FYI to all, suet comes from beef, not pork. The best, and the kind generally used for puddings, comes from around the kidneys, but, for example, the suet used for making french fries (good ones, anyway) need not and usually does not.
BTW, goddessodd, why would you think that fat next to the kidneys would be contaminated with whatever nastiness you thinks is going on inside? (And do you have any evidence on that? I eat them from time to time and have never noted any telltale scent.) And, frankly, the fact that a vegetarian isn’t interested in suet pudding is not surprising.
I stand corrected, sort of. That is, I see from a quick check that you’re right. On the other hand, my uniform experience is that from a culunary perspective, suet is now understood to mean beef fat. Which is how, for example, The Cook’s Thesaurus describes it.
No, PBear, I have absolutely no evidence that there is anything nasty about the fat around the kidneys other than it is fat around the kidneys which is quite nasty enough for me. Nor did I say EVER that I thought the fat around the kidneys would be contaminated. What I said was "who would want to eat kidneys…scroll up and see for yourself. Sheesh…this was fun until you showed up.
I think instead of looking to the riding crop as xsome sort of half-assed freudian explaination, you should take it as read that the relationship lies ion the “Everyman” definition of “dick”. There is precedence… IN Britain the male organ is also known as the willy and the john-thomas, both also “everyman” words.
A common April Fools joke is that Marks and Spencer’s (or Tesco, or…) have decided to become more streamlined PC, and will shortly be renaming the dessert ‘Spotted Richard’.
I just noticed that my local shop (for local people, there’s nothing for you there) sells Heinz Spotted dick in nukeable tins (or you can steam it). Its A quid for a whopping big tin.
They also have treacle sponge pudding.
It’s placed next to the Ambrosia custard. ( and the snow globes and other precious things).
If you colonials want a taste of paradise you can get spotted dick online here (mind you its $4 a pop)
in the current issue of playboy there is an interview with a young British chef.
He talks about spotted dick and says it comes from the dessert’s resemblance to Dalmatian dogs. The white pudding with currents/raisins in it reminded people of their dogs hence the name.
He further claims that there was a period when Brits commonly either named their dogs “dick” or that dick was an alternate word for dog. no quite sure, but it’s in the current issue of Playboy.
Just got the October issue of Playboy – in their “20 Questions” feature, Jamie Oliver (aka The Naked Chef) relates his version of the origin of spotted dick. According to Oliver, Dick was a common name for dogs at one time, and the desert resembled a Dalmatian.
Oh dear, oh dear, this just keeps getting more confusing! If the Ambrosia custard is what we Americans refer to as pudding, and the pudding you Brits keep referring to is actually what we would call sponge cake, is it safe to assume that “pudding” is used much as the word “dessert” is used here?
I have heard that Hector was a common dog name, but never Dick…perhaps they were all named Hector Richard…
Ambrosia is a brand name (like Birds) for a premade tinned custard. Its very nice indeed.
Custard is a yellow sweet sauce made of milk and eggs that goes with puddings (which are sponge things or like Christmas pudding (you do have Christams pudding I hope).
“Pudding” is a slightly juvenile term for dessert.
Not all puddings are desserts (Eg steak and kidney and black pudding would be horrid with custard).
However all desserts can be called “pudding” or “Pud”.
The only dog called Hector I can think of is the one that lived in Hectors House, with Zsa Zsa and Kiki.
Is it correct to say that all of the foods referred to as “puddings” are boiled? And is there any other common feature of all the puddings?
As for custard, so far as I know, British custard is the same thing as American custard, but vanilla-flavored dairy pudding is often also referred to as “custard” in the US. A custard pie, or a custard donut, is likely to actually have pudding as the filling. On the other hand, if you ever see “custard” by itself as a menu item in the States, it will be an eggy dessert. There’s also “frozen custard”, which is an American term (possibly now somewhat out of date) for soft-serve ice cream, and is totally different from “custard” or any sort of “pudding”.
I’ll guarantee that the “frozen custard” I had in the 1950’s twern’t “soft-serve ice cream.” It was made with so many eggs it was an egg-creme color. You’ can’t imagine the taste. I haven’t had much like that in the 1980’s or later.
