Carrot pudding is a dish traditional to a wide range of cultures around the world. It can be served either as a savoury pudding (as an accompaniment to a regular meal) or as a sweet

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, ...

History

An English recipe, published in 1591, describes "pudding in a Carret root" that is essentially a stuffed carrot with meat, shortening, cream, eggs, raisins, sweetener ( dates and sugar), spices (clove and mace), scraped carrot, and breadcrumbs. In '' The Oxford Companion to Food'', writer Alan Davidson believes that

carrots The carrot (''Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the Daucus ...

were used in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

to make sweet cakes. These were a predecessor to the carrot cake. Carrot pudding has been served in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

since at least the 18th century. It was also served in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as long ago as 1876. Because sweeteners were rationed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, carrot pudding was seen as an alternative in the UK. Later on, carrot cake was seen as a 'health food'. A sweet dish/dessert associated mainly with

Indian cuisine Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally av ...

is called '' Gajar Pak'' ''or Gajrela'' or ''Gajar ka halwa'' (carrot sweet dish'')''.

References

Jewish cuisine Puddings Passover foods Indian cuisine Carrot dishes {{dessert-stub

History

See also

References