Christmas is quickly approaching and with it comes the usual; ‘big’ sales at various stores, festive music on the radio, borderline tacky decorations at some places and most importantly, the anticipation of enjoying the seasonal food and drinks that are abundant at this time of year.
On that list is a favourite of many Trinbagonians, ponche de crème; its decadent and creamy texture, rich, sweet flavour and added kick of traditional Puncheon rum is a favourite of many. Who can blame us right? Well, everything I just listed about this seasonal favourite may be exactly what’s wrong with it to some people for various reasons. Now, more than ever before, there is an increase in allergies and intolerances. This means that more people are becoming health-conscious and are altering their diets.
Ponche de crème is a quadruple threat as it contains eggs, which already makes it non-vegan friendly; dairy, to add insult to injury, is potentially harmful to those with dairy allergies and intolerances; alcohol, which exempts those who cannot, do not or should not consume spirits; and finally sugar, that’s obviously harmful to those who are diabetic and of course, those who want six pack abs (Carnival is after all, only four months away). How does one go about making a ponche de crème that would address all these elements at the same time? Honestly, one usually does not. The person at home who would like to make the drink without dairy, sugar, alcohol and eggs while also ensuring that there aren’t other allergens such as soy or nuts, may just end up with a bottle of spiced water. It is best to make the drink specific to you or your family’s needs. That being said, let’s talk about some substitutions or replacements.
Dairy
Dairy is the base of the drink and contributes to its texture, and to a lesser degree, its flavour. Luckily, there are now a number of alternatives available on the market, many of which are derived from non-animal sources. Examples include almond, coconut and hemp milks, just to name a few, and while they differ in flavour when compared to animal derived milk, they carry interesting nuances of their own with flavours that can be complementary to the other ingredients of a traditional ponche de crème. Do keep in mind though, that some of these alternatives are potentially harmful to those with certain allergies such as soy or nut allergies.
Eggs
Eggs in ponche de crème act as a thickening agent and add to the richness of the drink. It therefore accounts for the mouthfeel of a well-made ponche de crème. While it may be easy enough to accomplish the thickening effect of the eggs with the use of ingredients such as corn starch, arrowroot flour or xanthan gum, it is not as straightforward to attain the richness of egg yolks. Luckily for you, my friends, I will make it just a little simpler.
Egg yolks are comprised of mainly fats and it is specifically these fats that give custards their mouthfeel. That being said, it is necessary to add ingredients that both thicken and add some degree of fat to your ponche de crème when substituting the eggs. Coconut cream is an excellent option to use in tandem with your thickening agent and will get you as close to the original as is possible. Again, it is important to keep allergies in mind and to exercise caution when looking for alternatives.
Sugar
Third comes the sugar. This is really obvious but I’ll say it anyway; sugar makes stuff sweet…okay? There’s another function of sugar aside from flavour that is not as well-known—sugar, acts as a preservative. High sugar content retards the growth of harmful bacteria and aids in increasing the shelf life of your ponche de crème. There are a number of sweeteners on the market that are readily available. It is preferred by many though, to go the natural route, as chemical-based artificial sweeteners have been discovered to cause medical complications long term. These include chemicals such as aspartame and sucralose. In more recent times, stevia, a plant extract, has made an upsurge on the market as it is a natural, sugar-free sweetener. This makes a good alternative to sugar as it is quite similar in flavour.
Alcohol
Finally, we’ve come to the alcohol. Alcohol acts as a flavour enhancer (for those who enjoy the taste of alcohol), a preservative and of course, an intoxicant. Many times, alcohol-free beverages or ‘mocktails’ if you will, lack the flavour profile alcohol imparts to drinks. If an alcohol drinker consumes an alcohol-free cocktail, they can immediately tell that there is no alcohol present and would likely remark that it is nowhere close to the real thing. For an alcohol drinker, a virgin margarita or virgin colada would fall flat.
In order to even attempt substituting alcohol, one must first understand its flavour profile. Professional tasters have attributed alcohol to having a certain level of astringency, some bitterness, a bit of sweetness and finally a burning sensation, which is due to its effect on the pain receptors. The ingredients which would, in combination, provide these flavour elements to your drink are as follows:
astringency and bitterness: strong, over steeped, black tea
burning sensation: boiled juice of ginger root
faux sweetness and brightness: a few drops of orange peel oil
As for the intoxication, trust me, you’re not missing out on much. You will thank me the morning after.