Deviled Eggs: Rebranding the popular dish

The devil you say?

Deviled eggs are a delicious food staple that is popular at cookouts, barbecues, holiday meals, and picnics in America. Some people eat them with Sunday dinner, birthday celebrations or anytime they choose. Leftover bolied eggs that were dyed during Easter can easily be deviled so they don’t go to waste. Most people have accepted the name this food has been given with little thought but others are now voicing their displeasure.

The name deviled egg is an 18th-century culinary term that according to the Oxford English Dictionary originally described a dish that was boiled or fried and highly seasoned. Some would say the food was devilishly hot or hot as the flames of hellfire as euphemisms.

Deviled eggs are made from hard-boiled eggs that have been shelled, and cut in half. The halves made with the egg white are filled with a paste that is made by mixing the yolks with other ingredients such as mayonnaise and mustard. Pickle relish and paprika are added to the mixture by some be and the eggs can be garnished by sprinkling paprika on top. This is the tradition in southern recipes and the completed product is usually served cold as a side dish, appetizer, or a main course during gatherings. Eating deviled eggs for breakfast saves the time of scrambling or frying.

As beloved as deviled eggs are there is a growing controversy among those who say food should not bear the name of the devil. Some individuals are now attempting to rebrand the food and give it a more heavenly name by referring to this dish as Angel eggs. This idea does not seem to be catching on with the masses and is seen by some as going from one extreme to the other

. The term “deviled” initially was used for spicy, condiment-filled dishes, and eggs eventually found themselves in this classification. The history behind this food is both fascinating and enlightening.

Medieval times

The History Channel says, deviled eggs date all the way back to ancient Rome, where boiled eggs, were seasoned with spicy sauces, and served at the beginning of a meal. "Stuffed eggs" began appearing in the southern, Andalusian regions of Spain during the 13th century and a cookbook from this same era offers a recipe where you grind boiled egg yolks with coriander, cilantro, onion juice, and pepper with a fermented fish sauce. These recipes were found to be in use over two centuries later, in Medieval Europe.

Time and deviled eggs march on

It was not until the late 19th century, that deviled eggs began to resemble what we eat today. A cookbook from 1896 was one of the first to suggest that mayonnaise be utilized as a method to bind ground egg yolks together. This was the forerunner to today’s classic recipe that usss mustard, mayo, and paprika. My daughter eats vegetarian substitutes cream cheese for mayo and the eggs still taste pretty good.

What’s in a name?

To “devil” s food simply means to season it aggressively and bring forth heat. This comes from cultures that believe the devil is in a fiery hell or that he will burn for eternity in a lake of fire. Rather than consider deviled eggs as celebrating the evil being you could look at it as a reminder of where you believe he resides or will one day end up.

If the term offends you can use Angel eggs, stuffed eggs or come up with something of your own. Try mimosa eggs where you add tuna to a small amount of the yolk and use as a garnish or Russian eggs that are a bit more detailed. You can see the recipe by clicking o the link. More than likely the name that has been utilized since the 28th century will stick around no matter what.