If you delve into the history of cooking,
I’m sure you would remember our great-grandmothers, grandmothers and mothers
were efficient and frugal when it comes to planning meals for the family. And
nothing is thrown away!!
If you’re with
me, you’d probably remember how leftover white rice is used to make sweet rice pudding
and how “near to expired bread” or stale (by stale, I mean not the ones with
the algae…just a day over the expired date!!) bread is used to make some sweet
concoction of a dessert ~ the bread pudding!
This happened a
lot in our household when we were kids, everybody used to fight over fresh
bread, some were bought, some homemade, but everybody wanted the soft, freshly
baked ones.
So, what do you
think happened to the leftover bread that nobody wanted? Off they went into the
mixing bowl, every single crumble.
Added
with fresh milk or evaporated milk, sugar and well-beaten eggs and vanilla
essence, this concoction is baked for over an hour.
This became a
wholesome, affordable dessert for big families like ours…there were 10 of
us…everyone would scramble for more!!
There are
various recipes of bread pudding to suit the palate. Some like the pudding soft
which means, you simply have to add more water with the evaporated milk. For a
dryer version, add less water.
For the added
flavour, throw in some raisins, preferably the yellow ones as the dark raisins
will get even darker when the pudding is being baked. If the vanilla essence can’t
get rid of the egg smell, add a tinge of cinnamon powder….!
However, I
always keep these enhancements under strict control otherwise the bread pudding
loses its traditional characteristics!!
For the added treat, this delicious concoction can be taken by itself or
with soft vanilla custard and what was traditionally frugal food for peasants
has now settled itself on the menus at leading hotels and restaurants…!!
.
