How do people serve themselves deviled eggs?

[edwardspk]

OK, this might be an odd question. I love deviled eggs and have deviled egg platters for presenting the eggs at the table. But is there any serving utensil designed for people to pick up the eggs? The obvious answers are just use your fingers, or provide a tablespoon or soup spoon. But my question is, is there such a thing that is designed and intended to be used for picking up deviled eggs off the platter?

We have tomato servers, asparagas servers, pickle forks, olive spoons, nut spoons, etc. Anything like that for the humble deviled egg?

[tim irvine]

Alas, the Victorians missed the boat on Southern culture. How about lacquered chopsticks and a towel on your lap!

[kaleokahu]

Tim: I'm thinking a miniature version of a waterslide with tongue depressor apron. Just tip and there you go.

[AdamD]

Vegetable/asparagus tongs. Not sure if you can find them cheap, they are usually part of a formal service.

[FoodFuser]

So now we have thread
of the Deus ex Machina
that disperses to diner
the grand deviled egg.

To accord to the Machina
one could construct a crane
with a soft frilly grapple
to give grip to the egg.

I have several dishes
engraved with recesses
that cradle and nestle
the ovoid of the egg.

But I do not use them,
and instead when I serve them
I use rosemary branches
cut from my shrub.

Nestled in roughness of rosemary branches
those glistening half-ovoids
Demand to be plucked without role of the Machina
With joy we employ the pinch of our fingers.

[tanuki soup]

Why, round appetizer tongs, of course! They are also useful for serving Swedish meatballs, which are NOT finger food in civilized society. What IS the world coming to!? Hmmph!

[sunshine842]

Am I the only one who's ever seen (not even at just my own table, but plenty of other folks' houses in several different countries) people pick up a deviled egg from the platter with a fork (stab it), then cut it in half (with the edge of the fork) and eat the halves with a fork?

My first leaning is for fingers, but if you're looking for a non-fingers alternative, the fork works well.

[c oliver]

I'd think stabbing and then cutting with the side of a fork might fall below fingers as far as what's appropriate. But, hey, I've learned some new ones here so whatever works :) It IS rather picnic fare.

[sunshine842]

In Europe, you tend to use silverware over fingers every time...you haven't lived 'til you've seen someone trying to eat barbecued ribs or corn on the cob with a knife and fork.

How could using a fork be more inappropriate than fingers, assuming the fork is clean when used to stab the egg?

If you're outdoors at a picnic, knock yourself out and use your fingers (I'd still use a fork to *serve*)...but at a table with real silverware, it can't possibly be inappropriate.

[c oliver]

Oh, sunshine, it was the stabbing (rather than sliding the fork under) and the cutting with the edge of the fork (rather than a knife) that I was referring to. My very proper Southern mother scarred me for life :)

[FoodFuser]

The deviled egg training from church marm minded Mamas
was far past the fork or the spoon or the egg.

[c oliver]

I've never heard of "appetizer tongs," round or otherwise.

[FoodFuser]

I've got one from my Mom that could aptly apply.

As with all things in life, it's about placement and prominence and hang of the prong.

I treasure my mother's diminutive six incher
As it fits very well with her lead cryystal tray.

I have no idea of the length of protuberance required as sufficientl long
But I'm happy with M\ommas six inches.

[Sarah]

I serve mine in cupcake liners -- can easily be picked up.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i've done this before, it's a great solution :) depending on the size of the eggs, mini-muffin liners work too...as do endive leaves.

[Quine]

OK, so I thought, deviled eggs, if there was a special item to serve those....old Vics would have had them! Alas, howbeit I was undone. I could find no deviled egg server thingie.
I have found that the spoon side of a salad set works, just right.

[kaleokahu]

edwardspk: How they DO serve themselves (usually with fingers) is, IMO, different from how they SHOULD serve themselves.

Most deviled egg plates are designed to maximize the number of egg halves you can place there. Which means the eggs are touching or nearly so. Which means you must have the eyes of a fighter pilot, the dexterity of a neurosurgeon, and complete sobriety to touch only your serving. Realistically, if you leave utensils out of it, you're only slightly better off than if you invite everyone to avocado-test every egg on the plate. OK, maybe a little hyperbolic...

I'm not sure if there's a tool specific to the task, but I offer up icecube tongs as an alternative.

[Aunt Jenny]

I collect egg plates, and though there are exceptions, they traditionally hold 12 half-eggs (with room in the center for relish or dip or decoration). I've never found the spacing to be such an issue that adjacent eggs get manhandled while retrieving one's little devil of choice. If it's still too oogie for you, ice tongs are an excellent idea... or you could use "medium" rather than "jumbo" eggs-- they look tidier in the little plate depressions, anyway.

[hill food]

but what exactly is the point of the 'test'? I mean a hard boiled egg is a hard boiled egg and in a batch one is likely to be the same as the next. it makes no sense.

[c oliver]

That had been my thought, hf, but maybe I've lived my life unaware of the intricacies of picking just the right one.

[kaleokahu]

hill food: LOL. The point of the test? Well, it's to physically examine many/each egg to get the "best" one (or 8). I'm not saying it makes any sense, but that's what I see folks at picnics and private buffets do. Being pretty old, pretty young, or pretty smashed can correlate. It's probably a thing about lack of impulse control.

Stand and watch the action at the avacado bin sometime right after they refill it with unripe ones... After about 4 unsuccessful squeezes, the testers aren't even looking at the avs anymore, they're just touching as many as they can.

People do the same thing at salad bars when the condiment tongs go AWOL. Yummmm.

[FoodFuser]

I'd prefer to give sight
that people have right
to squeeze as they choose of their alligator pears.

It is same in their journey to purchase avocados,

Each one and everyone gives them a squeeze
which is more than can be said for deviled eggs

Where each, at resting
can attest to a testing
that is more of a visual perusal,

Our eyes roam the eggs
and help us select
the ovums we seek to select.

It is less of a squeeze
than an optholamalic tease
in those eggs that we choose to selelect,

[Aunt Jenny]

HA! My mom is a picky (but sanitary and respectful) produce "chooser"-- she'd never squeeze a peach or maul an avocado-- and once spent quite a while at the iceberg lettuce trying to find a good one (some might say "good iceberg lettuce" is an inherent contradiction, but that's another argument). After she finally made her selection, she turned to put said head in her cart, and a man standing behind her very politely asked "Um, ma'am? Which is the SECOND-best one?"

[c oliver]

Interesting. I can eat almost anything with a knife and fork but I think the accepted method for eating a deviled egg is with one's fingers. And there's nothing about a DE that doesn't shout casual. So I think picking up with fingers is probably fine. But you're right. There are asparagus servers but the correct way to eat those is with one's fingers. Hmm.

[ellabee]

There really isn't a specialized serving utensil; I'm familiar with the whole panoply of silver servers from the height of the elaborate table era (1880s-1910s). The specialized serving platter for deviled eggs usually has depressions shallow enough and separated by enough space from each other that it's convenient for people to pick the eggs up with fingers.

Now you've got me wondering how far back in time the dish goes in the U.S.

[floggingfrog]

What about a Japanese-style soup spoon, as they have a bit of an edge, so as not to let the devlied eggs slip out so easily as a regular one? Good question, edwardspk. I do LOVE my "specialized" kitchen gadgets and servers!

[Euonymous]

Deviled eggs are essentially a picnic food, so I don't think any serving utensils are necessary besides one's fingers. But I did see something that might work if you want to get fancy. It's a snail server by Vollrath. You can find it here: http://www.hubert.com/pres77079/Vollr...

[sunshine842]

if those are true escargot tongs, they're spring loaded...which will squish your deviled eggs in a heartbeat.

[hill food]

I was going to say escargot tongs, with a bit of reserve allowing for the pressure.

although I suppose asparagus tongs might work.

but really fingers are best unless we're wallowing in our OCD.

[Isolda]

I have never seen a specialized utensil, but I have seen people try to lift them with a spoon, only to have them slip away onto the table or floor. Since you're not touching other people's eggs, only the one you intend to eat yourself, I don't think it's unhygienic or tacky to use your fingers. I will be interested to see if there is a utensil for this.

[sunshine842]

a fork.

[OldDog]

yep, or one round toothpick per egg half, inserted at a slight angle, pointy end towards thickest part of white of egg. If you do need to get all fancy, use frilly-ended toothpicks, or hunt google for gold plated picks. (kidding)

[hill food]

of course you were kidding.

picks are gilded, not plated.

[OldDog]

But of course...silly of me.

[JacquiStanard]

I have seen a deviled egg serving spoon at a Christmas gathering this year. It was old, but could not discern the metal content - being eggs, it wouldn't lend itself to silver, so you think "stainless", but it was old enough that stainless probably wasn't available. At any rate, it looked like a normal serving spoon, but only had a small rim around the bowl and the borrom of the bowl was removed - so the spoon would slide under the egg and cradle it. Will see if I can find more info -