Summer pudding or summer fruit pudding is an English
dessert
Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...
made of sliced
white bread
White bread typically refers to breads made from wheat flour from which the bran and the germ layers have been removed from the whole wheatberry as part of the flour grinding or milling process, producing a light-colored flour.
Nutrition
Wh ...
, layered in a deep bowl with
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
and
fruit juice
Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such ...
. It is left to soak overnight and turned out onto a plate.
The dessert was most popular from the late 19th to the early 20th century. It first appears in print with its current name in 1904, but identical recipes for 'hydropathic pudding' and '
Malvern pudding' from as far back as 1868 have been found.
Making summer pudding is much easier if the
bread
Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...
is somewhat
stale. This helps the fruit juices soak through the bread, which makes the pudding more pleasant. Summer pudding can be served with cream.
The fruits typically used in summer pudding are
raspberries,
strawberries
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria Ă— ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit is appreciated f ...
,
blackcurrant
The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, w ...
s,
redcurrant
The redcurrant or red currant (''Ribes rubrum'') is a member of the genus ''Ribes'' in the gooseberry family. It is native to western Europe. The species is widely cultivated and has escaped into the wild in many regions.
Description
''Ribes ...
s,
whitecurrants, and
blackberries
BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...
. Less commonly used are
tayberries,
loganberries,
cherries
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The name ...
and
blueberries
Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' with the genus ''Vaccinium''. Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) ...
.
History
Discovering early recipes for summer pudding, or finding out when the name was first used, is difficult.
Queens Pudding first appeared in print, with its current name, in 1904 in the book Sweets (Part one), No 6 in the Queen Cookery Books series, collected and described by S. Beaty-Pownall. Similar recipes though appear earlier. Examples are Hydropathic pudding,
Malvern Pudding Rhode Island and Wakefield Pudding.
Hydropathic pudding was popular in nineteenth century health spas. Cassell's New Universal Cookery from 1896 includes a Hydropatic Pudding recipe which is layers of fruit and bread sliced thinly. The author notes that the pudding has alternative names. Unlike other puddings which use pastry or suet crust the lighter bread casing, made it a suitable treat for ladies who were health-conscious or even where pastry was completely forbidden.
By the 1920s it is said to have become a classic British pudding. One 1920s book stated "everyone knows this dish, all like it."
Photo gallery
File:Summer pudding with currants, July 2008.jpg, Summer pudding made with currants, in a bowl
File:Summer Pudding -1.jpg, Pan de Mie soaked with Raspberries and Blackberries. Topped with whipped cream mixed with creme fraiche and buttermilk and garnished with Granola
Granola is a food consisting of rolled oats, nuts, seeds, honey or other sweeteners such as brown sugar, and sometimes puffed rice, that is usually baked until crisp, toasted and golden brown. The mixture is stirred while baking to avoid b ...
.
See also
Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book 1896 by Lizzie Heritage.
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List of fruit dishes
References
External links
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{{English cuisine
British puddings
English cuisine
Fruit desserts