BRATTLEBORO — When I would get sick as a small girl, my mother would make Junket for me.
Junket was a powder that came in a cardboard box, much like Jello. You mixed it with lukewarm milk and poured it into little cups and, after waiting 10 minutes, you would end up with this slightly bland, overly sweet, lightly firm pudding.
I would sit up in bed, propped by pillows, and spoon it slowly into my mouth, wanly smiling up at my mother, loving each and every slippery bite.
When I looked up Junket on Google, I found it still for sale, to my delight - exactly the same brand.
It is advertised as “a popular nostalgic dessert. No eggs, no cooking, no problem! The rennet enzyme is the very substance that Nature provides for more perfect digestion of milk. Easily made in a minute, sets in ten minutes!”
I doubt I could stomach one slippery bite of it today, but I am convinced that those boxes of Junket were the basis of a lifelong love for pudding.
Just that word “pudding” brings comfort to me.
Pudding is something soft, simple, unsophisticated, and comforting that you eat with a spoon.
Pudding is completely non-threatening, unlike rich chocolate cake, sugary meringue, or the complications of pie crust.
Pudding can be eaten without guilt or skill.
Pudding calls out to be consumed in bed, and rarely do I see it served at dinner parties.
Crème caramel and crème brulée are much too fancy to be called pudding. I intend to stimulate your interest in what true pudding is and here offer up a number of recipes that will provide not only comfort but also truly delicious, dinner-party-worthy fare.
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Before we start, just a few words about cooking with corn starch, an ingredient in many classic puddings.
Corn starch is just that: starch from corn kernels which is made into a powder and used to thicken liquid mixtures like gravies and puddings. Unlike flour, corn starch does not absorb liquid and thicken until it is cooked.
I recommend always adding corn starch to cold liquids and whisking until the mixture is smooth before adding heat. Once thickened, corn starch can break down if it gets too hot or if is stirred too much or too vigorously.
I recommend cooking a corn-starch mixture over medium heat and stirring gently but thoroughly on the bottom and sides of the pan with a heatproof spatula (no whisks, please) until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble around the edges.
Cook for one minute more, stirring gently in the same manner.
When that minute is up, remove the pan from the heat and add whatever additional ingredients the recipe calls for, such as vanilla or butter, and stir just enough to incorporate them.
Then stop. That's it. Done.
Chocolate Pudding
When was the last time you had a fantastic cup of chocolate pudding? Not pots de crème or chocolate mousse, but pudding?
After the Junket, boxes of Jello pudding were my very favorite. This adult chocolate pudding compares to that little box of powder as a luscious and complex raw milk cheese does to an orange slice of American singles.
This recipe makes six 4-ounce servings.
Whisk in a heavy-bottomed, medium saucepan:
¶{1/3} cup sugar
¶{1/3} cup unsweetened cocoa
¶2 tablespoons pure corn starch
¶pinch of salt
Add, stirring to make a smooth paste:
¶{1/4} cup whole milk
Add:
¶1{1/2} cups milk
¶{1/4} cup heavy cream
Using a heatproof spatula, stir until incorporated.
Place the pan over medium heat and, gently using the spatula, stir to the bottom and sides of the pan, especially the bottom corners, until the mixture begins to thicken and bubbles appear around the outside edge. This step takes around 5 minutes.
Keep cooking the mixture, and keep stirring for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Add:
¶4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped
Let the mixture sit for 2 minutes, then add:
¶1 teaspoon vanilla
¶1 tablespoon rum
Stir gently and briefly until all the chocolate is melted. Divide the mixture between six 4-ounce ramekins, little cups, or small wine glasses.
Serve warm, at room temperature or after being chilled in the refrigerator. A small amount of whipped cream won't do this dessert any harm at all.
Indian pudding
Everything that's wonderful about autumn in Vermont is reflected in a serving of modest Indian pudding. Early settlers in New England used corn, which they called “Indian meal,” and the molasses that was readily available to fashion a dessert reminiscent of English “Hasty Pudding,” a kind of sweetened wheat porridge.
Here is a slightly updated recipe for an Indian pudding that is gingery and rich, with the color of deep caramel and the flavor of sweet corn and butter. It makes eight 4-ounce servings.
Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter eight 4-ounce ramekins and place them on a baking sheet. In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom, add:
¶5{1/2} cups whole milk
¶1-2 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
¶1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped and put aside
¶{3/4} cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
Bring to a gentle boil over high heat. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let it steep for 10 minutes.
Then pour the milk through a fine strainer into a bowl. Throw out the ginger and vanilla-bean pod. Put the milk back into the saucepan and add:
¶{2/3} cup yellow cornmeal
¶1 tablespoon molasses
¶1 tablespoon maple syrup
¶1 cinnamon stick
Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the mixture has thickened a bit, about 15 minutes.
Stir in:
¶4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Remove from the heat. Discard the cinnamon. Pour the mixture, distributing it equally among the ramekins on the baking sheet, and put it in the oven.
Bake for about one hour, until the mixture seems set but the centers still jiggle slightly.
Remove from the oven and let the ramekins cool for 10 minutes. Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which dreamily melts into the many crevices of the warm, slightly lumpy pudding.
This is an almost perfect fall dessert.
Pouding chômeur
Our neighbors to the north in Québec have their own version of comfort pudding, called “pouding chômeur,” with maple syrup as a key ingredient.
Chômeur means unemployed, which is about as humble and homey as one can get. Today, it serves as an example of a very rich dessert and one that illustrates how ingredients now considered expensive - maple syrup and heavy cream in this case - were once readily available.
In the past, most families in the North tapped their maple trees and had a cow or two in the backyard. I suggest using one of the lower grades of syrup, both for cost and for flavor, for this recipe, which makes six 4-ounce servings. The results are spectacular.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter six 4-ounce ramekins and place them on a baking sheet.
In a heavy saucepan, stir to combine:
¶1{1/4} cups pure maple syrup
¶{3/4} cup heavy cream
¶2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
¶pinch of salt
Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
Beat in a bowl using an electric mixer until creamed, light and fluffy:
¶6 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature
¶{1/3} cup sugar
Add, then beat until just combined:
¶1 large egg
¶{1/2} teaspoon vanilla
Batter will be thick.
Sift together onto the egg mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until combined:
¶1 cup cake flour
¶1 teaspoon baking powder
¶{1/4} teaspoon salt
Divide {1/3} cup of the syrup/cream mixture equally among the ramekins. Divide the flour batter equally on top. Pour the remaining syrup/cream mixture equally over and around the batter.
Bake until top is golden brown and firm to the touch, around 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm, with a bit more heavy cream poured directly into each ramekin.
Apple almond sponge pudding
Apples, plums, and pears are abundant this time of year, as are recipes for fruit dessert. You can also use plums or pears with delicious results; any of these fruits is wonderful in this pudding, which presents a layer of tartly sweet cooked fruit under a blanket of smooth almond sponge.
The topping here is soft and golden with none of the doughy quality of cobblers or the brittle nuttiness of fruit crisps.
I found some beautiful apples from Ames Hill Orchard at the Saturday Brattleboro Farmers' Market, and Cortland Hill Orchard in West Brattleboro grows very tasty Italian prune plums.
This dessert is easy to make, gluten free, and - even without the richness of its maple-syrup relative described above - transforms into a little bowl full of flavor and comfort.
This recipe makes 6 to 8 servings.
¶1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter an oval baking dish with a 4-cup capacity.
Peel, core, and slice:
¶2 pounds of mixed apples (or plums or pears)
In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt:
¶2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Add two-thirds of the apple slices. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples start to soften and break down, then add:
¶{1/4} cup sugar
¶{1/2} teaspoon cinnamon
Cook until the apples are very soft and slightly caramelized. Taste and add more sugar if desired.
Remove from the heat and add the remaining raw apple slices. Stir to mix. Transfer the mixture to the buttered dish.
In a medium bowl, mix the melted butter with:
¶{1/2} cup light brown sugar
¶1 large egg
¶3 ounces ground almonds
¶{1/2} teaspoon pure almond extract
Pour this batter over the apples in the baking dish and cook for 25-30 minutes, until the topping is golden brown, risen and springy to the touch.
Cool for 5 minutes, then spoon into bowls. Top with heavy cream, whipped or liquid, or ice cream. Find a recipe for runny custard to use with this, and you will be in dessert heaven.
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Pudding is like an old favorite pair of pajamas, worn and familiar, full of cozy comfort.
I suggest that pudding can, in fact, be brought out for company. Serve it with small spoons to prolong the pleasure. Perhaps the eating of it will provoke conversation of childhood and its simple comforts.
I don't know about you, but I still need a few uncomplicated, undemanding pleasures in my busy life and, let me tell you, pudding can definitely be one of them.
Just saying the word “pudding” makes me smile.
Go ahead. Say it. See?