Deviled Eggs History: From Rome to Your Home - NC Egg Association (2024)

For National Deviled Egg Day, we’re taking it back to Ancient Rome….

where serving deviled eggs was often referred to as “ab ova usque ad mala.”

Ancient Rome

The deviled egg we know today can be traced back to ancient Rome, where boiled eggs were seasoned with spicy sauces and served as the starter of a fancy meal usually made for guests. Serving eggs while entertaining guests was so common for wealthy Romans that they even had a saying for it, “ab ova usque ad mala” meaning “from eggs to apples”, or from the beginning of a meal to the end.

13th Century

Stuffed eggs began popping up in the region we now know as Spain. They would pound boiled egg yolks with cilantro, pepper, coriander, and onion juice, then beat with murri (a sauce made of fermented barley or fish), oil and salt. The mixture was then stuffed into the hollowed-out egg whites, and the two halves of the egg were fastened back together with a small stick and topped with pepper.

15th Century

Stuffed eggs grew in popularity across Europe. Recipes for boiled eggs filled with raisins, cheese, and herbs (such as parsley and mint), then fried and topped with a sauce or powdered sugar were commonly found in medieval cookbooks.

Mid-19th Century

Stuffed eggs found their way to the United States and into cookbooks across the nation.

1786

The word “devil” as a culinary word appeared in Great Britain in writing for the first time, referencing heavily spiced, hot, fried and/or broiled dishes.

1800

“Deviling” became a verb to describe the process of making food spicy. In other places, many continued using the terms “mimosa eggs,” “stuffed eggs,” “dressed eggs,” or “salad eggs” to describe the dish to avoid any association with Satan.

1896

Fannie Farmer’s “Boston Cooking-School Cookbook” suggested using mayonnaise in the filling of their deviled egg recipe to serve as a glue, and they were one of the first to do so.

1940s

Use of mayonnaise in deviled eggs finally became popularly featured in recipes.

Today

There are many ways to make the classic deviled egg recipe, but the most common method includes a mixture of mayonnaise, mustard and paprika. Get the recipe here!

Craving Deviled Eggs after reading this?

Try out some of our favorite recipeshere.

Source: https://www.history.com/news/the-ancient-history-of-deviled-eggs
Deviled Eggs History: From Rome to Your Home - NC Egg Association (2024)

FAQs

Deviled Eggs History: From Rome to Your Home - NC Egg Association? ›

According to the North Carolina Egg Association, what we refer to now as deviled eggs, or “dressed eggs” (if you're at some sort of gathering that doesn't want to associate with the Devil) originated in ancient Rome. Fancy Romans served boiled eggs with lots of spicy seasonings as appetizers before the main meal.

What did the Romans call deviled eggs? ›

For National Deviled Egg Day, we're taking it back to Ancient Rome…. where serving deviled eggs was often referred to as “ab ova usque ad mala.”

What is the history and origin of deviled eggs? ›

Some believe that deviled eggs may have originated in ancient Rome, where eggs were often boiled and served with a spicy mustard sauce. Others think that deviled eggs may have originated in medieval Europe, where they were considered a luxurious and decadent snack.

Did ancient Romans eat boiled eggs? ›

A recipe for Soft Boiled Eggs with Pine Nut Sauce dates back to the 4th or 5th Century in a Roman cuisine cookbook collection, Apicius, specifically named after Marcus Gavius Apicius, who's known as the first Gourmet.

What do Christians call deviled eggs? ›

At church functions in parts of the Southern and Midwestern United States, the terms "stuffed eggs", "salad eggs", and "dressed eggs" occur instead, to avoid reference to the word "devil". For this reason, the term "angel eggs" is also occasionally used.

What is a fun fact about deviled eggs? ›

“Deviled,” a term first used to describe spicy foods in late 18th century Britain, presumably because the “heat” of the seasoning was associated with the fires of hell, refers to the eggs' picant flavoring.

What are church lady deviled eggs? ›

Disney Springs' Chef Art Smith's Homecoming Church Lady Deviled Eggs are a Southern-inspired delight, boasting creamy yolks blended with tangy mustard, mayo, and a sprinkle of paprika, offering a nostalgic and flavorful twist on a classic appetizer.

What does the devil in deviled eggs mean? ›

To devil means to "combine a food with various hot or spicy seasonings such as red pepper, mustard, or Tabasco sauce, thereby creating a 'deviled' dish," according to the Food Lover's Companion, the definitive guide to all things food and cooking.

Why are deviled eggs wet? ›

While proper cooking techniques are the first step to avoiding weeping, experimenting with certain deviled egg ingredients, unfortunately, can result in a watery, sloppy appearance on the plate. Ingredients with a high water content, like tomatoes or cucumbers, can help create this wet scenario.

Why are deviled eggs so good? ›

Because deviled eggs are simply hard-cooked eggs in which the yolk is removed, mixed with mayonnaise and seasoning, and stuffed back into the halves of whites, they are easy to personalize. They are soft and creamy in texture, piquant in flavor, often a little sweet, and are a blank canvas when it comes to garnishing.

What was one food that the Romans never ate? ›

They didn't have pizza, pasta, tomatoes or lemons, and garlic was only used medicinally. Today we gape at some of the foods that the ancient Romans ate, foods that now seem quite bizarre to many of us, including fried dormice, flamingo tongue (and peaco*ck and nightingale tongues) and more.

What is a Roman egg? ›

A three-dimensional scan of a 1,700-year-old egg discovered at a Roman site in England reveals that, eggs-traordinarily, it still has the remains of a yolk and egg white inside. It's thought to be the only time a centuries-old chicken egg found with its insides preserved.

Why do Jews eat hard-boiled eggs? ›

The ritual meal known as the Seder, takes place on the first two evenings of Passover. This ceremonial dinner traditionally includes hard-boiled eggs, to pay homage to the destruction of the Temple and symbolise mourning in general.

Who invented the deviled egg? ›

So where do deviled eggs come from? According to The History Channel, deviled eggs go all the way back to ancient Rome, where eggs were boiled, seasoned with spicy sauces, and then served at the beginning of meals. In the 13th century, stuffed eggs began to appear in the southern, Andalusian regions of Spain.

What is a true deviled egg? ›

Deviled eggs are a classic dish utilizing hard-boiled eggs. Cooked yolks are combined with creamy, flavorful ingredients like mayo and mustard to make a velvety filling for the egg white shells.

Why deviled eggs on Easter? ›

But Christians relate Easter eggs to Jesus' emergence from the tomb and resurrection. And Easter is certainly a time for eggs! In this case deviled means cooked with hot seasoning. The classic deviled egg recipe isn't very spicy, but you can certainly choose to spice it up depending on the type of mustard you use.

What did they eat for breakfast in ancient Rome? ›

Breakfast in ancient Rome manly consisted of some bread, fruit, cheese, and some watered down wine to wash it down. Breakfast was much simpler if you were a slave or poor person. It would have been limited to bread, porridge only, or maybe a piece of fruit.

Did Romans eat eggplant? ›

The Romans did not have tomatoes or potatoes, which became, and still are, the primary source of survival for European populations. Eggplant, chili peppers, corn, and turkey where also unknown since they arrived in Europe only after their discovery in America.

Did Romans have scrambled eggs? ›

Scrambled eggs have been around as early as the 14th century. [1] Although they were first enjoyed for lunch and dinner by the Ancient Romans, today it is one of the most, if not the most common breakfast foods in our culture.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Sen. Emmett Berge

Last Updated:

Views: 5959

Rating: 5 / 5 (60 voted)

Reviews: 91% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Sen. Emmett Berge

Birthday: 1993-06-17

Address: 787 Elvis Divide, Port Brice, OH 24507-6802

Phone: +9779049645255

Job: Senior Healthcare Specialist

Hobby: Cycling, Model building, Kitesurfing, Origami, Lapidary, Dance, Basketball

Introduction: My name is Sen. Emmett Berge, I am a funny, vast, charming, courageous, enthusiastic, jolly, famous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.