Advocaat
Eggnog (also advocaat , avocat , advocat ) is an alcoholic drink from the group of liqueurs and is made from alcohol , egg yolk and sugar , among other things . In the EU , eggnog has an alcohol content of at least 14, typically around 20 percent by volume . Many recipes for private use also add cream or milk. In the trade, however, a product with cream or milk may not bear the sales description " egg liqueur" and must instead be labeled as " liqueur with added egg " or simply as " spirit ".
Eggnog is usually drunk neat, for example as a digestif with coffee. The drinking temperature is usually between 10 and 12 ° C. It is traditionally popular at Easter and especially at Christmas in hot drinks such as eggnog , and eggnog is also used as an ingredient in cakes, tarts and desserts. The leading producer in Germany is the Bonn company Verpoorten with a market share between 85 and 90 percent, 80 percent of which are women.
history
In the 17th century, European conquerors discovered a soft drink called Abacate among the indigenous people of the Amazon in what is now Brazil . The drink made with avocados became Advocaat with the addition of cane sugar and rum , which is considered the forerunner of today's eggnog. According to the manufacturer Verpoorten, the company founder from Antwerp , Eugen Verpoorten, developed the egg liqueur in its current form in an effort to imitate this drink. Since avocados were not readily available in Europe, he used egg yolks instead . In 1876 he founded his company in Heinsberg near Aachen .
A similar drink, the Mexican rompope made from eggs, milk, vanilla and rum, was imported from Spain to Mexico and has been made there in Puebla in the Convento de Santa Clara since the 17th century . In English-speaking countries, the similar Eggnog is particularly popular at Christmas time.
Manufacturing
In egg liqueur, the fat contained in the egg yolk forms an emulsion with the water-soluble components , and the liqueur has a homogeneous, thick consistency. Eggnog is one of the emulsion liqueurs. Since egg yolk already contains the natural emulsifier lecithin in sufficient quantities, no emulsifier needs to be added; the emulsion is produced exclusively by intensively stirring the ingredients under the influence of heat.
Industrial process
The eggs used must be free of unpleasant smells and taste notes, such as rotten or fishy odor, because even a small amount of off-grade egg yolk can impair the quality of entire production batches of eggnog or even render it unusable. A “healthy” color of the yolk is also important so that the egg liqueur does not turn out too pale or too dark, even if the color of egg yolks usually says nothing about the taste. For this reason, eggs that have hatched, are damaged, discolored or have an unpleasant smell are discarded. During production on a large industrial scale, where the eggs are cracked and separated by machine, this can partly be done by X-raying with UV radiation , otherwise it is time-consuming manual work. It is permissible to add a smaller amount of egg white to improve the emulsion. In any case, the egg yolk always has a certain amount of protein adhering to it, which cannot be separated off, so egg liqueur definitely contains a small amount of protein.
In the industrial production of eggnog, egg yolk and possibly egg white, honey, sugar syrup or sugar, alcohol, water and flavorings dissolved in water are placed in a large, heatable and coolable mixing container. Mixing tanks of this type are available in sizes of a few hundred liters, but there are also large systems with a capacity of 10 to 20 m³. In the container, the mixture is heated to just below 60 ° C with constant stirring; the temperature must be strictly observed because protein coagulates above 62 ° C. The system then stirs at this temperature for about 45 to 60 minutes and in this way creates the most stable emulsion possible from the mixed ingredients.
The container is then slowly cooled and the emulsion is discharged, possibly filtering it through a fine sieve to remove any remaining larger pieces from the egg yolk. It is also possible to homogenize the emulsion with a high-pressure pump, whereby such yolk components are also comminuted sufficiently. As a result of the preceding process steps, the finished liqueur has absorbed air or protective gas , so it must stand in an open container for a few days so that the gas bubbles can escape; then the filling takes place.
Statutory Regulations
Advocaat
Eggnog is acc. Art. 9 para. 1 i. V. m. Annex II No. 41 of Regulation (EC) No. 110/2008 (Spirits Ordinance) is defined as a spirit that is obtained from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin (agricultural alcohol), a distillate and / or brandy and, as additional components, egg yolk, protein, sugar or honey contains. Flavoring the liqueur with natural or nature-identical flavors is permitted. At least 140 g egg yolk and 150 g sugar per liter as well as an alcohol content of at least 14% vol.
While many house recipes for egg liqueur have additional ingredients such as cream or milk, products traded as "egg liqueur" may only be made with the ingredients listed in the EU spirits regulation. According to a ruling by the European Court of Justice in 2017, the list is to be regarded as exhaustive and not as a minimum requirement. A product that contains milk is therefore not allowed to carry the sales description “egg liqueur”.
Liqueur with added egg
Spirits that do not meet the requirements for the sales description “egg liqueur”, for example because they are made using milk or cream, can be described as “liqueur with added egg”. According to Art. 9 para. 1 i. V. m. Annex II No. 42 of the EU Spirits Ordinance on a "spirit, flavored or not, which is obtained from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, a distillate and / or brandy and which contains high-quality egg yolk and protein as well as sugar or honey as characteristic components."
ingredient list
As with all spirits, eggnog does not need to be labeled with a list of ingredients (Article 16, Paragraph 4 of the Food Information Regulation - LMIV, previously Section 6, Paragraph 6, No. 2 of the Food Labeling Regulation - LMKV). However, this does not apply to the allergens listed in Appendix II LMIV, previously Appendix 3 of the LMKV. Eggs would in principle also fall under this category, but their presence is evident from the name "egg liqueur" and they do not have to be specified separately. According to Annex X No. 1 letter d LMIV, previously § 7 Paragraph 6 No. 2 LMKV, a best- before date does not have to be specified.
Food safety and shelf life
By enjoying professionally and hygienically produced and stored egg liqueur with 14% alcohol by volume or more, there is no risk of contracting salmonellosis , as salmonella cannot survive in it. If the alcohol content is lower, for example in the case of homemade eggnog or due to manufacturing errors or because the alcohol concentration is reduced due to dilution, improper storage or other influences, then this security is no longer given.
In the case of small-scale products in particular, the actual alcohol content often deviates from the specified value and sometimes even falls below the prescribed minimum value because the manufacturers lack the equipment or ability to measure the alcohol content and the arithmetic determination is prone to errors. The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment recommends leaving the raw eggs mixed with the alcohol component for three days at room temperature.
Eggnog should be kept cool and dark. It is recommended that it be used within six months if opened and twelve if unopened. However, there is no health risk from bacterial spoilage , the taste only suffers over time. In addition, the consistency can also be uncomfortable.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eggnog. In: GDR brewing. S. Hausdorf, accessed November 9, 2014 .
- ↑ The egg liqueur is the focus . In: Lebensmittel Zeitung . June 11, 2010, ISSN 0947-7527 , p. 58 ( Lebensmittelzeitung.net [PDF; 5.5 MB ]). PDF; 5.5 MB ( Memento of the original from December 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c Gundolf Ströhmer : Liqueurs. In: Erich Kolb (Ed.): Spirituosen-Technologie. 6th edition. Behr, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-86022-997-4 , p. 379 ff.
- ↑ Regulation (EC) No. 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of January 15, 2008
- ^ Ordinance of the EDI on beverages, Article 154 and Annex 6
- ↑ Regulation (EC) No. 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of January 15, 2008, Annex II, No. 41 Eierlikör or Advocaat / Avocat / Advokat
- ↑ Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C ‑ 462/17 of 25 October 2018, on InfoCuria - Case Law of the Court of Justice ; accessed on January 3, 2019
- ↑ Regulation (EC) No. 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of January 15, 2008
- ↑ Dr. Claudia Bauer-Christoph: Regulations for the labeling and composition of liqueurs. Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection, February 18, 2008, accessed on November 7, 2013 .
- ^ E. Greuel, S. Cortez de Jäckel, J. Krämer: Investigations on the survivability of Salmonella enteritides, phage types 4, 8 and 34 in experimentally contaminated egg liqueur . In: Archives for Food Hygiene . 46th year, no. 4 , 1995, ISSN 0003-925X , p. 76-77 (quoted from Ströhmer 2002).
- ↑ Dr. Claudia Bauer-Christoph: Eggnog and other emulsion liqueurs from small-scale production - test results 2009. Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety, February 9, 2012, accessed on November 9, 2014 .
- ↑ Eggnog from domestic and small-scale production - production using raw egg. (PDF; 7 kB) BfR opinion. Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, February 26, 2003, accessed on November 9, 2014 .
- ↑ http://www.verpoorten.de/Eierlikoer-Lexikon/Haltbarkeit-Lagerung.html ( Memento from October 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
