Is a Yorkshire pudding like a Roll? And why do they call it a pudding?

[Springtime_for_Spacers]

@Qadgop_the_Mercotan

I just called my local English restaurant and pub (in the US midwest) to ask if they ever had Yorkshire pudding on the menu. I was told they did not, but staff person did read off the list of all their dessert offerings. She seemed to think I wanted something sweet. When I told her Yorkshire pudding was savory, she just seemed confused.

They do offer a decent Scotch egg there, along with fair Fish & Chips and Shepherd’s pie. Also some curries, that are almost, yet not completely unlike actual Indian food. But they also offer poutine and steak Tartare, which I never considered traditional English food. <<sigh>>

I wants me some Yorkshire Pudding sooooo bad right now.

Yorkshire pudding is pretty nice with jam, which sort of makes it a dessert.

[ThelmaLou]

@scruffycat

Pudding is one of those words which seems to have changed over time. Originally it denoted a savoury dish I think, Yorkshire pudding and Black pudding are examples that have kept the original meaning. I’m not sure why or when it came to denote sweet dishes though. It can still be taken to mean both in the UK, perhaps not so much in the US?

In the US, pudding is a specific dessert, a soft, creamy, custard-y, sweet thing eaten with a spoon. You get the idea if you know that Jello makes a “pudding and pie filling.” IOW, pudding is like a non-fruit pie filling, e.g., vanilla, chocolate, coconut, lemon etc.

Yorkshire pudding is similar to the pancake known as a Dutch baby. You mix eggs, milk, a small amount of flour and put into a VERY hot pan swimming in butter. The Yorkshire pudding would have used the hot fat in the pan left from roasting beef.

You can make a Dutch baby of any size depending on the amount of ingredients and size of pan, and it can be sweet or savory. I heat up my 6-inch cast iron skillet in the oven and make one just for me. Yum!

[terentii]

@ThelmaLou

In the US, pudding is a specific dessert, a soft, creamy, custard-y, sweet thing eaten with a spoon. You get the idea if you know that Jello makes a “pudding and pie filling.” IOW, pudding is like a non-fruit pie filling, e.g., vanilla, chocolate, coconut, lemon etc.

Tapioca pudding is the best. :o

Gotta use whole milk, fresh eggs, and real vanilla, though.

[Chronos]

So, bumping this because I have a question: If one were to make Yorkshire pudding in advance of a meal, for how long could they keep and still be good? My family’s doing our Thanksgiving dinner this weekend, and I’d like to bring some, but I imagine that oven space at my aunt’s house will be at a premium (especially oven space at a different temperature from the ubiquitous 350 F), and we’re a few hours away.

[Cyros]

I’ve had them up to 24 hours after cooking. They are still pretty good but not the best. They get a bit deflated and sad looking though. If you have access to a toaster oven to bring or, failing that, crank the oven while the roast is resting and the gravy is being finished it would be better.

[pulykamell]

The BBC claims you can cool them, freeze them, and serve them up to a month later. At least according to their recipe here. The sites I’ve found about reheating say to reheat them in the oven for 8-10 minutes at about 425. I’ve never even thought of doing this, so I can’t attest to how well it works. I just figured Yorkie puddings are one of those things that have to be made and served immediately.

[cmkeller]

Originally it denoted a savoury dish I think, Yorkshire pudding and Black pudding are examples that have kept the original meaning.

The usage also survives in the Jewish dish potato kugel being translated into English as “potato pudding.” It’s nothing like the pudding that’s like custard, it’s potatoes, onions, salt, pepper and eggs (some add flour or matzo meal) baked in oil.

[Chronos]

There’s also a dish I’ve sometimes seen called “corn pudding” that’s basically mushy cornbread with chunks of corn in it. It’s a little sweet, but only because corn itself is sweet, and it’s definitely a main-course side dish, not a dessert. Given how distinctively American corn is, I suppose that proves that the savory usage of “pudding” is not restricted to the British Isles.

[MrDibble]

@ThelmaLou

In the US, pudding is a specific dessert, a soft, creamy, custard-y, sweet thing eaten with a spoon. You get the idea if you know that Jello makes a “pudding and pie filling.” IOW, pudding is like a non-fruit pie filling, e.g., vanilla, chocolate, coconut, lemon etc.

The UK equivalent would be Bird’s Angel Delight or any of the other brands of cornstarch-thickened instant mousse-type stuff

You mix eggs, milk, a small amount of flour

I wouldn’t say “a small amount” - my usual recipe calls for equal volumetric amounts of flour, eggs and milk.

[Novelty_Bobble]

@Chronos

So, bumping this because I have a question: If one were to make Yorkshire pudding in advance of a meal, for how long could they keep and still be good? My family’s doing our Thanksgiving dinner this weekend, and I’d like to bring some, but I imagine that oven space at my aunt’s house will be at a premium (especially oven space at a different temperature from the ubiquitous 350 F), and we’re a few hours away.

to be honest, fresh and hot is by far the best. Whenever I make it it is the last thing out of the oven and everything else revolves around that as the roast and veg are far happier to sit and keep warm for the 20-25 minutes of dedicated oven time that the Yorkshire pud will take.
In fact, it acts as a handy final countdown to the meal. Put them in and by the time you get everything else on the table, places set, wine poured and round up everyone to actually sit down, they’ll be ready and will go straight from oven to table just as the lord god Geoffrey Boycott intended.

(he is a very famous cricketer and professional Yorkshireman, he says what he likes and he likes what he bloody well says…a similarity he shares with other deities although his forward defensive is considered streets ahead of yahweh even if his trundling off-break is not a patch on Vishnu…but with all those arms how can he fail? …but I digress)