As we come out of winter, the next major holiday for some is Easter. It’s about new life, spring chicks, and, of course, candy and eggs. With the price of eggs at record highs, at WorthPoint we wondered if that will impact collectibles and vintage egg-related items.
Egg shortages, primarily due to avian flu, are impacting prices for many families, so the menu might be a bit different this year. Does that mean the signature deviled egg dishes won’t be on Easter tables? What about vintage egg cups, Easter egg dying, egg hunts, and all the rest?
The Dishes We All Love
Growing up, on Easter morning, after opening our candy baskets and hunting around the yard and the house, we’d get to snack on deviled eggs while my mother cooked a big ham with all the trimmings. It was one of the few times a year that the “good egg dish” came out of the china cabinet. I was a picky eater and didn’t like deviled eggs, but my mother always put a few plain boiled eggs aside for me without any extra mayo or spices. The plate, with several egg-shaped divots, was a staple every Easter.
The association of eggs with Easter is a tradition for many families, but how did the practice of boiling eggs, scooping out the yoke, and then mixing and mashing them back onto the egg with spices become the go-to Easter appetizer? Well, it started in wealthy homes in Ancient Rome. Served as an appetizer to a grand meal, the Romans even had a name for it, “ab ova usque ad mala,” which translates to “from eggs to apples,” meaning the meal covered every imaginable food from start to finish.
It’s unclear who, if anyone, invented the dishes with the recessed bits to hold the eggs, but they are helpful since the eggs would probably be lopsided little rafts of yolks and mayo without a safe spot to rest. Plus, they look better on a plate designed just for one particular dish.
Eggs and Tableware
The table has to look the part since a big family meal is typical for Easter. Instead of a platter with Christmas trees or ceramic turkey candle sticks, Easter bowls and trays will be stuffed full (see what I did there?) of spring images, including bunnies, eggs, and flowers. In our family, we had what might have been a planter but would always have treats in it, and after raiding the candy, we’d play Easter egg “Spring Training Baseball” around the table and try to flick the wrappers into the bunny’s basket for a homerun.
Vintage linen is also a staple on many Easter tables, so placemats, lace doilies, and tablecloths full of happy bunnies and baskets are part of the festive look. Easter is about coming out of a long winter, and for some families, the Lenten season of fewer treats and celebrations, so setting a tablescape full of vintage spring imagery is a perfect way to take your mind off the increasing price of eggs. Tablecloths often come with matching cloth napkins so that a few egg-themed napkin rings wouldn’t be out of place.
Cups, Cutters and Coddlers
In the Victorian age, a boiled or coddled egg was often part of a typical breakfast. Place settings at formal breakfasts would include a set of egg cups and a caster plate to hold the set. Another standard for serving eggs is a pair of egg scissors. Usually found in gold or silver plate, the small scissor-like cutter made cutting the top off an egg in a cup easier, allowing the diner to spoon up the egg to eat or dunk toast sticks into a soft-boiled inside. The cutters were not always necessary; some egg cup sets had small spoons to tap the shell.
Coddled eggs are also a popular dish and an attractive way to serve a soft-boiled egg. Made of porcelain, with screw tops, a chef would crack a few eggs into a coddler and place it in a pan of boiling water. The egg would gently poach, and after 6-7 minutes, it was ready for buttered toast sticks to go with it. These were a favorite in our home, even when it wasn’t Easter, and they were also a good way to serve “green eggs and ham” by adding food coloring or a little pesto.
Showcasing the Incredible Edible Egg
Hopefully, families will get a break on inflated egg prices soon, but since they are so pricey, what better way to showcase your Easter egg delights than with some vintage pieces? Spode Christmas china and Wedgewood blue turkey platters are brought out in thousands of homes during the holidays, so why not find a way to elevate your Easter table with quality vintage pieces? Besides caring for your vintage treasures this year, be careful with your eggs because they are a precious commodity at close to $8 a dozen.
If your family doesn’t celebrate Easter, you can still enjoy eggs. For a laugh, check out this video from WorthPoint fan and social media influencer Marco Braun from his series, “Vintage Recipes Gone Horribly Wrong.” Eggs are having a moment, not just for price, but for the viral sensation they’ve become on social media.
Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug, Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.
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