Egg Salad is Old-fashioned Good Eats
Egg salad is not fancy or aristocratic. It’s not sexy nor is it particularly attractive. Egg Salad is yellow and served on white bread. And it is my all-time favorite comfort food in sandwich form. It also has a few roots in working-class America.
Egg salad sandwiches were a staple at my grandma’s house and something that often graced the lunch table at home, too. It’s simple yet satisfying and has a few “good for you” qualities as well. My recipe is basic but it’s nostalgic and sometimes that’s what a girl needs.
So, where did the egg salad sandwich come from, anyhow?
The earliest recipe for an egg (salad) sandwich that’s I’ve been able to track down is in an 1891 edition of the Pittsburgh Dispatch hidden in an article about Western hunters! The sandwich is described as “hard-boiled eggs chopped and laid between bread and butter” [1]Few Agree with Western Hunters. (1891, May 31). The Pittsburgh Dispatch, pp. 20. I’m sure that would keep an 1891 Western hunter full for a long while!
For a recipe closer to what we eat today, I had to wait until 1899. The Journal News in Hamilton, Ohio lists egg salad as part of their daily menu suggestion. A recipe is also given that uses butter instead of today’s mayonnaise as well as chicken [2]Menu for Thursday. (1899, Feb 8). The Journal News, pp. 3 . Variations of egg salad sandwiches dot newspapers throughout the next century, coming into popularity with the onset of high protein diets.
However you choose to mix it, egg salad is easy and cost effective … and just plain old-fashioned goodness!
Basic Egg Salad
This is a basic egg salad recipe and can be modified to your tastes.
- 8 hard boiled eggs (peeled and chopped)
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon brown mustard
- 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
- 1 teaspoon dried dill or 1 tablespoon fresh dill
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Combine all ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
- Spread over toast and serve.
Serve as a sandwich for lunch or with crackers for a quick snack. Egg salad will only keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator.
Prep time for this recipe does not include time needed to boil and peel the eggs.
