Posted
on November 13, 2015
In
Britain in the 1500s, one popular “comfort food” – humble but
warm and filling – was called hasty pudding. It was made by cooking
wheat flour in boiling milk or water until becomes about as thick as
an oatmeal porridge.
In
other words, hasty pudding is pretty much Cream of Wheat cereal!
Indian
pudding is not like Cream of Wheat. But some people call Indian
pudding “hasty pudding,” nonetheless.
When
British people first began to settle in North America, they learned
from the Native Americans how to grow corn, and how to grind it into
cornmeal – something that the colonists sometimes called “Indian
meal.”
So when the New England colonists made hasty pudding, they
substituted cornmeal for the wheat flour.
Hasty
pudding, New England style, was often called Indian pudding. The
desert developed with the availability of sweeteners and spices, and
the version we generally enjoy today consists of cornmeal boiled in
milk and stirred until it has thickened. It is flavored with
molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, and eggs, and then it is baked so that it
will have a smooth, silky texture.
Like
pumpkin pie, Indian pudding doesn't look all that delicious to many
people; actually, personnel in New England restaurants report that
many people don't like the sound of the pudding – they don't want
to even try it. However, most people who do try the pudding find it
delicious. And those who eat Indian Pudding regularly consider it
perfect cold-weather fare.
Food
historians say that it is one of the very first British American
dishes.
Perhaps
today is THE day you will try this all-American treat!
- Here is a recipe.
- This Plimoth Plantation recipe is created for use in a slow cooker.
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