When most people think of pudding recipes, they think of a quick dessert made from instant powder and a couple cups of milk. In reality, however, pudding has a rich and varied history that extends back several centuries. The first puddings were generally meat-based and heavily seasoned for preservation. Sweet pudding recipes first appeared in the seventeenth century, combining flour, nuts, and sugar for a rich treat. Bread pudding was first used to recycle stale bread and is still a favorite today. Rice pudding is another ancient dish, well known for its nutritional value and easy digestion. A number of other sweet, soft concoctions have been labeled pudding through the years: plum pudding (sweet and cake-like), cornmeal mush (hasty pudding), and more.
By the nineteenth century, meat pudding recipes had generally disappeared, while the sweet ones were becoming thicker, leading eventually to heavier custard-like dishes similar to today's varieties. The first mixes appeared in the 1930s, with instant mixes following in the 1950s. Today, both cook-and-serve and instant mixes are available in a wide range of flavors. Chocolate is the most popular pudding recipe, but vanilla, butterscotch, lemon, pistachio, and other flavors are consistently well-liked.{{middleTemplate}}
Tips for Making Puddings
The key to a delicious pudding recipe is feeling free to adjust ingredients to suit your personal tastes. While the basic methodology (gelatins, whipped creams, and other standard ingredients and cooking techniques) must be observed to create the appropriate texture and firmness, different add-in ingredients can create vastly different desserts. Many are richly complemented by sauces, including chocolate, caramel, or custard sauce, and other delicious toppings include nuts, crumbled cookies, dried fruits, whipped cream, sprinkles, and small candies. When choosing toppings, be sure to select accents appropriate to the basic flavor, but inside that guideline, there are no limits. The proof is in the pudding!
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