Indeed. I reckon that warrants a shift into past-tense though. Custard in the UK is now so overwhelmingly expected to be based on Mr. Bird’s cornflour workaround for his egg-intolerant wife that egg-custard is specified as such, called “egg-custard” (baked until set, usually in a tart), “confectioners’ custard” (much the same, but not in a tart) or “creme anglaise” (pourable sauce).
“Originally” and “old” being very much your key words there: put meat in mincemeat nowadays and you’d damn well better tell everyone! Otherwise it would be like making an ale flavoured with ginger and simply labelling it “ginger ale”. Semantically legit, pragmatically ridiculous.
Yeah, it must really vary by region. Banana is by far the most common pudding I’ve seen, and the only pudding I’ve seen regularly made from scratch.
I consider it to be the king of the puddings, by far. By itself, it’s great. Freshly dressed with vanilla wafers and whipped cream? Oh yeah! If you have only one American style pudding, have bananananananananana.
Yep, I think popovers are essentially the same as Yorkshire puddings, based on the ingredients.
So there’s a namechange for you if you ever want one, Yorkshire Pudding!
That is probably a better way of asking the question. And no, I’ve never eaten American pudding. I’ve seen people eating it (in the US), but it was made with full fat milk that I don’t want to eat in company. It didn’t seem exactly like Angel Delight, though that’s the closest equivalent, and it’s thicker than custard, less airy than mousse, and is usually eaten cold and on its own. And this genuinely is not meant to be insulting because every culture has a fondness for kids’ food - pre-packaged baby food dessert. Banana pudding in a pot for a six month old is the only thing I’ve seen that really looked like American pudding.
There was a restaurant years ago called Gulliver’s that was a prime rib restaurant that served Yorkshire pudding as a side. My mom went with some friends once, and they lingered over their dinner so long the restaurant ran out of desserts. So, they served them Yorkshire pudding with whipped cream. My mom said it was yummy.
I think banana pudding is more a Southern U.S. dessert. I don’t see it anywhere. It might be in BBQ or Soul Food or specifically Southern food restaurants, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in a restaurant. I haven’t seen it in the markets either. I only know it as a homemade dessert. So, the place I’ve seen it most is on the 'Nilla Wafers box.
I can see that. As a Yorkshire cook I should regard it with the sort of contempt normally reserved for Lancashire, but actually, that sort of thing really works!
Kinda…though it’s served hot, as an accompanying sauce. Bird’s Custard Powder is the classic - obviously there are others too - but that’s the Heinz Ketchup of custards.
Have you actually seen bread pudding sold in cups or mixes? I have seen both for tapioca, which is why I assumed it was more popular. People buy pudding more more than they make it.
Banana pudding I see less than tapioca in the above settung , but I see it a lot at restaurants. I hadn’t actually realized it was its own type if pudding, and not just a dairy pudding with bananas or banana flavoring.
I do see a lot of non-dairy puddings for kids, though. I’m not sure what the actual thickening agent is, but I love lemon, sour apple, and whatever flavor red dragon pudding is. All from those little snack cups.
Well, it was invented in the year Victoria came to the throne, and has become known to generations of Brits as being what custard actually is, to the point that ‘real’ custard needs to be specified as a different thing - and potentially explained as it’s quite possible the listener will have never encountered it.
Whether it’s ersatz in terms of the original egg-thickened version, and whether you happen to think it compares favourably or not, it’s what millions of people understand custard to be.
183 years and counting. Ubiquity. “not custard in any way” is a bit strong!
