Today, from one of my favourite cookbooks – Cassell’s Dictionary of Cookery (c1870s), I give you Mother Eve’s Pudding. Naturally it contains apple – the eventual European consensus on the forbidden fruit, even though there are many more likely contenders given the historical era and geographical location of the Biblical stories. We have touched on a few of the possible suspects in previous posts – quince, date, banana, and even the sour/bitter grapefruit – but in popular mythology, the apple wins.
Mother Eve’s Pudding.
Take of sliced apple, well washed currants, grated bread, and finely shred suet, each twelve ounces, mix them in a bowl, with half the rind of a lemon, minced, and moisten with four well-beaten eggs. Boil in a buttered mould, and serve with a sweet sauce, as follows:- Sweeten a quarter of a pint of melted butter, add nutmeg, a large glassful of sherry, and part of the juice of a lemon. Time: 3 hours to boil. Probable cost, 1s. 8d., exclusive of wine. Sufficient for five or six persons.
I read about Mother's Eve pudding in a historical romance novel and was curious about what it was. I thank you for your recipe--maybe I'll try it someday. It sounds a lot like Plum Pudding without the candied fruit. Thanks again. Vera Burns, Prescott AZ
ReplyDeletei have a recipe for mother eves apple pudding but its not the same my mom used to make it every holiday its been in family as long as i can remember and it was yummy
ReplyDeleteI HAVE A SIMILAR PUDDING BUT IS DIFFERENT MY MOM USED TO MAKE IT EVERY HOLIDAY IT WAS SO YUMMY THE SWEET SAUCE WAS ADDICTIVE
ReplyDeleteHi Susan, it is great to have a family recipe like that, isnt it? so many memories tied up in a simple pudding.
ReplyDeleteHello Vera, I love it when a recipe mentioned in a novel is "real"