Egg Nog or custard

What's the difference between egg nog and custard? Have a favorite brand of egg nog?

I love egg nog, but my hubby hates it, so I usually end up drinking a glass or two, and using the rest to make delicious french toast.

What a great idea! Egg nog french toast. And I could still put rum in it and work my alcohol in a bit earlier in the day.

I figure egg, milk, sugar, nutmeg, etc. Makes FANTASTIC french toast.

Custard.....home-made with a dash of Makers or some other suitable bourban. I can't stand the egg-nog out of a carton. The custurd is better but still has a gummy consistancy IMO. We've made our own custard for years.

What's the difference between egg nog and custard? Have a favorite brand of egg nog?

Well, custard is more pudding-like in consistency, an egg-based thing thickened by cooking in a double boiler, or in a sauce pot, or baked.... Whereas eggnog is a creamy drink that can be prepared either by mixing all the ingredients cold or by tempering the egg yolks with hot milk and then adding liquor and the remaining ingredients later.

So, essentially, if I understand your question, the significant difference between eggnog and custard is preparation which renders one a sort of pudding while the other is a drink.

I love egg nog, but my hubby hates it, so I usually end up drinking a glass or two, and using the rest to make delicious french toast.

Michelle - My hubby hates eggnog too, whereas I love it. (But we both love French Toast). So I love your Lazy French Toast idea! (I also saw it mentioned in the "Snow" thread.) So you don't do anything to the eggnog for the French Toast? Just dunk and grill? Can't wait to get some eggnog on my next grocery run!

Carla - I grew up thinking that custard was something you eat (like pudding or pie) and eggnog was a drink.

Well that's what I thought. Custard was a pie filling base like sort of stuff. But in the dairy cooler, next to egg nog, in the same quart carton container, was custard. It was a thick liquid just like egg nog so I was wondering the difference.

Well that's what I thought. Custard was a pie filling base like sort of stuff. But in the dairy cooler, next to egg nog, in the same quart carton container, was custard. It was a thick liquid just like egg nog so I was wondering the difference.

I should pay more attention when I'm at the dairy case! Never noticed such a thing before. But now you have me curious. This is what wikipedia says:

"Custard is a range of preparations based on milk and eggs, thickened with heat. Most commonly, custard refers to a dessert or dessert sauce, but custard bases are also used for quiches and other savoury foods. As a dessert, it is made from a combination of milk or cream, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla. Sometimes flour, corn starch, or gelatin are also added.

Custard is usually cooked in a double boiler (bain-marie) or heated very gently on the stove in a saucepan, though custard can also be steamed, baked in the oven with or without a hot water bath, or even cooked in a pressure cooker. Cooking until it is set without cooking it so much that it curdles is a delicate operation, because only 5-10°F (3-5°C) separate the two. A water bath slows heat transfer and makes it easier to remove the custard from the oven before it curdles.[1]

Depending on how much egg or thickener is used, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce (crème anglaise), to a thick blancmange like that used for vanilla slice or the pastry cream used to fill éclairs."

Thanks for increasing my knowledge of dairy products!

The only eggnog I've ever remotely liked was made many years ago by a friend's grandmother. She had grown up on the My Old KY Home plantation (can't remember the name to save my life). Every component of the drink was beaten separately; the yolks with sugar, the whites, and the whipped cream. And there was a LOT of bourbon. It took forever but was quite extraordinary.

The best egg nog out there commercially is definitely Trauth's...Let's start early to find out where to get it besides Creation Gardens...

I know gas is cheap, but If I can find it close to the House(J-Town)I'd much rather get it out here or closer than there...

I love egg nog, but my hubby hates it, so I usually end up drinking a glass or two, and using the rest to make delicious french toast.

Michelle - My hubby hates eggnog too, whereas I love it. (But we both love French Toast). So I love your Lazy French Toast idea! (I also saw it mentioned in the "Snow" thread.) So you don't do anything to the eggnog for the French Toast? Just dunk and grill? Can't wait to get some eggnog on my next grocery run!

Carla - I grew up thinking that custard was something you eat (like pudding or pie) and eggnog was a drink.

I just dunk and grill, but if you wanted a thicker "batter" you could add an egg or two. My only advice is don't let the bread soak too long, or it will get slightly soggy.

Boiled custard has about the same consistancy as egg nog.

So I was wondering...
If I were to take this refrigerated custard, add a bit of Malibu rum, pour it into a pie shell and top it off with coconut then bake it, do you think it would set up ? Could it work as a quickie pie filling base?

Carla - I say go for it. You might want to pre-bake your pie shell a few minutes before filling it. If it were me I would set my glass or metal pie pan in another, larger pan and give it a water bath, very shallow (NOT halfway up the sides), say 1/8" deep, then cover both pans with foil and poke holes in it for ventilation. I would also hold off on putting the coconut topping on until it's almost done, because it might take between 40 minutes to an hour for the custard to get firm. Or just toast the coconut on a separate cookie sheet for a few minutes and pour it on top of the custard when you take it out of the oven. Remove the pie when a silver-dollar sized section in the center is still jello-wiggly. I know it's a drag checking it and re-covering it with foil, but that's the way I do creme brulee.