National Indian Pudding Day
National Indian Pudding Day is observed each year on November 13.
This day honors a cold-weather classic, Indian pudding.
It was in the seventeenth century that English colonists brought hasty pudding to North America and completely transformed it. Although it was initially made with wheat, they substituted cornmeal due to a shortage of the grain at the time. The colonists had learned how to cultivate maize (corn) from the indigenous peoples. Indian pudding was derived from their name for cornmeal, Indian meal. Milk was substituted for water, and they added either molasses or maple syrup along with cinnamon, ground ginger, butter, eggs, raisins, and nuts. Indian pudding is then slowly baked for several hours, transforming its texture from the original porridge-like quality of hasty pudding to a much smoother texture which is more typical of custard.
Make our own with this easy recipe!
Total Time 1:20, Baking Time 40 minutes, Cooling Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup molasses
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- ⅓ cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream
Directions
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Heat the oven to 350°. In a medium heavy stainless-steel saucepan, bring the milk, cream, molasses, and brown sugar almost to a simmer over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the milk mixture, whisking. Bring just to a simmer, whisking. Pour into an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. The batter will be thin and shallow.
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Bake the pudding in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir well. Return the pudding to the oven and continue cooking for 20 minutes. The pudding will still be quite wobbly but will set as it cools. Let cool on a rack for 20 minutes and serve warm. Or cool completely and reheat the pudding in a 350° oven for about 5 minutes just before serving. Serve the pudding topped with the ice cream.
