Pudding is a food which can either be a dessert or a savoury dish. In the United States, pudding means a sweet, milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, instant custards or a mousse, often commercially set using cornstarch, gelatin or similar coagulating agent. These puddings are known in some Commonwealth countries as custards (or curds) if they are egg-thickened, as blancmange if starch-thickened, and as jelly if gelatin-based. Pudding in America may also refer to other dishes such as bread pudding and rice pudding, although typically these names derive from their origin as British dishes. The modern American meaning of pudding as dessert has evolved from the original almost exclusive use of the term to describe savoury dishes, specifically those created using a process similar to that used for sausages, in which meat and other ingredients in mostly liquid form are encased and then steamed or boiled to set the contents.
In the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries, the word pudding is used to describe both sweet and savoury dishes. Savoury puddings include Yorkshire pudding, black pudding, suet pudding and steak and kidney pudding. Sweet puddings include bread pudding, sticky toffee pudding, tapioca pudding, and rice pudding. Unless qualified, however, pudding usually means dessert and in the United Kingdom, pudding is used as a synonym for dessert. Puddings made for dessert can be boiled and steamed puddings, baked puddings, bread puddings, batter puddings, milk puddings or jellies.
Etymology
The word pudding is believed to come from the French , which may derive from the Latin botellus, meaning "small sausage", referring to encased meats used in medieval European puddings. Another proposed etymology is from the West German pud, meaning 'to swell'. By the 1500s, the word was used to refer to the guts or entrails or the contents of other people's stomachs especially when pierced with a sword, as in battle. The Oxford English Dictionary describes puddings also as 'a boiled, steamed or baked dish made with various sweet (or sometimes) savoury ingredients added to the mixture, typically including milk, eggs, and flour (or other starchy ingredients such as suet, rice, semolina, etc.), enclosed within a crust made from such a mixture'.
Another early documented recipe for pudding is a reference to asida is found in a 10th-century Arabic cookbook by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq called Kitab al-Ṭabīḫ (, The Book of Dishes). It was described as a thick pudding of dates cooked with clarified butter (samn). A recipe for asida was also mentioned in an anonymous Hispano-Muslim cookbook dating to the 13th century. In the 13th and 14th centuries, in the mountainous region of the Rif along the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, flour made from lightly grilled barley was used in place of wheat flour. A recipe for asida that adds argan seed oil was documented by Leo Africanus (c. 1465–1550), the Arab explorer known as Hasan al-Wazan in the Arab world.
The pudding cloth is said, according to food historian C. Anne Wilson, to have revolutionised puddings. 'The invention of the pudding-cloth or bag finally severed the link between puddings and animal guts. Puddings could now be made at any time, and they became a regular part of the daily fare of almost all classes. Recipes for them proliferated.'
Steamed pies consisting of a filling completely enclosed by suet pastry are also known as puddings. These may be sweet or savoury and include such dishes as steak and kidney pudding.
Savoury
Dessert
thumb|[[Kheer, from India, here made with rice]]
thumb|[[Christmas pudding]]
Creamy puddings
thumb|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 fire, 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 more quickly.
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.
Table cream is a dessert, similar to blancmange. The dessert was popularized by English manufacturer Symington's Ltd in the early 20th century. It is still produced under the Symington's brand name, but no longer made by the original company.
Savory
- Rice pudding
Dessert
Cultural references
- The proverb "The proof of the pudding is in the eating" dates back to at least the 14th century. The phrase is widely attributed to the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes in his novel The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote. The phrase is often incorrectly stated as "the proof is in the pudding."
- Pudd'nhead Wilson, (1894) written by Mark Twain, reflects the term's use as a metaphor for someone with the mind of a fool.
- The Magic Pudding is a classic Australian children's novel first published in 1918, written and illustrated by author Norman Lindsay. It tells of a bad-tempered, anthropomorphic pudding named Albert who, no matter how often he is eaten, always reforms in order to be eaten again. He is owned by three companions who must defend him against Pudding Thieves who want Albert for themselves.
- Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, part 2 (1979) ends with the voice of a Scottish-accented schoolmaster, actor Alex McAvoy (1928–2005) shouting, "If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding! How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?!" over and over again.
- A website dedicated to the dessert, online since the mid-1990s and consisting only of a low-quality image of it, became famous in Brazil for its humorous and longstanding nature. In 2015, it was hacked by the Islamic State.
See also
- List of baked goods
- List of desserts
- List of savoury puddings
- List of sweet puddings
- Mousse
- The Pudding Club