PUDDINGS
To boil a pudding in a bag, dip the bag, which should be made of thick cotton or linen, in hot water, dredge the inside well with flour before putting batter into the bag. When the pudding has boiled a long enough time, dip the bag quickly in cold water, and the pudding will turn out easily. Allow five large eggs to 1 quart of milk usually to make custard solid enough to keep its shape when turned from the mold. One teaspoonful of extract will flavor one quart. Always stand individual cups in a pan partly filled with hot water. Place pan containing custard cups in a moderate oven and bake slowly forty minutes. Always sift flour over beef suet when chopping it to be used in puddings. Pour boiling water over Pecans (nuts), allow to stand several hours. When cracked, the shell may be easily removed, leaving the nuts whole.
Blanch almonds by pouring boiling water over them. Allow them to stand a short time, when the brown skin may be easily removed. Dry thoroughly by standing in a rather cool oven, then put in glass jars and they are ready to use. Almonds are used particularly by the Germans in various ways. One hausfrau adds chopped almonds to cooked oatmeal for her children's breakfast and they are frequently used as an ingredient; also to decorate the tops of raised cakes. When dried currants and raisins are bought by the frugal housewife they are quickly washed in cold water, carefully picked over, then turned on to a sieve to drain. Raisins are seeded, then spread over pans, placed in a warm oven about 15 minutes, then spread on a plate and allowed to stand in a dry place for several days. When thoroughly dried place in glass jars and stand aside until required. Currants or raisins should always be well floured before adding to cake or pudding. The "German hausfrau" usually serves stewed prunes or raisins with a dish of noodles or macaroni.
RICE PUDDING
One of the simplest and cheapest of desserts depends partly on the quality of the ingredients used, but chiefly on the manner of making for its excellence. If prepared according to directions, you will have a pudding both rich and creamy. Use 1 quart of good sweet milk (do not use either skimmed milk or water), 3 tablespoonfuls of whole uncoated rice (no more), 2½ tablespoonfuls of sugar, pinch of salt, vanilla or almond flavoring.
Wash the rice well, mix all together in a pudding dish, bake from 2½ to 3 hours in an oven with a slow, even heat. When a skin forms on the top of the pudding, carefully stir through the rice. Do this frequently. This gives the pudding a rich, creamy consistency. When grains of rice are tender allow pudding to brown over top and serve either hot or cold. Raisins may be added, if liked, or raisins may be stewed separately and served with the rice, which many think a great improvement to the pudding. Many think rice pudding should always be flavored with grated nutmeg. Aunt Sarah, while using nutmeg flavoring in various other dishes, never used it for her rice pudding.
When mixing a boiled pudding Aunt Sarah frequently substituted a large tablespoon of fine dried bread crumbs instead of the same amount of flour. She said, "'Twas a small economy," and, she thought, "the pudding's improved" by the use of bread crumbs.