Friday, December 26, 2025

Putting Eggnog Into An Ice Cream Machine

Happy Boxing Day, everyone! For those who celebrate Christmas, it's time to put all those holiday worries away. And regardless of you got out any decorations this year, 'tis the season for discounted eggnog!

So, a while ago Marcus tried eggnog for the first time and said "This tastes like melted ice cream." We never followed up on that. At the time we didn't have an ice cream maker, and then we simply moved on to more entertaining culinary territory. But today I wanted to finally see if this works or not. 

 

This machine had the most passive-aggressive warning sticker I've seen.

THANK YOU FOR BUYING ME! 
Please READ instructions for freezing before starting to make ice cream, paying particular attention to “Hints for Making Better Ice Cream.” 
And—oh yes, please use CRUSHED ICE ONLY. I want to serve you well.

I was surprised at how well the eggnog whipped up as it froze.


Eggnog may taste like melted ice cream when you drink it, but it doesn't turn into decent ice cream. It had little bits of ice grit, but not the good kind of ice grit that comes in sorbet or water ice. And it became unexpectedly bland after it got cold. I thought it'd be something like a cinnamon-spice ice cream, but really it just tasted cheap.


But all was not lost. We simply let the eggnog melt back to its natural state and then consumed it as the food industry intended.

7 comments:

  1. Maybe you'll have to try it in your cake recipe that calls for melted ice cream.

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    1. You know, it might come out like a really good pound cake.

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  2. My (non-professional) understanding is that the frozen nature of ice cream numbs your taste buds, so ice cream needs to be REALLY strongly flavored before being frozen. So the 'nog doesn't have enough vanilla and spices and such to stand out as ice cream.

    Then again, I've also put vanilla yogurt in my ice cream maker and it just kind of works to turn it into frozen yogurt, so maybe I don't know anything.

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    1. That makes sense. Also, frozen yogurt (and not the kind that is trying to be ice cream) sounds really good.

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    2. It is! It's yogurt but cold. And it's also a convenient canvas for mix-ins!

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  3. I was going to make the same comment as Freezy! From what I've read/ seen on cooking shows, the ice cream base should taste a little too strong, or the finished flavor will be bland. I don't make frozen desserts, though, so I'm just trusting what other people say.

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    1. We don't make them often because it's hard to transport ice in the summer heat. You buy ice and come home with cold water.

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