photo: Carved pumpkin as decoration during Halloween
Boo! 31 October marks the spookiest day in the world. On this date, people celebrate All Hallows’ Eve, or better known as Halloween1.
The history of Halloween is traced back to the ancient Celts, who ruled over Ireland, Britain, and Northern France, before being conquered by the Romans1. The tradition creeped into America in the 20th century, focusing more on the communal spirit where everyone dresses up as their favorite characters, distribute, and collect candies1. In America, Christmas is the largest commercial celebration, followed by Halloween. Americans spend approximately US$6 billion annually during Halloween on costumes, candies, and decorations1. This festive period is also celebrated with food1.
An example of a Halloween-themed dish is deviled egg2. The eggs are hard-boiled to ensure the egg yolk is well-cooked. After the eggs are cooled down to room temperature, they are sliced in half to remove the egg yolks, where they are placed into a mixing bowl. Seasonings such as hot sauce, mustard, and paprika are added into the egg yolk for extra flavoring. Scoops of the mixture are added back into the sliced eggs.
Baked eyeball egg is another favorite egg dish to consume during Halloween3. The oven is heated at 350°F during prep. Potatoes, soup, cheese and sour cream are mixed in a bowl. The mixture is seasoned with salt and pepper before being placed into a baking dish. Strips of bacon are decorated at the top to resemble eyes. This will be baked for 40 minutes. Once completed, several eggs are cracked in between the baked bacon slices. The dish will continue to bake further until the eggs are set4.
Deviled eggs
References:
- Metro UK. (2017). What is Halloween? The origins and meaning behind All Hallows’ Eve. [online] Available at: https://metro.co.uk/2017/10/31/what-is-halloween-the-origins-and-meaning-behind-all-hallows-eve-7040966/?ito=cbshare
- Kraft Sandwich. (2018). Little Devil Deviled Eggs. [online] Available at: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/little-devil-deviled-eggs-156591.aspx
- Redbook Mag. (2015). 10 Scary-Simple Halloween Breakfast Recipes The Fam Will Die Over. [online] Available at: https://www.redbookmag.com/food-recipes/advice/g2461/easy-halloween-breakfasts/?slide=10
- Betty Crocker. (2018). Baked Eyeball Eggs. [online] Available at: https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/baked-eyeball-eggs/1a5e739e-7d53-49d8-8fd8-59db026f2855