Getting Well With Guggle-Muggle

In a recent interview with the NY Times, Barbara Streisand reminisced on how her mother had tried to nurse Babs's voice with "guggle muggle," because she didn't think it was strong enough. How kind (and wrong) mothers can be.

It turns out that guggle muggle is an Americanization of gogol mogol, a drink brought to America primarily by Eastern European Jews. Gogol mogol (referred to as the Jewish Echinacea by one blogger) is the kind of thing that grandmas give you when you have a cold or sore throat. It's 50% soothe and 50% wishful thinking, because no one has ever proven its medicinal benefits, yet millions swear by it (like so many "remedies" these days).

In its basic form, the drink is egg yolks, sugar and milk. But other recipes are indulged in as well, with alcohol being the most frequent interloper. Butter and cocoa also appear at times instead, especially for the kiddies.

As for the name, legend has it that there once lived a cantor named Gogel who sang in a synagogue in Russia. One day he lost his voice and couldn't sing, and nothing could get it back. Until someone helped him regain his vocal powers via a mixture of raw eggs and wine. But the cantor having a sweet tooth, so he added sugar, and the drink was thereafter termed Gogol-Mogol.

As the winter months approach, such ancient beverages could come in handy. Though I can't promise it will have you singing like Babs.

Here's one recipe:

In a cup beat one raw egg (or just an egg yolk if you don’t like egg whites) with a teaspoon full of honey. Mix vigorously until it’s blended as a foam. In a separate cup heat half cup of milk with a tablespoon of unsalted butter. Butter should melt completely. Milk should be very hot, but not burning. Pore milk and butter mixture into a cup with bitten egg and honey, mixing it fast while you pore. Drink, while it is hot, by small gulps.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons.