What is National Indian Pudding Day?
National Indian Pudding Day is recognized as a cold-weather classic. Serve up this classic New England dessert that is sure to wow on November 13th each year.
English colonists brought hasty pudding to North America in the seventeenth century, transforming it. Although the colonists initially made the pudding with wheat due to a grain shortage, the colonists eventually used cornmeal. Since the colonists had learned to cultivate maize (corn) from the indigenous peoples, the crop was readily available. The colonists derived the word for Indian pudding from their word for cornmeal – Indian meal. They also replaced the water with milk, which was also replaced by milk. Cooks add either molasses or maple syrup for added flavor. They also added cinnamon, ground ginger, butter, eggs, raisins, and nuts.
They then baked the Indian pudding for several hours. Baking transforms the pudding's texture from the original porridge-like texture of hasty pudding to a much smoother consistency that is more typical of custard.
- Most American cookbooks included a recipe for Indian pudding before 1900, but most American cookbooks included a dessert for Indian pudding
