What’s up with “deviled” eggs, ham, etc.?

SDStaff Una replies:

I’ll address two questions here —the one you asked, and one you didn’t. Yes, it’s Bonus Time here at the House of Cecil, and you’re our next big winner!

The word “devil” as applied to food first appears in 1786, when it was used to describe a “(highly seasoned) fried or boiled dish” (references 1, 6). From reference 1:

“Deviled” as a word first appears in 1800, when it was used in the phrase, “At half past two ate a devil’d kidney” (reference 2). According to the Oxford Companion to Food,

In America the use of “deviled” was known in the early 19th century:

Today the word “deviled” is applied to a multitude of spicy dishes. There are other meanings, however. One source gives “deviled” as meaning “Food grilled or fried after coating with condiments or breadcrumbs. See also butter, devilled” (reference 5). Others point to the French diable or à la diablé, meaning “highly spiced.” (Reference 5 also shows this usage.)

It seems clear the term “devil” doesn’t mean your food is satanic, unless of course you use sea cucumbers or banana slugs or other demonic ingredients.

Let’s look further to see how “deviled” came to be applied to the two common foods you asked about: “deviled eggs” and the popular “Underwood Deviled Ham.”

At its most basic, to have a deviled egg, you generally must have:

• Spices (usually hot, such as pepper) used with eggs.
• The eggs boiled and the yolks removed, and re-stuffed with a mixture from the yolk.

The first component, the use of spices or spicy sauces with eggs, goes as far back as the ancient Roman cookbook of Apicus, in which he reports that “boiled eggs can be seasoned with pepper” (references 7, 11). Stuffed eggs were first reported from around the 15th century. Reference 8 offers this recipe for ova farcta:

References 9 and 10 also give recipes for stuffed eggs, with reference 10 being the first reference I could find that gave a recipe including mustard — probably the first documented occurrence of something close enough to be called “deviled eggs,” according to the Food Timeline Website (reference 13). So we can guess that deviled eggs probably predated the 1700s.

Underwood Deviled Ham, a long-time favorite of mine, apparently was created in or around 1868 according to the Underwood Company, which tells us:

Now for the question you didn’t ask: “Una, what about that devil’s food cake that all the cool kids are eating nowadays? Surely that’s at least somewhat satanic, right?” Well, yes, but only because it magically puts the Curse of Evil Inches on your tummy. A recipe for devil’s food cake first appeared in a 1902 American cookbook called Mrs. Rorer’s New Cook Book (references 14, 16). However, in memoirs written in the early 1900s, a food writer named Caroline King wrote that her family was making devil’s food cake in the 1880s — the Food Timeline Website reprints the original recipe and commentary if you’re interested in making it yourself (references 13, 15). Since this was written some time after the fact, it’s debatable whether it’s the true origin.

The “devil” in devil’s food most likely refers to the cake’s “sinful” nature, or possibly the fact that it is quite heavy relative to angel food cake. Another possibility arises from the fact that early versions of the cake were red in color. According to Linda Stradley of “Linda’s Culinary Dictionary” fame:

And in fact an alternative name for devil’s food cake is “red devil’s cake.”

Although I used and cross-verified many references, it’s important to acknowledge the Food Timeline Website (reference 13) for giving me guidance and sources for tracking down the origin of deviled eggs, and both Linda Stradley’s Website (reference 14) and the Food Timeline Website for assistance in the origins of devil’s food cake.

References

1. Oxford English Dictionary Online, 2nd edition, entries “devil (n)” and “devil (v)”
2. Oxford English Dictionary Online, 2nd edition, entry “deviled (n)”
3. Oxford Companion to Food, by Alan Davidson (1999), pp. 247-248
4. Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, by John Mariani (1999), pp. 110-111
5. Dictionary of Food and Nutrition, by Arnold E. Bender and David A. Bender (1995), Oxford Reference Online
6. Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, edited by T. F. Hoad (1996), Oxford Reference Online
7. Cooking and Dining in Imperial Rome, by Apicus
8. Platina’s On Right Pleasure and Good Health, by Mary Ella Milham (1999).
9. Good Housewife’s Jewel (1596), edited by Maggie Black
10. The Accomplisht Cook, by Robert May (1685)
11. “Food & Cooking in Roman Britain, History and Recipes,” by Jane Renfrew, English Heritage (2001), page 41
12. Website of the Underwood company, http://www.underwoodspreads.com/underwd_history.html
13. The Food Timeline Website, http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/foodeggs.html
14. History of Cakes, by Linda Stradley (2004), http://whatscookingamerica.net /History/CakeHistory.htm
15. Victorian Cakes: A Reminiscence With Recipes, by Caroline B. King, with an introduction by Jill Gardner (1986), p. 35-6
16. The Food Timeline Website, http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/foodcakes.html#devilsfood

SDStaff Una, Straight Dope Science Advisory Board

Send questions to Cecil via cecil@straightdope.com.

STAFF REPORTS ARE WRITTEN BY THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD, CECIL’S ONLINE AUXILIARY. THOUGH THE SDSAB DOES ITS BEST, THESE COLUMNS ARE EDITED BY ED ZOTTI, NOT CECIL, SO ACCURACYWISE YOU’D BETTER KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED.