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The devil in this particular dish is definitely in the details. You see, in this context, "deviled" refers to the process of highly seasoning a food. Linda's culinary dictionary explains further in its deviled entry: deviled - (1) A term describing food that is dark, rich, chocolate, spicily piquant or stimulating it is "deviled." Means a highly seasoned, chopped, ground, or whole mixture that is served hot or cold. Many foods, including eggs and crab, are served "deviled." Deviled can also refer to spiced, potted meats such as William Underwood's famous deviled hams and sardines. One hardboiled foodie
says the name of the dish originated in Great Britain in 1786, while the oldest known recipe for stuffed eggs appeared in a 15th-century Italian cookbook. Another site claims that the dish originated in ancient Rome. As for the name, one food historian believes the names for foods such as deviled eggs or Devil's food cake stem from the belief that "healthy foods such as eggs, ham, and cake have been modified to thus become unhealthy." Hence they came under the influence of the evil one and are "deviled." The Word Detective notes that deviled foods are usually hot with spices, and anything
hot is associated with the devil. If you have a hankering for some rich, spicy, and all-together unhealthy deviled eggs, let us direct you to the Yahoo! Directory and the Deviled Egg Recipes category. There you'll find that everything from curried shrimp, green olives, and guacamole makes its way into this popular party dish.
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