Woman spots 4.38-carat raw diamond laying on ground in Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds
Kelly Kazek
September 30 | 2021
California couple finds diamond in Arkansas
A woman from California was visiting the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Ark., when she spotted a "shiny" object on the ground, according to an article by 5 News.
Noreen Wredberg of Granite Bay, Calif., was visiting with her husband, Michael, and had been walking for about an hour when she saw something she had no idea was a diamond at first. She told 5 News: "I didn't know it was a diamond then, but it was clean and shiny, so I picked it up."
It turned out to be a raw yellow diamond. The article did not give a value for the diamond but it was the largest one found at the park in the past year.
Deviled eggs are not actually a Southern thing
Mary Patterson Broome
Deviled egg platter
I tried deviled eggs for the first time in 2022. Yes, you're right, I had been missing out. I think at some point long ago, before my kid taste buds evolved into my adult taste buds, I'd convinced myself they'd be gross. Then one day it hit me, you like all the usual ingredients (boiled eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, an array of spices) that go into deviled eggs, so why wouldn't you like them in combination? I was also forced to try them on camera when we made them for an episode of Talia's Kitchen. That really sealed the deal for me — they're tasty.
I'd always associated deviled eggs as Southern in origin because my grandmother had them at every holiday gathering as an appetizer, and because they're just one of those things we all assume are tried and true Southern, like biscuits and manners. But it turns out, deviled eggs did not originate in the American South. In fact, some iteration of what we now call deviled eggs has been around a lot longer than the South has. Maybe we just really like to claim any food that's exceptionally rich and creamy? That tracks, right? I did a bit of an Internet dive to figure out why deviled eggs are so firmly implanted in our brains as an official Southern thing and managed to learn a little something. We don't claim to be gatekeepers of all things Southern over here at It's a Southern Thing, but we do like to know our food history and give credit where credit's due.
According to the North Carolina Egg Association, what we refer to now as deviled eggs, or "dressed eggs" (if you're at some sort of gathering that doesn't want to associate with the Devil) originated in ancient Rome. Fancy Romans served boiled eggs with lots of spicy seasonings as appetizers before the main meal. Another variation of deviled eggs (boiled yolks smashed together with spices then sealed with two egg white halves and a stick) popped up in 13th-century Spain, per Paste Magazine. Europeans in this 15th century apparently really got wild and served the eggs hot, and sometimes with raisins (yikes).
Deviled eggs Shutterstock
The term "devil" to identify a particular food item as spicy started in late 18th century Great Britain, and then in the 1800s, "deviling" took off as a way to describe spicing up recipes. Of course, as previously mentioned, those who did not want their recipe linked to Satan would use terms like "stuffed eggs" or "salad eggs." Fair enough.
Read more: Deviled eggs are overrated. There, I said it.
Southerners weren't even the first to put mayonnaise in deviled eggs. In 1896, the Boston Cooking School Cookbook first introduced the concept of using mayo as part of the filling in deviled eggs, and that didn't even really get popular in the US until the 1940s. However, Southern Kitchen reveals there was a recipe for deviled eggs (no mayo though) in an Alabama news publication as early as August of 1877. The recipe apparently got spread through some Southern states and the deviled eggs became a star appetizer at church potlucks. Perhaps then it was merely the Southern love of church social gatherings where everyone brings food that made deviled eggs, an easy, popular item to bring, rise in popularity so much, that they became associated with the region.
Read more: Fried deviled eggs are the food you want right now
So we didn't invent deviled eggs, but we really gave them a platform to shine, because if there are two things we love in the South, it's socializing and eating. The more you gather and bring food, the more deviled eggs you're gonna eat, so of course we eventually decided to claim them as our own. It was really just a numbers game all along.
Read more Southern food stories:
In defense of pineapple casserole
Things you think when the blessing gets too long
21 Southern cities with the best food
28 things you should never say to a Southerner
16 Southern phrases to use when you're frustrated