Pudding: A Global History

Edible

by Jeri Quinzio

Pudding usually brings to mind flavors like chocolate, vanilla, and tapioca, but prepackaged pudding cups don’t even scratch the surface of global pudding varieties—the term can denote dishes containing candied fruits and nuts or even frugal blends of little more than flour and suet. A Global History explains how puddings developed from their early savory, sausage-like mixtures into the sweet and sticky confections we are now familiar with, and he describes how advances in kitchen equipment have changed puddings over time.

 

Tackling blood, bread, rice, batter, and vegetable puddings, Jeri Quinzio describes the diverse ways cooks around the world make their puddings and how versions from different countries vary—England’s rice pudding, for instance, is flavored with vanilla, nutmeg, or cinnamon, whereas in India it is made with nuts or raisins. In addition to investigating the history of puddings on the dining table, Quinzio also looks at the prominent place puddings have had in novels, poems, songs, and cartoons. He shows how authors and artists like Anthony Trollope, Robert Burns, and George Cruikshank have used puddings to illustrate their characters’ sorrows, joys, and even political leanings. Bursting with choice morsels about puddings past and present, this is a book for fans of blood pudding and plum pudding alike.

Genres: Food, History, Nonfiction, Food and Drink, Historical

149 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2012

Reviews

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can tell that this book is a British publication by how much of it is spent on meat puddings. For an American, it's really quite informative. To me, a pudding is something that comes in chocolate or vanilla in a little plastic tub, so this is mostly new to me. Sure, I've picked up bits and pieces of what's in here by osmosis, but never so much at once. I suspect that a British reader wouldn't get as much out of it as I did, though.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Puddings are mentioned in English fiction very often, everywhere from Austen to Dickens. It is versatile term that includes the Christmas dessert, the plum pudding, savory Yorkshire pudding baked under a standing roast of beef to absorb the savory drippings, Eton Mess and many other variations. This short book presents a concise history of pudding, which began as a mixture of starches and vegetables placed in the stomach of a calf or pig and boiled until done. Variations on this theme depend on the availability of meat, eggs, fruit and spices. This is a fascinating book filled with historical information and recipes.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short, readable history of pudding. Quinzio focuses on England, with occasional mentions of puddings from Scotland, France, the US, and other areas of the world. If you've read other food histories involving England, you'll know all of this already. If this is a new subject to you, however, it's a nice introduction. In addition to recipes, descriptions, and allusions from literature, there are also loads of color photographs of puddings and reproductions of cartoons and paintings.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and researched. This book is dangerous to read. I kept getting up to look through my cookbooks to find various recipes for the items Quinzio discussed and ended-up making bread pudding when I got to the end of that chapter. I am now planning on making Plum Pudding for Xmas and experimenting with a few other pudding recipes this summer. Entertaining & quick read.