One of the many enjoyable things about Christmas is the opportunity to enjoy some egg nog. When shopping, you may have noticed something peculiar in recent years in Newfoundland and Labrador. There are some cartons labeled “egg nog” and others as “holiday nog.” Perhaps, like us, you’ve even had a laugh while at the grocery store and noticing that all the real egg nog was sold out, but there was plenty of it’s strange cousin “holiday nog” left on the shelves.
Have you wondered the difference between holiday nog vs egg nog?
What is Egg Nog?
According to Wikipedia, egg nog or eggnog is a chilled, sweetened, dairy-based beverage. Traditional ingredients are milk, cream, sugar, whipped egg whites, and egg yolks.
It’s a rich beverage which can be enjoyed on its own, or with liquor such as brandy, rum, whisky or bourbon.
In North America, egg nog is usually enjoyed during the Christmas season. While it can be homemade anytime, commercially prepared egg nog is widely available at grocery stores during the holiday period from November to December.
Holiday Nog
It’s easy enough to not notice this one-word difference from egg nog, but you can be certain that the name is different for a reason. The word egg cannot be used unless the product contains a certain amount of actual eggs. This is crucial when comparing holiday nog vs egg nog.
In the case of Newfoundland-available products, most commercially made nog comes from either Scotsburn or Central Dairies.
Saputo-owned Scotsburn is the company selling egg-free “Holiday Nog” in Newfoundland, while Central Dairies seems to be the only one offering real egg nog.
According to Scotsburn, even those with egg allergies can enjoy their Holiday Nog. It does, however, still contain dairy. So anybody who’s lactose-intolerant and is still wanting to enjoy a glass of nog this season will need to look to specialty products.
Why No Eggs?
What you can’t fix, you feature. And while Scotsburn seems to be playing up the benefit of containing no eggs, it’s a bit suspicious to us.
In 2015, an egg shortage in the USA was the reason for companies getting creative and coming up with an egg-free alternative to egg nog. At the time, it also happened to be much cheaper than it’s eggy counterpart.
That was caused by an egg shortage, as opposed to cost-saving measures, but what’s the deal these days? What is Scotsburn’s reasoning?
We reached out to both companies for a comment but didn’t hear back.
At Sobeys, prices for a 1L of each seemed to be exactly the same. When we looked, they were on sale for 2 for $6 or $3 each.
What About the Taste?
Well, can you tell the difference between Holiday Nog and egg nog?
We had a few people do a blind taste test, and everybody agreed on the following:
- The egg nog seemed more authentic, spicy, and suitable for mixing in a spirit.
- Holiday Nog was sweeter and somewhat artificial. It was very bright yellow and perfect looking.
- Holiday Nog resembled a more sugary beverage that a kid would enjoy.
- Egg nog was heavier than Holiday Nog, which was thinner.
All 3 people agreed that, overall, the egg nog was more appealing.
One thing to keep in mind is that, although egg nog seems more authentic, and Holiday Nog can be knocked for being a concoction of chemicals trying to appear as the real thing, both products had some undesirable additives.
As well, both cartons had the same expiry date, about 1.5 weeks from the day we purchased them.
So, there you have it, the lowdown on Holiday Nog vs egg nog. What’s your preference?
We have an affinity for the real thing. It’s supposed to be egg nog. Buying a carton of “Holiday Nog” just seems wrong. It’s like buying a “Meteor Bar” or “Spa Soap” from Dollarama. Since nog is only available for a limited time each year, we’re going to stick with the real thing.
If you’re looking for something different, you can try this egg nog flavoured coffee. If you’re not a fan of egg nog, there are plenty of other drinks to have in Newfoundland during Christmas!