Indian Pudding
You probably just pronounced it wrong in your head. In Maine, you have to run it all together: injn pudn.
The dish, of course, has nothing to do with Indians and little to do with Native Americans. Instead, it refers to Indian meal, which is what colonial New Englanders called cornmeal back when they learned about corn from the Native Americans. The first American cookbook, American Cookery, published back in 1796, actually has three recipes for Indian pudding.
So it’s old. And nowadays, outside of Maine roadside diners, the sweet, dark-brown mush is almost forgotten — some would say with good reason. But even if it’s not appealing to modern tastes, it’s still much loved by those of us who grew up on it. Warm, savory, and comforting, it served as the evening meal for many families, all on its own. It also made a great breakfast, porridge-y in the nicest way, with a little cream on top. My mother served it for dessert, along with vanilla ice cream. That combination — Indian pudding, soft and warm from the oven, sweet with syrup and spicy with ginger and nutmeg and cinnamon, topped with a dollop of ice cream that melted around the edges to make a vanilla-fragrant sauce — on a cold winter’s night, it was old-fashioned heaven on a plate. — NANCY HARMON JENKINS
Nancy Harmon Jenkins is the author of eight books about food, including, mostly recently, The Four Seasons of Pasta, written with her daughter, chef Sara Jenkins. A former New York Times staff writer, she has also written for Saveur, Food + Wine,The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and numerous other publications.
Indian Pudding
You probably just pronounced it wrong in your head. In Maine, you have to run it all together: injn pudn.
The dish, of course, has nothing to do with Indians and little to do with Native Americans. Instead, it refers to Indian meal, which is what colonial New Englanders called cornmeal back when they learned about corn from the Native Americans. The first American cookbook, American Cookery, published back in 1796, actually has three recipes for Indian pudding.
So it’s old. And nowadays, outside of Maine roadside diners, the sweet, dark-brown mush is almost forgotten — some would say with good reason. But even if it’s not appealing to modern tastes, it’s still much loved by those of us who grew up on it. Warm, savory, and comforting, it served as the evening meal for many families, all on its own. It also made a great breakfast, porridge-y in the nicest way, with a little cream on top. My mother served it for dessert, along with vanilla ice cream. That combination — Indian pudding, soft and warm from the oven, sweet with syrup and spicy with ginger and nutmeg and cinnamon, topped with a dollop of ice cream that melted around the edges to make a vanilla-fragrant sauce — on a cold winter’s night, it was old-fashioned heaven on a plate. — NANCY HARMON JENKINS
Nancy Harmon Jenkins is the author of eight books about food, including, mostly recently, The Four Seasons of Pasta, written with her daughter, chef Sara Jenkins. A former New York Times staff writer, she has also written for Saveur, Food + Wine,The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and numerous other publications.
