Week 2—Boiled Indian Meal Pudding (c. 1851)

Source: Leslie, Eliza. "Indian Pudding Without Eggs." Recipe. Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches. Philadelphia: Henry Carey Baird, 1851, pp. 303. Book.

For this second week, I wanted to try another pudding recipe, but this time, one that was a bit more complicated.

Whereas, in the first week, it was broadly consistent with and foundational compared to other pudding recipes I found from this time, this week, priority was given to a recipe I felt could demonstrate how puddings developed by the end of the 1840s. As alluded to in Week 1, many different cornmeal pudding recipes emerged from this time, with sometimes minor and sometimes major changes. Week 1 thus showed where it could be said this all started, while Week 2 represents where it went.

Evidently, because of this, this recipe would not have been feasible for everyone at this time. Some ingredients would have undoubtedly been expensive commodities during this time of struggle and grief—but it would not have been impossible, either. Ingredients were still available, even at a price. For those reasons and more, this particular recipe was also prioritized above others since it also just so happens to highlight another interesting culinary trend from this time.

Origins of the Newfoundland "Indian meal"

Once the government decided to begin providing molasses and "Indian meal" to the starving Newfoundlanders, importation appeared to have been their primary reliance. Newspapers provided details on the abundance of meal arriving in Newfoundland throughout this time, and quite often, these deliveries seemed to be coming out of Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

Sources: The Morning Courier, May 27, 1848 (pp. 3); The Morning Courier, October 5, 1848 (pp. 1); The Morning Courier, December 1, 1849 (pp. 1)

It is for this reason—as well as initial ambiguity over recipes used from the time in towns like Torbay—that some may start to notice, in many of the recipes to be used over these upcoming weeks, they originate out of the United States.

Eliza Leslie was a prolific cookbook-maker from Philadelphia in the nineteenth century, who even wrote an entire book dedicated exclusively to cornmeal recipes in 1846, called The Indian Meal Book. Many of her original cookbooks gained multiple editions with new recipes always added, spanning many decades, due to popular demand; the Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches, as is used this week, was one of such later editions, with the original being published in 1837.

Due to the evident popularity of Miss Leslie's cookbooks and the known cornmeal importation from the same area, a potential exchange of recipes should be reasonable to consider. As shipments of cornmeal originated from places like Philadelphia, recipes may have easily been shared alongside. In the few recipes that have been found so far from Newfoundland from this specific time, further support for this theory can be found in notable similarities—at the very least, these demonstrate how Newfoundland recipes naturally kept pace with others found in the United States, at the same time;

Boiled Maize Pudding.—Stir Indian meal and warm milk or water together "pretty stiff;" a little salt, and two or three "great spoonfuls" of molasses added; also a spoonful of ginger, or other spice that may be preferred. Boil it in a tight-covered pan, or in a very thick cloth; if the water get in, it will ruin it. Leave plenty of room, for Indian meal swells very much. The milk with which it is mixed should be merely warmed, if it be scalding hot the pudding will break to pieces. Some chop suet very fine, and warm in the milk; others warm thin slices of apple to be stirred in the pudding. Water will answer instead of milk.

The Weekly Herald, February 9, 1848 (pp. 1)

Lemons, lemons, lemons...

As mentioned, though, this particular recipe was given priority over some others due to its inclusion and recommendation of a specific ingredient: lemon.

There was a fascinating trend of lemon use in the early nineteenth century. One might be surprised that we even had it, as I was, but Newfoundland regularly imported lemons, lemon drops, lemon essence, candied peels, lemon syrup.... Practically anything you could think of. Lydia Childs' 1829 cookbook from Boston remarks upon the price of lemon syrup (50¢ per bottle) and provides a recipe for it, intended for the "frugal housewife" and highlighting a commonality of use in even an average household. It thus only felt right to make at least one recipe with lemon in it. The similarities to the The Weekly Herald recipe from 1848 made the Eliza Leslie recipe the winner.

Ingredients

• Two whole cinnamon sticks

• One quart (4 cups) of milk

• One pint (2 cups) of molasses

• One quart (4 cups) of cornmeal

• Grated peel of one large lemon

• Juice of one large lemon

Note: I used cinnamon sticks in this recipe due to the instruction of straining the milk; I can't imagine trying to strain even a coarsely ground cinnamon from hot liquid, so whole cinnamon sticks seemed to be a logical choice. I also just took "some" to mean "more than one" and arbitrarily chose two as my test, but you could try this recipe with more if you wanted! I didn't find it to be an overpowering flavour at all, but I did like the taste of this version, so I recommend just using two sticks to start.

Method

1. Boil the milk carefully in a pot with cinnamon, being mindful not to let it boil over. Stir frequently so as to not let anything burn!

2. Once it has been boiling well for about five minutes, remove the cinnamon sticks and add the molasses and cornmeal. Once combined, it will be thick!

3. I recommend thoroughly combining these core ingredients before adding the lemon juice and peel. The citrus juice looked like it had a bit of a reaction in my dish, as it certainly lightened it, so I kept it for last.

4. Meanwhile, prepare another pot filled with water over medium heat.

5. Add the cornmeal mixture to a pudding bag (this recipe will make a lot, so you may only be able to fit some of it into one bag with still some room left over) and add it to the pot of boiling water. As mentioned, it will swell, so be sure to leave room in the bag.

6. Cover the pot and let it boil for about 3–4 hours; I kept it between medium and medium-high heat to ensure it could be kept "boiling hard," as recommended. I boiled mine for four and a half hours but think I overdid mine just the tiniest bit, so I'd recommend trying four hours if I were to ever do this again. Make sure to check the water levels pretty frequently —it was definitely necessary to stay on top of it and make sure there is always plenty of water in the pot.

7. Serve warm with butter or molasses.

The final taste was unexpectedly like gingerbread, to me. As mentioned, I suspect I cooked mine slightly too long, as it became quite hard with time. Still, it was much more like an actual pudding (or even a cake) than Week 1, and my preference would definitely be for this one of the two.