American culture is shaped by many things, most importantly, its food. Our food nourishes us, gets us through our days, helps us grow our bodies and our communities. Our food here in the US comes to us from all around the world. Immigrants made our country and fed it, too. Foods like pizza (Italy), hamburgers (Germany), apple pie (England), or a French sauce dolloped onto an egg dish.
Our favorite breakfast food first came to the streets of New York in 1860, making this dish only about 163 years old (it looks good for its age, doesn’t it?) Though its ‘main event’, the hollandaise sauce, has been seen as early as 1593 within a Dutch cook book. The origins of Hollandaise sauce are heavily debated upon, but most agree that the sauce as we know it was popularized in France sometime in the 1600s.
There are several theories and claims about how Eggs Benedict came to be, but the oldest and most popular is that it was created at the Delmonico’s restaurant for a Mr. and Mrs. LeGrand Benedict.
The Delmonico brothers were from Switzerland and started their restaurant in Manhattan, NY in 1827. They were the first US restaurant to hire a female cashier as well as the first to allow women to congregate inside without a man present. Regular customers, the LeGrand Benedicts, were bored with their normal breakfasts and desired something new and exciting. Combined with the consult of the head chef, Charles Ranhofer, they created the hearty dish and named it Eggs à la Benedick.
Chef Charles Ranhofer was one of the first famous American chefs, and he went on to publish the recipe for Eggs Benedict in 1893 in his cookbook, The Epicurean. After that, the recipe took off, popping up in breakfast and brunch nooks everywhere as the U.S. developed.
From a rich history in New York city, to the national favorite it is today, EB has gone through quite the evolution. You can add spinach, you can do a crab cake, you can have bacon instead of ham, or sausage instead of bacon. The dish is as versatile as a sandwich. It’s no wonder it’s still around after all these years.
Check out some modern EB ideas on Pintrest.
Written by Rebecca Pitzer
Resources:
Bank-Vine.com/who-invented-eggs-benedict/
oldeuropean-restaurant.com/the-true-history-of-eggs-benedict/
Becca Eats Eggs Benny 
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