# The full range of things called 'pudding' in the USA **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 28, 2024, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445 "2024-06-28T14:00:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/121 "2024-06-30T16:55:58Z")
My dad sometimes buys hominy so he can have [hominy and puddin’](https://freestatenotes.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/puddin-and-hominy/). Pudding is not to be confused with scrapple. > **[What is the Difference Between Scrapple and Pudding?](https://www.stoltzfusmeats.com/blogs/stoltzfus-meats-blog/what-is-the-difference-between-scrapple-and-pudding)** > > We often get asked the question: what is the difference between scrapple and pudding? It's a great question! Both scrapple and pudding have similar ingredients. But there are crucial differences between the two. Both scrapple and pudding are made... I prefer sweet pudding and make tapioca, or rice or chocolate pudding from scratch. I’ve been considering making butterscotch pudding, but that seems like a lot of work. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/122 "2024-06-30T17:11:51Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > The real question is how did jellified flavoured milk end up getting called ‘puddings’. Corporations trying to flog some inferior starchy crap off as “instant pudding”? As you say in the OP, not everybody would agree those qualify as pudding or even custard. I will make rice pudding with milk, though… ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/123 "2024-06-30T17:19:38Z")
Pudding is not to be confused with scrapple.[https://youtu.be/0lr9K-Yhh8k](https://youtu.be/0lr9K-Yhh8k) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/124 "2024-06-30T19:19:12Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > We always called that junket when I was a kid. I’ve never heard the term “rennet pudding”. That’s what we used when I was a kid as well. However, my mother was a biochemist and she had to explain all the details and refer to it as rennet even though it came in that familiar package. I’m sure you can buy generically labeled rennet but Junket was the only form I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/125 "2024-06-30T20:32:29Z")
That’s one of the possible etymologies per my link. Either way, the meaning of “a dish consisting of flour, milk, eggs, etc., originally boiled in a bag until semi-hard, often enriched with raisins or other fruit” had emerged by 1670 ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/126 "2024-06-30T21:21:54Z")
There’s a site called [The Sifter](https://thesifter.org/Home/Search?tbl=vAuthor) which is a database of historic cookbooks, with web search. I tried to find the earliest cookbook mentioning pudding - there’s a poem about hasty pudding which goes back at least to 1838. I got distracted by the undated book “May Byron’s Pudding Book”, which starts like this: > If there be in all this world a dish peculiarly, notoriously, and one may say exclusively British, it is the Pudding. Other countries have other concoctions, with which they endeavour to replace this precious desideratum of England: sweet dishes rich and indigestible, light and ethereal, solid and fruity, or creamy and succulent; but they are not puddings. Moreover, the British pudding is marvellously wide in its range. It gives the name to preparations so far apart as the plain and humble tapioca pudding of the nursery and the gorgeous Christmas plum pudding boasting a dozen luscious ingredients. It may be boiled, it may be baked, it may be first one and then the other; it may be fried, it may be steamed, or oven-steamed (this last is an excellent plan to which I desire to call special attention); it may employ substi- tutes, not exactly of the authentic linear Pudding ancestry, but collateral branches, so to speak, such as pancakes, omelets, and fritters. It may be served piping hot, like apple-pudding; or cold, like cornflour blancmange; or iced, like the sumptuous Nesselrode. In any case, it is, or should be, a wholesome and nutritious compound, containing, as a rule, farinaceous matter, sugar, fat in some form, very often fruit fresh or dried, commonly eggs, frequently milk or cream, always a little salt, and usually a selection of those spices for whose sweet sake our merchant-ships origin- ally voyaged out to the East Indies. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/127 "2024-06-30T21:41:24Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Thanks, i was confused, as I’ve only ever bought the “cook and serve” kind. Yeah, me, too. Although the instant variety are o.k., I think the cooked versions are superior. > [@TriPolar](#): > > My only real world recollection is Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith responding to “What’s your name” - “Puddin’ Tame. Ask me again and I’ll tell you the same.” Until now I had no idea what that was about. That was something my friends and I used a _lot_ in elementary school. So, mid to late 50s. You must be a youngun. > [@Mangetout](#): > > the other thing we would call it (what appears to be ‘pudding’ in the USA) is blancmange Isn’t blancmange made with gelatin? Pudding in the US never (to my knowledge) would use gelatin. It’s more like panna cotta? > [@markn\_1](#): > > The first time I ever heard the word “blancmange” was in the Monty Python scifi skit, when I was in college. I was not familiar with either the word or the food it refers to, so the whole last part of the skit was pretty baffling to me. Me, too! But the blancmange playing opposite the Python player looked like a gelatin mold, so that’s my impression of blancmange. Other than it sounds like a disease a white dog would have. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/128 "2024-06-30T21:49:51Z")
And pictures of blancmange don’t look anything like an American pudding. It looks tidy and molded. That’s not pudding. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/129 "2024-06-30T21:55:17Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > the earliest cookbook mentioning pudding You may want to search for _puddyng_ instead, that’s how it’s spelled in Harleian Manuscript 279 (or, also, _poddyng_), which has recipes for _Puddyng of purpaysse_ and _Puddyng of Capoun necke_ and _Puddyng de Swan necke_ ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/130 "2024-06-30T22:13:53Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Isn’t blancmange made with gelatin? Usually it’s cornstarch. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > It looks tidy and molded. It doesn’t have to be, it can just be in a bowl, same as US pudding. But it usually is moulded, similar to jelly, and that would be my expectation. That’s why I said pudding is more like Angel Delight, or a thick custard like _crème pât_. Not free-standing consistency. Although, to me, the _default_ custard is the thinner pouring kind, like _crème anglaise_ or Bird’s - the sauce for the pudding, not the pudding itself. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/131 "2024-06-30T22:17:15Z")
Didn’t find anything. May not go back that far in what cookbooks they have. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > And pictures of blancmange don’t look anything like an American pudding. It looks tidy and molded. That’s not pudding I looked up the recipe, and gelatine was usually first in the list of thickeners. So. Milk jello. 🤢 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/132 "2024-07-01T02:43:55Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Although, to me, the _default_ custard is the thinner pouring kind, like _crème anglaise_ or Bird’s - the sauce for the pudding, not the pudding itself. I would usually call that creme anglaise or custard sauce, but i recognize it as a type of custard. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/133 "2024-07-01T04:03:04Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > That was something my friends and I used a _lot_ in elementary school. So, mid to late 50s. You must be a youngun. Yup. I may be younger than you but don’t tell me to get off your lawn cuz I’m busy yelling at 50 somethings to get off my lawn. Didn’t see Barney saying it until the re-runs in the early 60s. I Love Lucy is the only TV show I remember from the 50s. Never heard the expression in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/134 "2024-07-01T05:34:36Z")
I just know that if it sits out too long it becomes off-putting. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/135 "2024-07-01T11:23:51Z")
Currently we are inundated with blueberries and black raspberries. Last night my gf made a berry cobbler. Not a pie, but sort of? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/136 "2024-07-01T14:25:17Z")
As any geometer knows, pi r round, but cobbler r square. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/137 "2024-07-02T00:03:08Z")
Dessert types [https://imgur.com/gallery/Z5d017f](https://imgur.com/gallery/Z5d017f) Dagnabbit, I wanted that to show the image ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/138 "2024-07-02T00:56:52Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Dagnabbit, I wanted that to show the image [![](https://i.imgur.com/pa5gY3X.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/pa5gY3X.png) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/139 "2024-07-02T05:43:36Z")
Is there a transatlantic difference in the cultural tendency to want a named thing to have a precise or specific definition. I ask because: - We already talked about _pudding_ - and it means just about everything here in the UK - and not many people here would bat an eye if the term ‘pudding’ started to appear in some fresh context. - ‘Crumble’, here, contains both things ‘crumble’ and ‘crisp’ from that chart - certainly most traditional crumble recipes are usually topped with crumbs made from flour, sugar and butter, but people add oats, nuts, seeds, crushed biscuits etc, and it’s still just ‘crumble’. - I have often encountered people from the USA telling me, for example ‘that’s not a pie, because it only has a top crust’, or ‘that’s not a pie, it’s called a _pot_ pie’ - but pies here may have a full crust, top crust only, or in the case of things like shepherd’s pie, don’t have a pastry crust at all, and meat-filled pies are generally still just called pies. Am I right in perceiving a _general_ difference in the desired level of precision on opposite sides of the pond, or are these just three examples that don’t represent the larger picture? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445/140 "2024-07-02T11:28:45Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > There used to be something called [Shake a Pudd’n](https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=801301568795631). Enjoy! You can make your own version of this today by mixing the right proportions of instant pudding with dried milk. I used to make these up for my lunch box at work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-full-range-of-things-called-pudding-in-the-usa/1003445.md?page=8)