Egg Cream
The New York soda fountain drink of chocolate syrup, cold milk and seltzer, whisked to a fizzy, foaming head. It has no egg and no cream in it.
Storing and Planning Ahead
Best drunk within a minute of making it. It does not keep, and the foam collapses.
How to Make Egg Cream
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Chill a tall glass in the freezer for 5 minutes.
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Pour the chocolate syrup into the bottom of the glass, then add the cold milk.
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Hold the seltzer bottle high above the glass and pour it in fast, so that it foams up in a thick head.
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Stir vigorously with a long spoon, working from the bottom up to draw the syrup through the milk, then serve at once with a straw.
A Few Pointers
- Use very cold milk and seltzer. Warm liquids do not foam, and the head disappears in seconds.
- Pour the seltzer from a height, and pour it fast. The force is what creates the foam, and a gentle pour gives a flat drink.
- Use plain seltzer or sparkling water and not a flavoured one. The syrup provides the taste, and the water is there only for its bubbles. A bottle that has been open for a day has lost most of its fizz, so open a fresh one.
Some Background
The egg cream is the great drink of the New York soda fountain, and it contains no egg and no cream. It is made from three things: chocolate syrup, cold whole milk and seltzer, the fizzy water that in New York comes in a siphon bottle, and what comes out is a cold, chocolatey, bubbly drink with a thick white head of foam, lighter and fizzier than a milkshake and less sweet than a soda. It is linked to Brooklyn and to the Jewish candy stores and delicatessens of the Lower East Side, which were the centre of New York life for immigrants in the early twentieth century, and the classic chocolate syrup for it, Fox's U-bet, was made in Brooklyn. Louis Auster, who ran a candy store in the city, is often credited with inventing it in the 1890s, though there are several stories about how it was made and how it got its name, and none has been proved. The technique matters more than the recipe. The syrup goes into the glass first, then the milk, and the seltzer is poured last, hard, from a height or from a siphon, to raise the foam, and the drink is stirred quickly with a long spoon, so that the syrup is drawn up from the bottom and mixed through. The milk must be very cold, since warm milk does not foam, and the seltzer must be fresh and very fizzy. It should be drunk at once, before the head collapses.
What to Put Next to It
Pastrami sandwich · Pretzels · Black and white cookies
Quick Answers
How long does Egg Cream take to make?
About 3 minutes in total — 3 minutes of preparation and of cooking. The recipe serves 1.
What are the key tips for making Egg Cream?
Use very cold milk and seltzer. Warm liquids do not foam, and the head disappears in seconds. Pour the seltzer from a height, and pour it fast. The force is what creates the foam, and a gentle pour gives a flat drink. Use plain seltzer or sparkling water and not a flavoured one. The syrup provides the taste, and the water is there only for its bubbles. A bottle that has been open for a day has lost most of its fizz, so open a fresh one.
What should I serve with Egg Cream?
Pastrami sandwich; Pretzels; Black and white cookies.
Is Egg Cream suitable for a special diet?
This recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. Those labels are checked against the ingredient list, so a dish is only marked when nothing in it contradicts the claim.
How many calories are in Egg Cream?
About 180 kcal per serving, with 5 g protein, 31 g carbohydrate and 4 g fat. The figures are calculated from the ingredient list and are an estimate.
Egg Cream Nutrition
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.
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Written and tested by Turab
One person, one kitchen — no test kitchen, no team. How every recipe on this site is checked before it goes up.
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