265. Directions for making Puddings.
A bag that is used for boiling puddings, should be made of thick cotton cloth. Before the pudding is turned in, the bag should be dipped into water, wrung out, and the inside of it floured. When the pudding is turned in, tie the bag tight, leaving plenty of room for the pudding to swell out in. Indian and flour puddings require a great deal of room. Put them in a pot of boiling water, with an old plate at the bottom of the pot, to keep the pudding bag from sticking to it. When the pudding has been in a few minutes, turn the bag over, or the pudding will settle, and be heavy. There should be water enough in the pot to cover the pudding, and it should not be allowed to stop boiling a minute—if so, the pudding will not be nice. A tea-kettle of boiling water should be kept on the fire, to turn in as the water boils away. When the pudding is done, dip the bag into cold water for a minute—the pudding will then come out easily. When puddings are baked, the fruit should not be put in till the pudding has begun to thicken, otherwise they will sink to the bottom of the pudding.
Wet sifted Indian meal with cold water, to make a thick batter. Stir it into a pot of boiling water gradually. Boil it an hour, then stir in sifted Indian meal, by the handful, till it becomes quite thick, and so that the pudding stick may be made to stand up in it. It should be stirred in very gradually, so that the pudding may not be lumpy. Add salt to the taste. Let it boil slowly, and stir it frequently, to keep it from burning on the inside of the pot. If you do not wish to fry the pudding, it will boil sufficiently in the course of an hour and a half. If it is to be fried, it will be necessary to boil it an hour longer; and a little flour stirred in, just before it is taken up, will make it fry better. It must get perfectly cold before it is fried. When you wish to fry it, cut it in slices half an inch thick, flour them, and fry them brown in a little lard.
Grate sweet green corn—to three tea-cups of it, when grated, put two quarts of milk, eight eggs, a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt, half a tea-cup of melted butter, and a grated nutmeg. Bake the pudding an hour—serve it up with sauce.
Mix ten ounces of finely pounded crackers with a wine glass of wine, a little salt, and half a nutmeg, three or four table-spoonsful of sugar, two of melted butter. Beat eight eggs to a froth—mix them with three pints of milk, and turn them on to the rest of the ingredients. Let it remain till the crackers begin to soften, then bake it.
Stir enough sifted Indian meal into a quart of boiling milk or water, to make a very stiff batter—then stir in a couple of table-spoonsful of flour, three of sugar or molasses, half a spoonful of ginger, or a couple of tea-spoonsful of cinnamon, and a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt. Two or three eggs improve the pudding, but are not essential—some people like a little chopped suet in them. The pudding will boil, so as to be very good, in the course of three hours, but it is better for being boiled five or six hours. Some cooks boil them eight or nine hours—when boiled so long, it is necessary to boil them several hours the day before they are to be eaten.