Egg Cream - Origins

Origins

The origin of the name "egg cream" is constantly debated. One theory was said that they used grade "A" milk calling it a chocolate A cream thus sounding like 'egg' cream. Stanley Auster, the grandson of the beverage's alleged inventor, has been quoted as saying that the origins of the name are lost in time. One commonly accepted origin is that "Egg" is a corruption of the German (also found in Yiddish) word echt ("genuine" or "real") and this was a "good cream". It may also have been called an "Egg Cream" because in the late 19th century, there were already many chocolate fountain/dessert drinks using actual eggs (e.g. 'Egg Brin'), and Auster wanted to capitalize on the name.

Author of the book Fix the Pumps, historical look at soda fountains, Darcy S. O'Neil claims that the "New York Egg Cream" is a variation of the original milkshake served at soda fountains throughout America in the late 19th century.

Around 1885 the milkshake became a popular item at soda fountains. Unlike today's thick, ice cream like consistency, the original milkshakes were made with sweet cream (sometimes frozen as "ice cream"), a whole egg, flavored syrup and soda water. The egg, cream and syrup were shaken in a cocktail shaker until light and frothy, then poured into a glass where the soda water was added.

The Egg Cream was most likely a version created to keep the price low, as most soda fountain items were sold for 5 cents. As eggs and cream became more expensive, and as a result of health concerns stemming from using raw eggs in an uncooked product, they would be removed (eggs) or replaced (cream) with milk leading to what we now know as a New York Egg Cream.

Another explanation comes from reports that it grew out of a request for "chocolat et crème" from someone who had experienced a similar drink in Paris, which name morphed phonetically into the current version. Yet another plausible answer is that the first version did, in fact, use egg and cream, but due to the food limitations in WWII they were dropped from the recipe. One work from 1859, Domestic and rural affairs.: The family, farm and gardens, and the domestic animals, does include a recipe that consists of barely more than these two ingredients:

"Egg-Cream.-To the yolks of three eggs, and a dessertspoonful of good new milk or cream, add two drops of oil of cinnamon. This is a very good nourishing mixture. The oil of cinnamon is cordial and tonic, and the above has been recommended in lung complaints..."

A similar recipe still was cited at the beginning of the 20th century, but had already dropped the cream:

"EGG CREAM. The yolks of 6 eggs, 1/2 pint of water, juice of 1 lemon, 2 oz. of sifted sugar, a little cinnamon. Beat up all the ingredients, put the mixture into a saucepan over a sharp fire, and whisk it till quite frothy, taking care not to let it boil; fill into glasses and serve at once."

Another from the same year (1915) uses both ingredients, though the intent here seems to be to reinforce whipped egg whites:

"3. EGG CREAM. 2 tablespoons fresh cream, the white of 1 egg. Put the white of egg on to a plate and beat to a stiff froth with the flat of a knife. (A palette knife is the best.) Then beat the cream into it. This makes a nourishing dressing for either vegetable salad or fruitsalad. Especially suitable for invalids and persons of weak digestion."

Because a traditional egg cream relied upon seltzer under high pressure being delivered via a siphon nozzle rather than poured from a bottle, modern preparation has been slightly altered to preserve the traditional layer effect.