Egg Creams (Discuss)

Over the past couple of weeks, our family has developed a little bit of an obsession with the egg cream, which, like a Linda Richman joke, contains neither egg, nor cream but is rather a mix of milk, chocolate syrup, and seltzer. The history of the egg cream varies widely according to whom you ask -- a few minutes of internet research turned up at least four people/institutions claiming responsibility for it. Everyone can agree, however, that it seemed to originate in the late 1800s/early 1900s in New York City and that it is delicious.

When mixed correctly, an egg cream tastes like a velvety chocolate soda with a refreshing, fizzy snap. When mixed incorrectly -- it's kind of weird/unappealing, not gonna lie. Luckily, we have had enough practice by now to be able pass on the correct mixing procedure to you and you will be able to avoid less-than-stellar egg creams! Hooray!

Step 1: Fill a 16 ounce glass with three tablespoons of chocolate syrup and 1/2 cup of very cold milk. To get the milk to the desired level of coldness, we usually chill it in the freezer for a few minutes. Most places seem to recommend whole milk as opposed to skim or 2% for the creaminess factor; we use soy milk because A. and I have issues with milk. Full-fat coconut milk works, too and is probably my favorite, but the flavor is a little off from the original recipe.

Step 2: While whipping the chocolate and milk mixture with a fork, as though you were beating and egg, pour enough chilled seltzer into the glass to fill it to about an half-inch from the top. The result of the whipping and the pouring should cause a thick layer of foam to form that will rise up and fill the rest of the glass.

Step 3: Enjoy immediately, while it's still at maximum levels of coldness and fizziness.

Our recipe lacks total authenticity because we didn't use Fox's U-Bet, the legendary syrup used to make this drink in the old days, and also because we added the chocolate before we added the seltzer, which made our foam turn brown instead of white. Technically, you're supposed to pour the chocolate down the side of the glass and stir it gently into the milk and seltzer once the foam has formed, but we found that led to improperly mixed egg creams or a lack of foam. We just don't have the knack, but what do you expect from a bunch of Southerners?

After our first perfect egg cream, I had to admit that y'all Yankees actually can do some eats pretty well (though I still think your cornbread sucks). Who knows, we might even have to venture north of the Mason-Dixon line to try out a real New York egg cream one of these days.

Have you ever made an egg cream? Do you have any tips on mixing? Do tell.