Pudding

dessert · creamy · food history

Two very different puddings. In America, pudding usually means a sweet, creamy dessert you eat with a spoon, but the word originally described savory dishes made with meat and other ingredients stuffed into a casing, kind of like fancy sausages that were steamed or boiled.

Thickeners make it work. American puddings use special ingredients like cornstarch, gelatin, or other thickeners to turn a liquid mixture into that perfect smooth, jiggly texture instead of baking it like a cake.

Names vary around the world. In some countries, egg-thickened puddings are called custards, starch-thickened ones are called blancmange, and gelatin-based ones are called jelly, but they're all basically the same creamy idea.

Pudding came from England. Many pudding dishes like bread pudding and rice pudding started in Britain centuries ago and came to America, where they became super popular sweet desserts.

Pudding keeps changing. Over time, pudding went from being mostly a savory, meaty dish to being the sweet, creamy dessert that kids and grown-ups enjoy today.