Poor Man's Pudding

Source: Martha McCulloch-Williams, 1913

History

"Poor Man's Pudding" is the book's own title for this recipe in Martha McCulloch-Williams's "Dishes & Beverages of the Old South" (1913) — a period name for a dish built from almost nothing, not a comment on anyone who ate it. It scales by the person: "for each person to be served, a fresh egg, a tablespoonful sifted flour, and half a cup very rich milk," with a pinch of salt for each six eggs. The eggs are separated and both parts beaten very light, the yolks mixed gradually into the flour and milk so there are no lumps, and the stiffly beaten whites folded in at the very last — with more milk added if the batter is too thick.

Three ingredients and a technique: what makes it work is the beating and the late fold, not what it costs. The historical record does not document a specific earlier origin for this particular pudding.

"Dishes & Beverages of the Old South" is a mixture of recipes and plantation reminiscence. McCulloch-Williams was a white writer born near Clarksville, Tennessee, who grew up on a plantation before the Civil War; the book's dedication is "to our Mammys," and much of the cooking it records is the work of enslaved and formerly enslaved Black women it does not name.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Beat the egg yolks and whites very light, keeping them separate. Gradually mix the yolks with the sifted flour and rich milk, taking care to avoid lumps. Fold in the stiffly beaten whites at the very last. If the batter is too thick, add a little more milk.
  2. Pour into a deep pan and bake in a quick oven. Remove the moment it is done, or it will fall and be ruined. Serve immediately.
  3. For the sauce: Work together over hot water three cups sugar, one cup butter, half a cup boiling water, and one cup fruit juice, wine, or whiskey—any flavoring approved. The sauce cannot be made too rich.
  4. The pudding should be a pale clear yellow, as light as a puff, and cutting easily with a spoon.

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