What Gives Frog Eye Salad Its Iconic Name?

A few recipes lauded as delicacies by some are ones that others would only consider trying on a dare. Food is funny that way — one person's disgust is another's delight. Take Pittsburgh's most iconic salad topped with french fries, which is both loved and abhorred. In a similar vein, many hear the name "frog eye salad" and think someone is pulling their leg. But the reality is that this classic cuisine popular in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States is not a prank — and no frogs are harmed during its creation.

Frog eye salad is a pasta salad that masquerades as dessert. It's made with a unique custard formed by heating beaten eggs with pineapple juice, sugar, salt, and flour. The pudding-like substance is then combined with cooked acini di pepe, a small, round pasta comparable to couscous or orzo. As in similar salads, pasta shape is essential to getting this salad right. After allowing this mixture to thicken in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, whipped cream and canned fruit are added. As a chef's kiss, the dish is topped with coconut shavings and marshmallows for extra sweetness.

The origins of the iconic and attention-grabbing name aren't known for sure, but whoever created the dish likely thought the acini de pepe looked similar to frog eyes. Despite knowing that the unconventional salad doesn't contain any frogs or eyes, some are still wary of trying it. However, quite a few family get-togethers wouldn't be complete without a bowl of frog eye salad gracing the table.

In 2014, frog eye salad was the most-Googled Thanksgiving recipe in Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, and Wyoming. Interestingly enough, Utah wasn't part of that group, even though the dish is believed to have originated in kitchens of cooks belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also widely known as the LDS Church or Mormons). Perhaps Utah's search results were low because most people there already know how to make it by heart.

This particular bowl of sweetness is often served during cookouts, funerals, and holidays, when comfort food is a must. At religious celebrations, it's often somewhere on the buffet next to an Easter fruit tart or Christmas ham. Meanwhile, a Thanksgiving without frog eye salad is considered to be a crime against humanity in some communities in the West. It tends to be placed next to side dishes — it is technically a pasta salad — but this may have been a ploy by a culinary genius. Given the sweet flavors and sugary composition of this dish, the creator of frog eye salad might have just found a clever way to put more dessert on the table.