Hasty Pudding

"Hasty pudding is a pudding or porridge grain cooked in milk or water; it's closest American cousin is the famous grits of the South. The North American version, also known as corn mush or Indian mush, in its simplest form is corn meal cooked slowly in water until it thickens. It may be eaten hot, or left to cool and solidify. Slices of the cold pudding may then be fried. Hasty pudding was once a popular American food because of its low cost, long shelf life, and versatility, and was eaten with both sweet and savory accompaniments, such as maple syrup, molasses, or salted meat. Hasty pudding, itself, is memorialized in a verse of the early American song Yankee Doodle: Fath'r and I went down to camp Along with Captain Goodin', And there we saw the men and boys As thick as hasty puddin' The directions in this recipe call for long slow cooking (thus making the name a misnomer), but these days the slow-cooker might be a good alternative way to go. From the New England chapter of the United States Regional Cookbook, Culinary Arts Institute of Chicago, 1947."
 
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Ready In:
2hrs 10mins
Ingredients:
4
Serves:
6
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ingredients

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directions

  • Make a paste of the corn meal and cold water, stirring until there are no lumps and pour gradually into the boiling water.
  • Stir until very thick.
  • Place in a double boiler, cover and cook from 2 to 3 hours, stirring frequently.
  • Serve hot with sugar and milk, with plenty of butter and salt as desired.

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Reviews

  1. Thanks so much for the perfect history lesson!! I haven't tried the recipe per se, except that it is basically what I make and call "polenta" when we're not in the mood for pasta. I usually mix it up, boil it a minute, then spread it in a buttered casserole and bake it till it's set. Sometimes I throw in some cheese or butter, sauteed onions, whatever...Then I slice it, fry it, or serve with spaghetti sauce or something. DH loves it! I had searched the term "Hasty Pudding" out of curiosity about the historic context and I was very pleased to learn that it can be made in a crock pot! Great idea and a keeper! I might try it baked with some crystallized ginger and pour some kind of syrup (golden syrup heated with ginger?) over it to make an olde-fashioned sweet treat! While the cooking time may not be "hasty," putting the ingredients together certainly is!! Thanks again!
     
  2. For the record, this is NOT Hasty Pudding. Hasty Pudding is an English dish made with flour that was popular in Great Britain prior to American Colonization. This is an Indian Pudding. When the colonists arrived in New England they brought their traditional dishes with them but would often have to substitute native ingredients for traditional ones. When the colonists would change ingredients they'd change the names of the dishes usually calling them "Indian" something. Hasty Pudding made with corn meal as a substitute for flour is called Indian Pudding.
     
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