The eggnog you're about to drink is technically illegal!

[KamaAina]

https://medium.com/%64patrickdijusto/in-2011-i-was-the-sole-writer-for-wired-magazine-s-what-s-inside-column-b1832c58d1e

When I decided to look at eggnog for the December issue, I spoke with a food chemist about some of the ways the drink’s various ingredients react with each other. As a good interview will sometimes do, our talk ventured off into other topics, and the scientist casually mentioned that the United States’ food laws — regulations determining what can and cannot be used in food — are not always very strictly enforced....

I told the chemist that I was amazed to read in the Standard of Identity for eggnog, 21CFR131.170(e)(4), that the FDA makes it absolutely clear that eggnog may not contain any type of food coloring that makes it look as if there are more egg yolks in the eggnog than there actually are. This essentially means that any sort of yellow, or orange and yellow, food coloring should be banned from eggnog. This includes substances like the standard Yellow #5 food coloring, as well as more natural food colorings, such the plant-based extracts annatto or turmeric....

The chemist got very, very quiet, and said “This kind of thing happens all the time”. I asked what she meant by that. She said that over the past 15 years or so, the FDA has had its funding cut dramatically. Because of this, they pretty much have lost the ability to do standard proactive enforcement of many of their regulations. They spend too much of their time running around “putting out fires”; dealing with an E coli outbreak in hamburger, say, or tainted pharmaceuticals from China. And because of that, it has sort of become open season for those manufacturers who would like to bend the rules a little bit. She warned that she couldn’t be certain that that’s what was happening with eggnog, but she wouldn’t be surprised if the dairy companies that make eggnog decided to push the rules a bit to see what they could get away with....

Athena at the American Dairy Association was efficiency personified. She asked me for my e-mail address, and send me an excerpt from a 1981 Federal Register, the official journal of the United States government. In it, the government explained its ruling on the use of color additives in eggnog. The report explained that some eggnog manufacturers objected to the new rule, saying that the public has come to expect deep yellow eggnog, a color that can not be reached by pure egg yolk alone. Another manufacturer argued that different eggs (especially from chickens fed on annatto) have yolks that are different shades of yellow, and if egg farmers can tint their products to obtain a uniform appearance, eggnog manufacturers should be able to do the same.

[ret5hd]

1. The eggnog you're about to drink is technically in the way of my vodka!!!

Move it or lose it!

[KamaAina]

2. Vodka?!

I thought the only nog-spiking options were whisk(e)y and rum.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. Brandy!

That works REALLY good in eggnog

[suffragette]

6. Mmmm. Brandy and rum with my eggnog, please.

[ret5hd]

8. I'm not wasting good vodka to fix bad eggnog!

[PufPuf23]

3. I learned today of annatto which is ubiquitous in our foods. Thanks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annatto

Annatto (/əˈnætoʊ/ or /əˈnɑːtoʊ/) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (Bixa orellana). It is often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its flavor and aroma. Its scent is described as "slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg" and flavor as "slightly nutty, sweet and peppery".[1]

The color of annatto comes from various carotenoid pigments, mainly bixin and norbixin, found in the reddish waxy coating of the seeds. The condiment is typically prepared by grinding the seeds to a powder or paste. Similar effects can be obtained by extracting some of the color and flavor principles from the seeds with hot water, oil, or lard, which are then added to the food.[2]
Annatto and its extracts are now widely used in an artisanal or industrial scale as a coloring agent in many processed food products, such as cheeses, dairy spreads, butter and margarine, custards, cakes and other baked goods, potatoes, snack foods, breakfast cereals, smoked fish, sausages, and more. In these uses, annatto is a natural alternative to synthetic food coloring compounds, but it has been linked to cases of food-related allergies. Annatto is of particular commercial value in the United States because the Food and Drug Administration considers colorants derived from it to be "exempt of certification".



Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Culinary uses

2.1 Traditional cuisine
2.2 British cheeses
2.3 Industrial food coloring

3 Chemical composition
4 Safety
5 Potential medical uses

[Historic NY]

5. My comes direct from upstate NY dairy farm

they did use glass bottles but now switched to BPA free plastic. I guess the 3 dollar deposit was enough to get the bottles back. You can hardly tell its egg nog unless you look closely. They use turmeric for color.

[underpants]

9. How do they get the cows to eat the eggs?

And who are they to play GOD?!?

[pinboy3niner]

10. The cows don't eat them, dummy--they lay them

Duh!

[underpants]

12. Where do you find a turkey with no legs?

Exactly where you left it

[Historic NY]

13. You should see how they make chocolate milk then....

http://www.ronnybrook.com/

[underpants]

14. What do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter?

Pumpkin Pi

[Aerows]

17. What is all of this yam-mering? n/t

[underpants]

19. Okay okay enough. Let's squash it.

[pinboy3niner]

20. You must be out of your gourd

[underpants]

21. It could have gratin worse

[jberryhill]

7. That code section is not a model of clarity

(a) Description. Eggnog is the food containing one or more of the optional dairy ingredients specified in paragraph (b), one or more of the optional egg yolk-containing ingredients specified in paragraph (c) of this section, and one or more of the optional nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners specified in paragraph (d) of this section. One or more of the optional ingredients specified in paragraph (e) of this section may also be added.

....

(e) Other optional ingredients. (1) Concentrated skim milk, nonfat dry milk, buttermilk, whey, lactose, lactalbumins, lactoglobulins, or whey modified by partial or complete removal of lactose and/or minerals, to increase the nonfat solids content of the food: Provided, That the ratio of protein to total nonfat solids of the food, and the protein efficiency ratio of all protein present shall not be decreased as a result of adding such ingredients.

(2) Salt.

(3) Flavoring ingredients.

(4) Color additives that do not impart a color simulating that of egg yolk, milkfat, or butterfat.

(5) Stabilizers.

-------

Okay, so it says that color additives can be used, if they "do not impart a color simulating that of egg yolk, milkfat, or butterfat".

I can see why interpretive guidance was needed, because it depends on what one means by "impart" and "simulating". If, say, egg yolk is in there, but the color additive is used to render the color to be consistent, then its not as if the color additive is "imparting" a "color simulating that of egg yolk", just altering the color of the egg yolk that is already there.

[DreamGypsy]

11. Eggnog??? That's not eggnog they're talking about!!

The only real eggnog is homemade; my recipe is from the Joy of Cooking:


Ingredients:

12 egg yolks
1 pound confectioner’s sugar
4-6 cups dark rum (or other liquor of choice...see below*)
8 cups heavy cream
8 to 12 egg whites
fresh grated nutmeg
cinnamon

Directions:

1. Beat egg yolks until light in color. Gradually beat in the confectioner’s sugar. Add 2 cups rum very slowly, beating constantly. Let mixture stand covered for 1 hour to dispel the “eggy” taste.
2. Add remaining rum and whipping cream, beating constantly.
3. Refrigerate covered for 3 hours.
4. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold egg whites lightly into the other ingredients. Serve sprinkled with fresh nutmeg and cinnamon to taste.

Source: Joy of Cooking

Over the years I have made it variously with Jack Daniels, or a number of single malt Scotchs...Lagavulin, Balvenie, Glenlivit, Glenfiddich, Macallan... I am sure your favorite would be fine, too.

Cheers!!

[DFW]

15. I have to check the "N/A" box

I haven't tried egg nog in 30 years!

[KamaAina]

16. Do they even have it over there?

[DFW]

18. They have something more potent: Eierlikör

Not sweet and nutmeggy like egg nog, but somewhat thick and very eggy--and potent!! It is a viable substitute for rocket fuel.