THE HOT PUDDING SEASON

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 418, 27 June 1947, Page 22

THE HOT PUDDING SEASON

T gets dark early now, and chilly, too; and what has been called the "Hot Pudding Season" has set in. I am getting requests from young housewives for recipes for these, especially from American brides, who have not been so accustomed to steamed puddings as their New Zealand husbands. One of these girls writes to say: "After listening to your programme last week, I can at last make a plum duff, as my husband calls it!" This was the recipe that she referred to:- ; Jim’s Pudding (No Eggs) One cup of flour; 1 cup _of breadcrumbs; 1 cup of finely shredded suet (bought in packets); % cup of gugar; 2 cup of jam (any sort, but plum is nice); 2 cups of mixed fruit (chopped dates, sultanas, currants, peel if liked); and 1 teaspoon of grated nutmeg or ginger (or both). Mix all with 1 small cup of milk in which is dissolved 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. Boil or steam in a greased basin 4 to 5 hours -the longer the better. This uses very little gas or electricity, because a ry flame keeps the water boiling. See that the saucepan-lid fits tightly. Ellerslie Pudding (No Eggs) This can be made without any flour at all; but the sender of this recipe says that she adds 4% to % cup of vimax, and finds the mixture and the flavour improved. Half a cup of good dripping or cod-fat just melted, and a few drops of lemon juice (or lemon essence) stirred in; 1 cup each of grated carrot and potato; 1 cup of breadcrumbs; 1 cup of sultanas (of chopped dates); 1 cup of sugar; 1 teaspoon each of ginger and nutmeg. Mix all together. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of baking soda in 1 tablespoon of hot water, and add to the mixture. Steam in a greased basin for 24% hours. Swaggie’s Pudding This was sent to me by "Ruth," the sister of an American Bride, who came over with her sister and the baby to help her to get settled on their Waikato farm. She writes that she is so happy here that she is in no hurry to go back home, and has contributed several recipes and interesting stories to the Daisy Chain Session. This pudding is cooked in boiling coffee instead of water! Ruth’s father was travelling along the road near Cheyentie, when he met a swaggie cook‘ing his evening meal. Being bungty and tired; and a long way from a town, "he gladly accepted the invitation to share the supper which was cooking. He said the drank the coffee afterwards! But Ru Says that though they often make ‘this pudding at home, they do NOT drink . coffee. Probably it was the openait which made it taste good. Ruth says they have tried just flavouring the pudding with coffee, and boiling it in water -but the flavour is nothing like the real one. Here is the recipe. _ Two cups of flour; one cup of milk; 14 cup of butter, or substitute; 1 cup of molasses; 1 cup of any fruit; 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Warm the milk, dissolve the butter in it. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Boil the molasses, skim, and mix into the dry ingredients with the milk and

butter. Mix well. Do not have it too wet; put it into the pudding cloth, and tie. Just make the coffee in the usual way,"using 2 large tablespoons of coffee, and pour through a strainer into the pot you are going to boil the pudding in. Boil for 2 hours. Cold Tea Pudding One cup of flour and ¥% cup of breadcrumbs (or 14 cups of Ya gmall cup of sugar; 1 small cup of shredded suet; 1 cup of mixed fruit; 1 dessertspoon of dark jam; 1 large teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 cup of cold tea. Sift the soda with the flour, and add the other ingredients. Lastly add the cold tea and mix, Boil or steam 214 to 3 hours, or longer, if possible. Spiff Pudding (Chocolate) Eight ounces of sifted flour; 5oz. of good dripping or cod fat; 60z. of sugar; loz. of cocoa; 1 teaspoon of baking soda; 44 pint of milk. Rub the fat lightly into the sifted flour and cocoa mixed with the sugar. Bring the milk to the boil, then stir in the soda. Pour it at once into the dry ingredients, and mix well. Put the mixture into a greased basin and steam 24% hours. Marguerite Pudding This is my own standby. It never fails and can be varied by putting different kinds of jam, ot marmalade, or golden syrup in the bottom of the basin before putting in the sponge mixtures Two ounces of butter; 2 tablespoons of sugar; 602, of flour sifted with 1 teaspoon of baking powder; a pinch of salt; 1 egg; and about 2 tablespoons of milk. Cream the butter and sugar, add the flour, etc., then mix in the egg and milk. To make it a chocolate pudding, sift one tablespoon of cocoa with the flour and baking powder; and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the creamed fat and sugar, and an extra dessertspoon of milk, as the cocoa makes the mixture a little dry. Ginger Pudding One and a half large cups of flour; 3% cup of shredded suet; 1 level teaspoon of spice; 1 small teaspoon bicarbonate of soda; pinch of salt; 34 small cup of sugar; 2 level teaspoons of ginger; 4 small cup of golden syrup; 1 level teaspoon of baking powder. Beat the shredded suet and sugar to a cream. Heat the golden syrup, add the soda, a little milk, and mix with beaten suet and sugar, Mix all the other ingredients together well, The mixture should not be too stiff. Steam about 114% hours, and serve with custard sauce. Rhubarb De Luxe Pudding Mix together 3 tablespoons each of brown sugar and butter, and spread inside the pudding basin. Then make a shredded ‘suet crust as usual-mix 2 cups of flour sifted with 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1 cup of shredded suet. Add a pinch of salt, and mix with milk or water, Line the basin with this, on top of the butter and sugar. Then half fill with cut up rhubarb, sprinkle with brown sugar, a little lemon juice, and a tablespoon of water. Then pile in gq rhubarb, Put on the top-crust, bake in a quick oven; or alternatively, steam the pudding. Turn out on to a hot dish. Apple may be used instead of rhubarb. (continued on next page)

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