About Egg Salad

Egg salad sandwiches have always been popular with children. However, as we grow older and our taste palettes change, we tend to forget about the pure joy that comes from eating a homemade egg salad sandwich. Born perhaps out of necessity, one has never needed a well-stocked pantry to create this culinary delight. Egg salad is perhaps the quintessential example of getting by with what you've got, as it only requires a few ingredients in its most basic form--eggs, mayonnaise and bread. In an ironic twist of fate, egg salad sandwiches are often one of the first and last sandwiches we eat in life. Nursing homes rank egg salad among the most popular sandwich selections by their residents.

Function

Despite a relatively high fat content, egg salad sandwiches are also high in protein, making them good candidates for an energizing mid-day snack. Because the main ingredient is egg, a typical portion on two slices of wheat, or other bread rich in grains, will provide the consumer with a heavy dose of protein. In addition to being high in protein, egg salad sandwiches can also make for a delicious lunch or snack.

Features

A typical egg salad sandwich has three main components. The predominant feature is always going to be roughly chopped, hard-boiled egg. The egg is then mixed with mayonnaise or a mixture of mustard and mayonnaise and spread on any variety of sandwich bread. In addition to the main components, other ingredients and seasonings may be added to the egg salad mixture to adjust the taste. It is not uncommon to find finely chopped sweet pickle relish or even cayenne pepper or paprika in an egg salad mixture.

Benefits

Because eggs have such high protein content, and because eggs are considerably cheaper than other meats that are high in protein such as beef or tuna, egg salad is one of the cheapest nutritional meals a person can make. In addition to being inexpensive, egg salad is also easily digestible for those who have recently undergone oral surgery or have perhaps lost their teeth. Young children, who often have problems chewing most types of sandwiches, will have no problem eating an egg salad sandwich, provided they like the taste.

Misconceptions

In an ever-growing health conscious society, egg salad has gotten a bad reputation for being overloaded with fat and calories. While it is true that traditional mayonnaise does indeed have high fat content, there are other options to reduce the grams of fat per serving. Reduced fat mayonnaise is widely available in American supermarkets and is a good substitute for full fat mayonnaise. When compared to other common lunch items, such as cheeseburgers or burritos with cheese and sour cream, an egg salad sandwich stands as the healthful choice.

Warning

Despite all if its redeeming qualities, there are many people in the world who do not like egg salad sandwiches. To many people, the odor of hard-boiled eggs is off putting. Others do not have a taste for mayonnaise or mustard. When considering a style of sandwich to provide for a luncheon or tea service, it is probably not a good idea to serve egg salad due to the large number of people who do not care for it.