It is well known that in England farm hands, or other persons working in the open air, eat six times a day, and have pudding at least three times; they drink home-brewed beer, which is very heavy, and very rich also. Let anyone here, in this pure, clear atmosphere, eat six times a day, have pudding three times, with a pint of home-brewed beer every time, and see how he will feel in the evening. We beg all, who may doubt our observations, to try the experiment.
Pastry in general, no matter how light it may be made, lies heavier on the stomach than any other food, and is very difficult of digestion. There are thousands of persons that have never had any indigestion but of pastry. Children like pastry very much; this is easily understood; as their young stomachs digest very rapidly, they crave food oftener than grown persons. Pastry being easier to have at any time than any thing else, it is given to them; and from habit in youth arises the liking when grown up. The stomach, being accustomed to it from infancy, may digest it better, but it is always at the expense of the whole system; the stomach must work hard, too hard in digesting it; whence come dyspepsia, weakness, and finally consumption, or debility, or any other sickness of the same kind.
The cut below represents a pudding (any kind), made in a mould, scalloped, and hollow in the middle; any kind of mould may be used for puddings.
Bread-Pudding.—Soak half a ten-cent loaf in milk for about an hour, and squeeze it with the hands; place the bread in a bowl and mix well with it a gill of milk, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, one ounce of citron, cut rather fine, four ounces of raisins, four ounces of melted butter, four yolks of eggs. Then beat the four whites of the eggs to a stiff froth and mix them with the rest. Grease a mould well with butter, dust it with bread-crumbs, turn the mixture into it, and bake. The mould must not be more than about two-thirds full. About 400 degrees Fahr. is the proper heat for a bread-pudding. It takes about forty minutes to bake. Serve with a sauce for pudding, hot or cold, according to taste.
Cabinet Pudding.—A cabinet pudding is made in any kind of a mould and of any size, with sponge-cake or lady's fingers. Butter a mould well; if the butter is too firm, warm it so as to grease the mould better. Slice some citron and cut it in lozenges or of any other shape, according to fancy, and place tastefully on the bottom of the mould; place some raisins all around also. It is not necessary to cover the bottom with them, but have some here and there, imitating flowers, stars, etc. Then put over them a layer of sponge-cake, cut in strips of any length and about half an inch thick; on this layer place some citron, some comfited (candied) fruit of one or several kinds, and all cut in dice, also some raisins; then another layer of cake, some more fruit, and so on, till the mould is full. After having placed the citron and raisins on the bottom, it is not necessary to put the rest in with care or order, but merely fill the mould with them and so that they are all mixed up. Set about a pint of milk on the fire and take it off as soon as it rises. Mix well in a bowl three ounces of sugar with three yolks of eggs, then turn the milk into the bowl, little by little, stirring and mixing the while, and pour the mixture over the cake, fruit, etc., into the mould. The above quantities of milk, sugar, and eggs are for a middling-sized pudding, and it will be very easy to make more or less, according to the size of the pudding. The mixture must be poured over in sprinkling, and it must nearly cover the whole within about half an inch. It must not be poured too slowly, for, the cake absorbing the liquor pretty fast, you would have too much of it if you were filling as directed above; we mean filling till the mould is nearly full. Place the mould in a pan of cold water so that it is about one-third covered by it, set on the fire, and as soon as it boils, place the whole, pan and mould, in an oven at about 380 degrees Fahr., and bake. For a middling-sized one it takes about one hour. When done, place a dish over the mould, turn upside down, remove the mould, and serve with a sauce for puddings.
With Vermicelli.—Blanch four ounces of vermicelli, drain and drop it in cold water and drain again. While the vermicelli is cooking, put about a quart of milk in a saucepan on the fire with two ounces of sugar and a piece of lemon-rind, stir now and then to dissolve the sugar, and as soon as the milk rises, take it from the fire, remove the lemon, then turn the vermicelli into it, put back on the fire, add a tablespoonful of butter, stir continually, and when the vermicelli is well cooked, take off, mix well with the whole four eggs and sugar to taste. Turn the mixture into a well-buttered mould, place it in a pan of boiling water, boil slowly for ten minutes, then place as it is, pan and mould, in a moderately-heated oven to finish the cooking. It will take from fifteen to twenty minutes. Proceed as above with macaroni, tapioca, etc.
Plum-Pudding.—Break with the hands, in small pieces, about twelve ounces of the soft part of good and well-baked bread, not too fresh, but not stale, and grate it. Clean twelve ounces of raisins and currants, half of each. Cut in small dice four ounces of citron and four ounces of candied orange-rind. Chop fine the rind of a lemon. Butter a towel slightly and dust it with flour, slightly also. Take twelve ounces of good fresh beef-suet, remove the fibres and skin as well as possible, and chop it rather fine with three or four ounces of flour, and which put in a large bowl. Mix with it seven eggs and half a pound of sugar. It is believed by many that brown sugar is better than white, but it is only a belief, if not a prejudice. Add and mix again the bread, the raisins, and currants, the citron, and orange-rind. Having the whole thoroughly mixed, add half a gill of French brandy or Jamaica rum, a little salt, the lemon-rind, half a gill of cream or a little milk, and a little grated cinnamon. Place the mixture on the towel, and tie it as fast as possible, giving it a round shape. Drop the towel in boiling water, and boil for from four to five hours. Some boil a plum-pudding as long as seven hours. It may also be boiled in a mould for that purpose, but it is easier in a towel and quite as good. When taken from the water, remove the towel, cut a little piece of the pudding off to make it stand better on the dish. The place cut off is generally where the towel was tied, being the less smooth. The cut following shows a plum-pudding boiled in a towel.
Serve with a sauce for puddings. The sauce may be served in a boat, or spread all over the pudding. When served the second day, or cold for supper, it is cut in slices; some Jamaica rum is poured over it, then set on fire, basting as long as it burns, and serve. It is generally burnt on the table, but the rum may be poured over in the kitchen. The cut below represents a whole one with rum around it and on fire.
