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.
...
...
...
_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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_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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