pudding

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Christmas pudding

Pudding may be served with toppings such as fresh fruit and whipped cream

Pudding most often refers to a dessert, but it can also be a savory dish.

In the United States, pudding characteristically^{[citation needed]} denotes a sweet milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, instant custards, or a mousse, though it may also refer to other types such as bread and rice pudding.

In the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries^{[citation needed]}, pudding refers to rich, fairly homogeneous starch- or dairy-based desserts such as rice pudding and Christmas pudding, or, informally, any sweet dish after the main course. The word pudding in this context is also used as a synonym^{[citation needed]} for the dessert course. The word is also used for savory dishes such as Yorkshire pudding, black pudding, suet pudding and steak and kidney pudding.

The word pudding is believed to come from the French boudin, originally from the Latin botellus, meaning "small sausage," referring to encased meats used in Medieval European puddings.^[1]

Baked, steamed and boiled puddings

The original pudding was formed by mixing various ingredients with a grain product or other binder such as butter, flour, cereal, eggs, suet, resulting in a solid mass. These puddings are baked, steamed or boiled.

Depending on its ingredients such a pudding may be served as a part of the main course or as a dessert.

Boiled pudding was a common main course aboard ships in the Royal Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries. Pudding was used as the primary dish in which daily rations of flour and suet were prepared.

Suet pudding

Steamed pies consisting of a filling completely enclosed by suet pastry are also known as puddings. These may be sweet or savory and include such dishes as steak and kidney pudding.

Creamy puddings

Instant dessert pudding

The second and newer type of pudding consists of sugar, milk, and a thickening agent such as cornstarch, gelatin, eggs, rice or tapioca to create a sweet, creamy dessert. These puddings are made either by simmering on top of the stove in a saucepan or double boiler or by baking in an oven, often in a bain-marie. These puddings are easily scorched on the stovetop, which is why a double boiler is often used; microwave ovens are also now often used to avoid this problem and to reduce stirring.

Creamy puddings are typically served chilled, but a few, such as zabaglione and rice pudding, may be served warm. Instant puddings do not require boiling and can therefore be prepared much quicker. Kraft Foods, under its gelatin dessert brand Jell-O, is the primary producer of pudding mixes and prepared puddings in North America.

This pudding terminology is common in North America and some European countries such as the Netherlands, whilst in Britain egg-thickened puddings are considered custards and starch-thickened puddings called blancmange.

List of types of pudding

Illustrations from Isabella Beeton's Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1861

Baked, steamed and boiled puddings

Savory

Dessert

Rice pudding, known as kheer, from India.

Creamy puddings

Non-pudding desserts

In these examples, the word pudding is used in the British sense meaning "any dessert," rather than the specific puddings discussed above.

• Bakewell pudding, also known as a Bakewell tart
• Queen of puddings, a baked, breadcrumb-thickened mixture, spread with jam and topped with meringue,

Cultural references

• The proverb "The proof of the pudding's in the eating" dates back to at least the 17th century.^[2]

• Pudd'nhead Wilson written by Mark Twain reflects the term's use as a metaphor for the gray matter of a fool.

See also

• Jell-O

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Puddings

 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Pudding". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.