Egg cream
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An egg cream<ref name="arcgis Egg Cream">Template:Cite web</ref> is a cold beverage consisting of milk, carbonated water, and flavored syrup (typically chocolate or vanilla), as a substitute for an ice cream float.<ref name="epicurus-1824">Template:Cite web</ref> Ideally, the glass is left with Template:Frac liquid and Template:Frac foamy head.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite the name, the drink contains neither eggs nor cream.<ref name="thrillist-egg-creams">Template:Cite web</ref>
The egg cream is primarily a fountain drink. It has been bottled under various brands,<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> but is still not well-represented on shelves in the US. This may be partially due to the drink's tendency to go flat quickly when prepared fresh.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Etymology theories and speculations
The peculiarity that an egg cream contains neither eggs nor cream has been explained in various ways. Stanley Auster, who claims that his grandfather invented the beverage, has said that the origins of the name are "lost in time."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The egg cream originated among Yiddish-speaking Eastern European Jewish immigrants in New York City, so one explanation claims that egg is a corruption of the Yiddish Template:Lang ('genuine' or 'real'), making an egg cream a "good cream".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Another explanation comes from reports that it grew out of a request for Template:Lang from someone, possibly the actor Boris Thomashefsky<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (who had experienced a similar drink in Paris).<ref name="whatscookingamerica-nyeggcreamhistory">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="blogs.nytimes-egg-cream">Template:Cite news</ref> His heavy accent altered the name into something like "egg cream," which then developed into the current term.
However, food historian Andrew Smith writes: "During the 1880s, a popular specialty was made with chocolate syrup, cream, and raw eggs mixed into soda water. In poorer neighborhoods, a less expensive version of this treat was created, called the Egg Cream (made without the eggs or cream)."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In fact, an 1850 source already presents a similar egg cream, but without the soda water and flavored differently: "How to Make Egg Cream. Take the yolk of an egg, with a dessert spoonful of cream or new milk, and, if convenient, add two drops of oil of cinnamon."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1885, George Peltz showed the froth being created by whipping the egg: "Egg Cream.—Beat a raw egg to a stiff froth; add a tablespoonful of white sugar and a half wineglass of good blackberry wine; add half a glass of cream; beat together thoroughly, and use at once."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The term "egg cream" then was in fact used for mixtures that included both before it came to be used - by a process that is not well-documented - for a drink that included neither.
See also
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References
External links
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