When a Company Tried to Make Eggnog a Year-Round Thing

Eggnog is a beverage made of whipped eggs, milk or cream, sugar, and spices that can be mixed with alcohol such as rum for a festive cocktail. Its consumption is deeply intertwined with the holiday season from Thanksgiving through New Year’s. But in the 1960s, a dairy company called Krim Ko sought to change that. Krim Ko tried to convince consumers that its Instant PQD Egg Nog drink mix could transform egg nog from a seasonal beverage to an everyday, year-round drink.

0:00: Introduction
0:57: Eggnog History
2:57: Krim-Ko
3:13: PDQ Instant Chocolate Flavor Beads
3:47: PDQ Egg Nog
5:17: Ovaltine
5:52: Discontinuance of PDQ
6:13: Final thoughts and outro

Sources:

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Ye Great and General Courte in Collonie Times, James Robinson Newhall, 1897

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“the New Year’s Eggnog,” The Baltimore Sun, Dec 30, 1934

“The Easter Eggnog Returns,” The New York Times, Apr 12, 1936

“The New Year’s Bowl Flows with Eggnog; A Holiday Drink with a Long Tradition is Back in Favor After Years of Neglect,” Florence Brobeck, Dec 27, 1936

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“Krim-Ko Buys Bireley From General Foods,” Chicago Tribune, Jul 15, 1959

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U.S. Patent and Trademark Records

Eggnog is a beverage made of whipped eggs milk or cream sugar and spices that can be mixed with alcohol such as rum for a festive cocktail its consumption is deeply intertwined with the holiday season from Thanksgiving for New Year’s but in the 1960s a company called crico

Wanted to change that crico wanted to convince consumers that its instant PDQ eggnog drink mix could trans trans form eggnog from a seasonal beverage to an everyday yearr round drink welcome everyone to the product graveyard a series in which I take a look back at the products that have been discontinued

And are no longer with us and today in honor of the holiday season I’m taking a look back at the history of PDQ and its instant eggnog drink mix eggnog has a long history with some historians tracing its origin as far back as medieval Britain where early versions may have included curdled milk

And alcohol but no eggs the recipe continued to evolve and by the early 1800s in the United States eggs milk and sugar were all considered key ingredients paired with whatever alcohol was available in whichever region it was being made for the next Century or so eggnog had two major purposes it was

Used as a nutritious drink for the sick and the convalescent to gain stimulation strength and weight and it was a drink for celebration consumed at holidays and special occasions including George Washington’s birthday the 4th of July Easter New Year’s and of course Christmas even during this time eggnog was particularly popular during the

Holiday season with bars and taverns serving free eggnog punch on Christmas morning much to the distress of the temperance movement who launched an anti- eggnog campaign in Baltimore Maryland as the Baltimore Sun reported there seems to be a very firm resolution among many of the best citizens very properly to discountenance drinking at

This season of the year but there is no doubt that much of the drunkenness which too frequently disgraces Christmas day is due to the free liquor and eggnog of the barrooms in which young and old can feel themselves full enough during the early hours of the morning to keep drunk

All day while the temperance movement would get its wish on January 17th 1920 when the manufactured transportation and sale of alcohol officially became illegal in the United States it wasn’t until after prohibition was repealed that eggnog returned as a winter favorite that was until World War II meant that products like sugar and

Dairy faced wartime restrictions or rationing but by the 1950s eggnog was back and more convenient than ever while for most of its history egong had to be made from scratch the 1950s saw an abundance of pre-made and ready to use egong available from dairies and grocery stores throughout the holiday season but

One company decided to take this convenience one step step further crico crico was a company that sold a chocolate flavored milk drink through local dairies across the United States the chocolate drink was advertised as an alternative for children who didn’t like the taste of regular milk in the early

1960s crico added a new product to its line called PDQ PDQ was Tiny flavored beads that would quote burst into glorious nutritious goodness the instant they touch milk these beads were made using a patented process described as Al glomeration process was developed by Pillsbury and it took fine particles and

Formed them into clusters that could easily and quickly absorb liquid according to crico this meant that PDQ would dissolve quicker and better than powders or syrups already on the market no clumps or traces at the bottom of the cup pdq’s first flavor was chocolate but creco soon added another and while one

Might expect vanilla or strawberry to be pdq’s next variation creco instead introduced instant eggnog flavored beads the beads were made from sugar lactose egg yolk solid spices salt and artificial flavoring and coloring incidentally PDQ eggnog was not actually eggnog it reportedly did not include enough eggnog to meet food regulations

Required to be labeled as such instead it was described as an eggnog flavoring primarily for use with milk now by the time that pdq’s instant flavored eggnog was introduced pre-made refrigerated eggnog was already widely available so why would you want to buy pdq’s version well from crico’s perspective PDQ eggnog

Flavored beads offered consumers something pre-made refrigerated eggnog cens freedom freedom to have eggnog as much as you like any time you like no matter the season as one ad read PDQ instant egg knock is always in season all year long and you could make PDQ eggn however you’d like with half and

Half or with milk with or without adding alcohol or as an addition two french toast cereal cakes and ice cream or maybe you’d want to foro all that and just eat the beads straight from the jar it was entirely up to Consumers furthermore PDQ was shelf stable meaning

It could stay fresh in the pantry long after the holiday season had come and gone now PDQ eggnog was available for several decades though it’s not clear if it’s campaign to make eggnog a year- round beverage ever gained much traction among consumers but PDQ was successful enough to attract the attention of other

Companies including ovaline who bought the brand in 1971 a flavored additive for milk ovaline had faced declining sales due to the popularity of competitor Nestle Quick both a new sweeter and more chocy formula and the help of pdq’s patented process of AG glomeration Ovaltine experienced a Resurgence in the late

1970s and while Ovaltine is still around today PDQ isn’t it appears PDQ was discontinued by the 1990s with a 1995 advice column noting that Sando nutrition then the parent company of obal te had stopped making PDQ several years ago and had not sold the process to another company PDQ has been gone for

Almost as long as it was around but eggnog remains as popular as ever though you’ll be unlikely to find it in stores after the holiday season is over if it was available would you drink eggnog all year round thank you so much for watching I

Love eggnog and it was so much fun to look into it history and pdq’s instant version if you like this video please consider giving it a like and subscribing to my channel below it really helps me out thank you again and I’ll see you next time happy Holidays