Transcript of “What are “Euchred” Figs?”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, this is Justin Carinci. I’m calling from Kalamazoo, Michigan.
I’m calling because I was browsing an article on the H.J. Hines Company’s marketing slogan, 57 Varieties. And part of this was a photo of an old advertisement, and it listed several of those products. You know, familiar ones, you know, ketchup and pickles and all of that. And then one of them caught my eye. It was called Euchard Figs.
So this is spelled just like the card game Euchre. And that caught my interest because I, here in Michigan, am in what’s called the Euchre Belt. So that’s this region where people play the card game Euchre. And you’re spelling that E-U-C-H-R-E, right? Euchre.
Correct. Yes. And that’s roughly what people think of the Rust Belt. I think they’re roughly similar. But that definitely extends to Western Pennsylvania and to Pittsburgh, where the Heinz Company was based. So that got me curious. I was looking up definitions, a lot of them pertaining to the game. If you’re familiar with the game, if you euchre or uke someone, it’s a small upset in the game. Those obviously weren’t relevant.
I saw definitions from Down Under where they use euchred like knackered or tired out. Another one mentioned cheating, and I wasn’t so sure about that. But the closest I got to food preparation definitions was speculation on some old message boards, one saying it meant something akin to treated with acid, and another preserved and sweetened alcohol. So pretty much all over the map from the food definitions there.
And so I thought I would come to you. I’m slightly curious how the figs were preserved, but mostly I’m wondering how this word euchre came to be used in these two very different ways when now outside the Midwest it’s really not used at all. So I wondered if you had some insight on that.
That’s so funny that you mention a euchre belt because I spent some time in Indiana and people were just looking at me like I had two heads because I didn’t know what euchre was. They were just incredulous. But apparently, yes, it’s very popular in that part of the country.
Let’s talk about euchred figs. Like Martha said, it’s E-U-C-H-R-E-D. I have an answer for you, and it comes from H.J. Hines, the company itself. There is a document from 1910, a booklet of all their products, very nicely produced, beautiful document. And you can find it on the Internet Archive. And they define euchred figs and talk about how they’re made. And they claim that euchard, and they put it in quotes, and you know that when a word is put in quotes like that, that they’re calling special attention to it. They say euchard, in quotes, is Old English for preserved.
And immediately we’re going to stop right there and say that old is lowercase, and that’s probably false. Because as far as I know, there’s no earlier use of euchard used this way. I have looked in 40 dictionaries. I’ve looked in the deepest dictionaries that I have. I’ve looked in the oldest dictionaries I have. I cannot find euchreed as a verb used in this way or as an adjective.
Yeah, I don’t remember Beowulf eating euchreed figs. No. Now, it’s possible that it was spelled a different way or I missed a trick, so to speak. But as far as I know, this company invented this use of this word. In any case, they say it’s a special kind of preserving, and it says the flat sweetness of the sugar is modified to the tart and stimulating flavor of Heinz vinegar. So what they’ve done is they’ve mixed vinegar and sugar to preserve the figs. It says our fine old vinegar added to the sugar and choice spices, there’s another thing, in preserving the liquor gives a piquant appetizing flavor. So what we’ve got is vinegar, sugar, and spices to preserve the figs. And so that’s what euchering a fig is.
So I’m imagining H.J. Hines and some friends sitting around a table playing eucher and not knowing what to call it and just say, oh, just say it’s euchered. Yeah, I think maybe that’s true. There’s always been a notion. You had mentioned that one of the verb meanings of to eucher something or someone is to cheat. But further along is to swindle or to trick. And I think it’s important that there’s that notion of tricking in there. And often in card games, a trick is something that happens three times. And we’ve got preserving it with sugar, preserving it with vinegar, and preserving it with spices. So if you’re eucharing it, you’re tricking it, and you’re doing it with something to it three times.
Well, perfect. Well, if you two are ever in Kalamazoo, I’ll grab a fourth, and you can join us here for Euchre. Oh, you’re going to have to teach me first, but I’m ready. I’m game.
Thanks, Justin. Take care, Anna. Thank you. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.
