, too. jengod 18:28, Jan 20, 2005 (UTC)
Your whole rant seems completely bizarre to me. You do know that chocolate is a generic term that doesn't need to be put in quotation marks, right? Because if that's an attempt at humor . . . I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be antagonistic, I just don't get the joke. And the comment about Chaplin movies seems completely out of left field. (By the way, I like Chaplin movies, but that's beside the point.) And what is your source material, Kaz, that an egg cream is supposed to be not only the finest drink known to man, but also the nectar of the gods? Is it the same source material that told you that an egg cream is some obscure drink that hasn't existed for generations? I live in a mid-size town and, just off the top of my head, I can think of at least three local restaurants that serve this drink. -- Minaker
Geezers? Is this flamebait? Anyway, one hardly needs to be old to have tried one of these – you can find them at any ice cream shop or soda fountain in New York City. (I practically lived on them when I was in NYC in the middle of a hot July – 90°+ and humid. I can see why egg creams are so popular there.) Outside of NYC, they're harder to come by – they're part of the regional cuisine, really. Peter G Werner 20:33, 31 March 2007 (UTC)
-
- They sound completely disgusting. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 205.161.214.82 (talk) 16:54, 6 May 2007 (UTC).
[edit] Authentic NY Egg Cream
I grew up in NY, and every Sunday, my grandmother would walk me down to the corner stationery store (which had a soda fountain) and buy me an egg cream. Last month I travelled back to NY, and the store is still there. The current owner was once a customer, and was restoring the shop to the way it was in the 60s (including original counter, stools, fixtures, etc.)
He also had the Egg Cream recipe, which he had inherited from the original owners, and was kind enough to make me one AND share the recipe!
Here goes:
- Cup of chilled whole milk - the colder, the better
- Seltzer water
- Shot of either Vanilla or Chocolate syrup (these were the two standard flavors)
Combine the syrup with the chilled milk and whip in a blender or milkshake mixer. Pour into a glass and add the seltzer water. Stir.
After years of trying "bottled" Egg Creams, I had completely forgotten that the straw is supposed to stand up, and that this only happens when you whip the milk & syrup.
Of course, even with the recipe, they still taste better from the soda fountain! Charlie 22:07, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
How much seltzer do add?--Witeandnerdy 01:37, 16 November 2006 (UTC)
This all depends on taste. When the new owner made one for me, he started with a half-glass of cold milk, and a shot of Vanilla syrup. (I think he used the Torani Vanilla -- but not the French Vanilla). After pouring it into a metal milkshake-mixer and whipping it, he poured it back into the glass. Tipping the glass, he slowly poured seltzer into the mix, allowing the foam to subside as he filled. Charlie 00:23, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Hey Arnold Inaccuracy
Stevekent! seems to have written in a pop culture reference to Coach Wittenberg building a robot to make egg creams because he loved them so much. I can't seem to find a Hey Arnold episode guide, but I am very sure that he means to reference an episode where Arnold saves the life of a millionaire. This millionaire man is the one who loves egg creams and has a robot ("Mr. Egg Cream") that builds them. I do not remember the name of this millionaire! I am leaving this note here so that someone can perhaps verify that I am correct. smartperson 04:46, 19 May 2006
[edit] Other kinds of egg creams?
Is an egg cream always a chocolate egg cream, by definition? If there is a such thing as non-chocolate egg creams, that should probably be mentioned.
Something about the history of this beverage would be good too. I've often wondered if it was in any way related to a Vietnamese beverage, soda sua hot ga, a soda water- and milk-based drink that actually includes an egg yolk. Peter G Werner 20:47, 31 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] REAL Authentic New York Egg Cream
Way back in the mists of time, I was employed for a summer at Klug's Candy Store and was taught the art of the Egg Cream by Ruben Klug himself, the self titled 'Master of the Egg Cream', a subject on which he was nothing short of fanatical.
According to Ruben, the 'Egg' was 'ech' which he rendered as meaning 'fresh'. The essence and absolute sine qua non of the egg cream is the head, formed of trillions (or maybe only thousands) of teensy milk/seltzer bubbles. The resemblance to cream rising to the top of freshly obtained milk was supposedly the origin of the name. Ech (fresh) cream = Egg Cream.
Here is Ruben's recipe:
Take one bell mouthed 'coke' glass - this is essential to proper head formation.
Pour in cold milk up to a smidgen above where the curve starts.
Apply the seltzer (from a soda fountain spritzer - not a bottle) to form the white head. This must be done in such a way as to bring the head to exactly the top of the glass without spilling over. Note that this is BEFORE adding the chocolate. If you add the chocolate first you get a pale brown head with enormous gooey bubbles - wrong!
Add two long pulls on the chocolate syrup dispenser (New York's own Fox's U-Bet of course). Thse must go straight down through the head. Why? Getting chocoloate on the side of the glass is wasteful and unattractive and you want to be able to stir the chocolate with a minimum of damage to the head.
If you did the chocolate right, you should see a small chocolate spot in the middle of the head and the chocolate in the bottom middle of the glass. Insert a long handled spoon through the chocolate spot and stir vigorously in TINY circles.
The result - if you did it right - the most magnificient creation of man in all of the history of the world - the Authentic New York Egg Cream.
--SIngleDouble 20:31, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
[edit] SIngleDouble is Absolutely Correct about the Process !
I was raised in NYC and the egg cream was my drink of choice, generally made at a soda fountain right before my eyes as I sat at the counter and watched. I have been making egg creams at home, as well teaching others to do it, since the early 70's. I haven't found anyone who doesn't like a properly-made egg cream, but making it properly is a bit of a trick. I have maintained my recipe online since at least 2001, which emphasizes the order of operations as critical to the final result, almost exactly as SD describes above. I've edited the main page to link to that recipe, as well as added a theory of the name derivation which is based on French rather than Yiddish.
Also, IMO the main page sounds too much like a Fox's U-Bet commercial, does anyone agree? The syrup used, in my opinion, is far less important than the process used to get the correct result. When I can't get Fox's I can still make a great egg cream. Two links to their site at the end seems redundant to me.
Badboy2k 18:41, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
