Mystery of "Eggs Benedict" (Sunday NY Times, City section)

Bapopik at AOL.COM Bapopik at AOL.COM
Sun Apr 8 07:17:36 UTC 2007


The Sunday NY Times has a long story on "Eggs Benedict" in the City  Section. 
Too bad no food scholar (such as Andrew Smith) was consulted.
...
This is an item that I have on my website, but I'd been waiting for more  
resources. We now have the New York Sun 1900-1910, and the New York Tribune  
1900-1910. I was surprised that I didn't seem to find "eggs Benedict," allegedly  
around since 1894!
...
Many alleged citations may be in error. Was eggs "Benedick" in Charles  
Ranhofer's THE EPICUREAN (1894) or not? Was it in Fannie Farmer's cookbook in  
1896, or at a much later date? Was it in an 1898 cookbook as OED states, or in a  
later edition of the same book?
...
Is it Egg Benedict, Eggs Benedict, Eggs a la Benedict, or Eggs Benedictine?  
Does it contain eggs, with ham, with toast or English muffins, with 
hollandaise  sauce or bearnaise sauce? Does it come from the Waldorf or Delmonico's or 
the  Hoffman House, from New York City or New Orleans?
...
Any help will be appreciated. I have lost access to the American Periodical  
Series Online, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, the New York Tribune, and 
ProQuest  Historical Newspapers.
...
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_http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/nyregion/thecity/08eggs.html?pagewanted=2&_
r=1&ref=thecity_ 
(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/nyregion/thecity/08eggs.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=thecity) 
And in 1894, the year Lemuel placed his order at the Waldorf, the legendary  
Delmonico’s chef Charles Ranhofer published a huge cookbook called “The  
Epicurean” that included an almost identical recipe, Eggs a la  Benedick.       
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...
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_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict#_note-29_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict#_note-29) 
 
Timeline of published references
Dates given refer to date of publication. 

1898 – In Eggs, and how to use them, a recipe for eggs  Benedict is given as 
"split and toast some small muffins; put on each a nice  round slice of 
broiled ham, and on the ham the poached egg; pour over some  Hollandaise 
sauce"_[32]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict#_note-27)  

1900 – In The Connecticut Magazine: an Illustrated Monthly,  Volume VI, a 
recipe for eggs Benedict is given as "A third variety is  called Eggs Benedict. 
Broil a thin slice of cold-boiled ham cut the size of a  small baker's loaf; 
toast a slice of bread, butter it and moisten with a  little water; lay the ham 
on it and on that a poached egg. Serve  individually."_[33]_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict#_note-28)  

1907 – In Many Ways for Cooking Eggs, a recipe for eggs  Benedict is given 
that starts with the muffins. Unlike yeast leavened English  muffins, the recipe 
muffins use baking powder and beaten egg whites for  leavening; however, they 
are still baked on a griddle in muffin rings. The  remainder of the recipe 
reads "Broil thin slices of ham. Make a sauce  Hollandaise. Chop a truffle. 
Poach the required number of eggs. Dish the  muffins, put a square of ham on each, 
then a poached egg and cover each egg  nicely with sauce Hollandaise. Dust 
with truffle and serve at once."_[34]_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict#_note-29)  

1914 – In the 1914 printing of the The Neighborhood Cook  Book, a recipe for 
eggs Benedict is given as "Place a slightly fried piece  of ham on a piece of 
toast, place poached egg on ham, and pour over all a  Hollandaise 
sauce."_[35]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict#_note-30)  
    1.  1918 – In the 1918 printing of the _Boston  Cooking-School Cook Book_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Cooking-School_Cook_Book) , a recipe for 
Eggs à la Benedict is given as  "Split and toast English muffins. Sauté 
circular pieces of cold boiled ham,  place these over the halves of muffins, 
arrange on each a dropped egg, and  pour around Hollandaise Sauce II , diluted with 
cream to make of such  consistency to pour easily."_[36]_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict#_note-31)   
    2.  (...) 
    3.  _^_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict#_ref-27)  Meyer, 
Adolphe (1898). Eggs, and how  to use them. New York: Published by Author, 43.   
Notes: This reference hasn't been directly verified, but instead  comes by way 
of the online edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, accessed  February 19, 
2007. There were multiple printings of Meyer's book; the Cornell  University 
library catalog lists one copy they have as published by Caterer  Publishing, 
3rd edition. Many cookbooks are modified when reprinted, some  adding recipes. 
It is possible that the OED references a reprint and that the  recipe isn't 
in the original.  
    4.  _^_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict#_ref-28)  Felch, 
William  Farrand; George C. Atwell & H. Phelps Arms et al., eds. (1900), "Unknown  
Article Title", The Connecticut Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly  VI: 204, 
The Connecticut Magazine Co. Notes: This  reference hasn't been directly 
verified, but was accessed through the snippet  view of Google Books' digitized copy. 
 
    5.  _^_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict#_ref-29)  _Rorer, 
Sarah Tyson_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Tyson_Rorer)   (c1907). _Many 
Ways for Cooking  Eggs_ (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6429) . Philadelphia: 
Arnold & Company, 46. Retrieved on _February  19_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_19) , _2007_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007) .   Notes: This is 
a troublesome reference in that the date and page  reference comes from an 
online OED reference, accessed February 19, 2007. The  Project Gutenberg copy of 
the book does contain a recipe for eggs Benedict,  but doesn't list which 
printing was the source for their copy. Rorer's book  had its first printing in 
1907, a second in 1912 — both by Arnold and Company  — and third by Kessinger 
Publishing in 2004.  
    6.  _^_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict#_ref-30)  The Council 
for Jewish Women (1914). "_Entrees_ 
(http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/coldfusion/display.cfm?ID=neig&PageNum=66) ", _The Neighborhood Cook 
Book_ (http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_68.cfm) , 
2nd edition, Portland,  Oregon: Bushong & Co, 62. Retrieved on _February 19_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_19) , _2007_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007) .    
    7.  _^_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict#_ref-31)  _Farmer, 
Fannie Merritt_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fannie_Farmer)   (1918). "_Eggs_ 
(http://www.bartleby.com/87/r0172.html) ", _The Boston Cooking-School Cook  
Book_ (http://www.bartleby.com/87/) . Boston: _Little, Brown  and Company_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little,_Brown_and_Company) . Retrieved on _February 
19_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_19) , _2007_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007) .   Notes: There were many printings of this cookbook. The 
original 1896  printing did not contain a recipe for eggs Benedict. 
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_http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/eggs_benedict/_ 
(http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/eggs_benedict/) 
 
Entry from December 20, 2004 
Eggs Benedict
Was "Eggs Benedict" invented at Delmonico's or the Waldorf  Hotel or the 
Hoffman House or somewhere else?

The standard stories and  citations are presented on the first two web sites 
below. The disagreement had  been on which "Benedict" it was named after.

The 1912 Washington  Post citation below, mentioning the Hoffman House, is a 
new find. The  recipe sure doesn't sound like "Eggs Benedict," though.

The classic "Eggs  Benedict" recipe includes eggs, ham, hollandaise sauce, 
and English muffins or  toast.


(Oxford English Dictionary)
eggs Benedict Cookery  (orig. U.S.), a dish consisting of poached eggs placed 
on a slice of ham on  toast, with a covering of hollandaise sauce
1898 A. MEYER Eggs, & how  to use Them 43 Poached *eggs..Benedict, split and 
toast some small muffins;  put on each a nice round slice of broiled ham, and 
on the ham the poached egg;  pour over some Hollandaise sauce.

_Eggs Benedict  page_ (http://www.echonyc.com/~jkarpf/eggs/what.html) 
Who was Benedict?

Eggs Benedict are not: 
The  culinary indulgence of Benedictine monks. 
Named after the Revolutionary War  traitor for the dish's use of Canadian 
bacon and English muffins. 
The name  of a South African Web design firm. (Well, it is, but who cares?) 

The  classic history. According to A Cozy Book of Breakfasts and Brunches 
(Prima  Publishing, 1996), "many years ago" a Wall Street financier named LeGrand 
 Benedict, a regular patron of Manhattan's ritzy Delmonico's restaurant,  
complained that there was nothing new on the menu. The chef's response was this  
dish. A variant myth credits, instead of the chef, the Delmonico maitre d' and 
 Mrs. Benedict. The name of the chef, and indeed any real facts about the 
genesis  of eggs Benedict, are lost to history. The new Joy of Cooking (Scribner, 
1997)  dates the dish in the 1920s, and says the original base may have been  
toast.

The revisionist history. According to e-mail to this site from  Cutts 
Benedict, eggs Benedict was born when his father's cousin, Lemuel  Benedict, a Wall 
Street broker, invented and ordered the dish in 1894 at the  Waldorf Hotel, 
where chef Oscar Tschirky added it to the menu. You can read  Cutts Benedict's 
word on eggs Benedict in this site's feedback. 

_What's  Cooking America_ 
(http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/EggBenedictHistory.htm) 
1860s -Credit is given to Delmonico's Restaurant, the  very first restaurant 
or public dining room ever opened in the United States. In  the 1860's, a 
regular patron of the restaurant, Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, finding  nothing to her 
liking and wanting something new to eat for lunch, discussed this  with 
Delmonico's Chef Charles Ranhofer (1936-1899), Ranhofer came up with Eggs  Benedict. 
He has a recipe called Eggs a' la Benedick (Eufa a' la Benedick) in  his 
cookbook called The Epicurean published in 1894.:

Eggs a  la  Benedick - Cut some muffins in halves crosswise, toast them 
without allowing to  brown, thn place a round of cooked ham an eighth of an inch 
thick and of the  same diameter as the muffins one each half. Heat in a moderate 
oven and put a  poached eg on each toast. Cover the whole with Hollandaise 
sauce.

1894 -  The following story appeared in the December 19,1942 issue of 
theweekly New  Yorker Magazine "Talk of the Town" column and is based on an interview 
with  Lemuel Benedict the year before he died: In 1894, Lemuel Benedict, a 
Wall Street  broker, who was suffering from a hangover, ordered "some buttered 
toast, crisp  bacon, two poached eggs, and a hooker of hollandaise sauce" at 
the Waldorf Hotel  in New York. The Waldorf's legendary chef, Oscar Tschirky, 
was so impressed that  he put the dish on his breakfast and luncheon menus after 
substituting Canadian  bacon for crisp bacon and a toasted English muffin for 
toasted  bread.

1896 - Fannie Merritt Farmer's (1857-1915) revised, edited, and  reissued 
Mary J. Lincoln's cookbook called The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.  In it is 
a recipe for Eggs a  la Benedict. The recipe is as  follows:
Eggs a  la Benedict - Split and toast English muffins. Saute  circular pieces 
of cold boiled ham, place these over the halves of muffins,  arrange on each 
a dropped egg, and pour around Hollandaise Sauce II , diluted  with cream to 
make of such consistency to pour easily.

23 July 1911, Lima  (Ohio) Daily News, pg. 5:
Sauce Hollandaise.
(...)
Eggs a la  Benedictine.
Cut very delicate slices of cooked ham to a size to fit a  toaster muffin. 
Lay a piece on each half muffin; keep hot in a moderate oven  while the eggs are 
poached. Put a poached egg on each piece of muffin and ham  and serve hot.

6 July 1912, Washington Post, pg. 7:
At the old  Hoffman House they made a combination of a tomato, peeled and 
scooped out and  filled with a bearnaise baked and served with a bearnaise sauce. 
This was called  eggs Benedict, and was famous with epicures.

_Feeding  America_ 
(http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/display.cfm?TitleNo=54&PageNum=66) 
The Neighborhood Cook Book
by The Council of Jewish  Women
Portland, Oregon: Press of Bushong & Co.
1914 
Pg.  62:
Eggs Benedict
Place a slightly fried piece of ham on a piece of  toast, place poached egg 
on ham, and pour over all a Hollandaise  sauce.

21 February 1923, Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, pg.  5:
EGGS
(Benedictine)
By Bertha Shapleigh
Of Columbia  University
On the toasted half of an English muffin place a piece of boiled  ham, on top 
of this a poached egg and over all two tablespoons of Hollandaise  sauce.

6 May 1926, Fresno (CA) Bee, pg. 8:
A RESTAURANT  TIP.
If you serve poached eggs with Hollandaise sauce, on squares of bread or  
muffin with a piece of ham sandwiched between the egg and the bread, you will  
have eggs Benedictine, one of the most popular egg dishes of any hotel bill of  
fare.

17 June 1957, Dallas (TX) Morning News, "Eggs Benedict,"  part 2, pg. 8:
The original recipe for Eggs Benedict was brought over to New  Orleans by the 
French. Its popularity has come down through the years. Today it  is a 
special luncheon favorite.

Posted by Barry Popik 
_New York  City_ 
(http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/category/C76/)  • _Food and  Drink_ 
(http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/category/C19/)  • (0) _Comments_ 
(http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/comments/eggs_benedict/)   • Monday, December 20, 2004 • _Permalink_ 
(http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/eggs_benedict/) 




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