Barbra Streisand’s mom believed this Jewish drink would improve her daughter’s voice
Here we show you how to make the eggnog-like Jewish home remedy called a “gogl-mogl”
Long before Barbra Streisand published her bestselling memoir My Name is Barbra, she shared recollections of her mother encouraging her to gulp down a traditional eastern European Jewish drink called a gogl-mogl. The reason? Her mother believed it would improve her daughter’s singing voice.
Although the sweet, eggnog-like drink was originally a dessert, it also became a Jewish home remedy for the common cold. Recipes varied depending on geographical location but the most well-known version consisted of an egg yolk, milk and honey. Other variations used sugar instead of honey, flavorings like cinnamon or vanilla or even rum.
Here Yiddish food scholar and chef Eve Jochnowitz demonstrates how easy it is to make a gogl-mogl yourself.
Interestingly, Streisand didn’t like the drink, which is surprising. Most people who grew up drinking gogl-mogl told me that they loved it and even occasionally feigned illness in order to get a glass of it!
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO