Olde English Rice Pudding

Posted by kitperriman on December 19, 2022

For a deliciously creamy rice pudding, try my Great Grandmother’s version:

Ingredients

knob of butter

1 pint of full milk

2oz short grain pudding rice

2oz castor sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

pinch salt

fresh grated nutmeg

1/4 pint fresh whipping cream

(Photo: Public Domain)

Method

1. Heat the oven Gas 2/150 c/300 f

2. Grease a 2-pint baking dish with the knob of butter.

3. Slowly heat the milk in a large pan on the stove. Add the rice, sugar, salt, and vanilla essence, stirring constantly until the mixture boils.

4. Pour into a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with lots of grated nutmeg.

5. Bake 60-90 minutes until golden brown on top.

6. Remove and cool slightly.

7. Carefully peel off the skin if not required (though most people love it). Fold in the fresh cream and stir well.

8. Serve warm with homemade raspberry, strawberry, or blackberry jam.

For a fruitier, chewy version fold in 4oz of dried fruit (currants, raisins, or sultanas) to the pan of boiled rice before pouring into the baking dish.

Olde English Parkin

Posted by kitperriman on November 18, 2022

Parkin is a chewy gingerbread cake that is very popular in Northern England, especially on Bonfire or Guy Fawkes Night (November 5th).

Ingredients:

4oz plain flour

4oz fine or medium oatmeal / porridge oats

4oz softened butter

4oz soft brown sugar

4oz black treacle

4oz golden syrup

2 eggs

1/2 level teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda

2 teaspoons vinegar

1 teaspoon dry ginger

1oz crystalized ginger

1 teaspoon mixed spice

6 tablespoons milk

Method

1. Heat the oven to 325 / 170 / Gas 3. Grease an 8-inch lined square tin.

2. Place the butter, sugar, treacle and syrup in a saucepan and heat gently until the fat melts. Do not boil. Set mixture aside to cool slightly.

3. Sieve all the dry ingredients (except the bicarbonate of soda) in a large mixing bowl and scoop out a well in the center.

4. Place the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar inside the well and wait for the fizzing to stop.

5. Add the milk to the slightly cooled mixture in the saucepan, and beat well with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are blended together.

6. Carefully add the contents of the saucepan to the ingredients in the mixing bowl and stir thoroughly.

6. Lightly beat the eggs. Add to the mixing bowl. Blend until it looks like a loose batter.

7. Pour into the tray and place in the center of the oven for about 1 hour. The parkin will turn a dark brown color and spring back to the touch when cooked.

8. Leave inside the tin until completely cold.

Hint: Parkin should be wrapped in greaseproof paper and stored in an airtight container for at least a day before cutting up and eating. It keeps for about 2 weeks, growing moister and richer with time!

(Photo: Public Domain)

Olde English Raspberry Crumble

Posted by kitperriman on February 4, 2022

Ingredients

1lb fresh raspberries

2oz white sugar

1/2 pint water

8oz plain flour

pinch of salt

6oz butter

4oz brown sugar

2oz chopped walnuts

20z rolled porridge oats

knob butter or margarine

Method

1. Heat the oven to 350 / 180 / gas 4. Grease a large baking dish with the knob of butter or margarine.

2. Wash the raspberries. Place them in large pan. Add the water and white sugar. Heat gently until the water boils.

3. Stir well for two minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the raspberries cooking in the pan.

4. In a large mixing bowl sift the flour and add the salt. Chop up the butter into small pieces and rub in until the crumble topping looks like large breadcrumbs.

5. Stir in the brown sugar, chopped nuts, and porridge oats. Mix thoroughly.

6. Place the raspberries inside the greased baking dish.

7. Add the crumble topping. Smooth out. Press into the edges of the dish to seal the fruit mix below.

8. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-45 minutes, until the topping is crisp and the edges turn brown.

9. Cool before serving.

This tasty dessert is great with fresh whipped cream, pouring cream, vanilla ice cream, or English custard. The raspberries can be replaced with blackberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, rhubarb, or apples!

(Photo: Kit Perriman)

Comfits: Before There Were Jellybeans . . .

Posted by kitperriman on January 27, 2022

Comfits.

In the time before Jellybeans and Fruit Pastilles there were Comfits, a delicious confectionary also known as Sugar Plums. Comfits took several weeks of painstaking dedication to make, and were often a good cook’s most closely-guarded secret. There are several modern recipes for Sugar Plums – but here is an original version for those with the perseverance. Your patience will be sweetly rewarded!

Ingredients

Damson plums

Sugar

Painting by George Flegel (Public Domain)

Method

Wash the plums and remove their stones.
Sprinkle the base of a large cauldron or cooking pot with sugar. Arrange the fruit in layers, covering each layer with a good coating of sugar.
Press down the fruit with a wooden spoon. Place on the lowest heat on a stovetop (or at the edge of the fireplace) until the sugar dissolves without burning. Remove from the heat.
Cover with a lid to protect from insects. Leave undisturbed in the cool larder (not refrigerator) until the juice turns into syrup. This may take up to a week, depending on the outside air temperature.
Bring the fruit to the boil for one minute, then immediately transfer it to an earthenware pot. Cover tightly. Place back inside a cool larder for an additional week.
Roll each plum individually in sugar and place on a baking tray. Cover and leave overnight.
Repeat the process with each damson daily, for one week, until the fruit has absorbed as much sugar as possible.
On the eighth day cook for 30 minutes on the lowest oven setting possible, to dry out any remaining juice.
Again, coat each plum with sugar and leave overnight.
Repeat the 30-minute baking and sugaring process above for three-to-five additional days, until all the plums are completely crisp.
Store in a glass jar with an airtight lid.
Enjoy a delicious taste of the past!

Kit Perriman

The Hill – A Historical Novel About Witches

Tag Archives: Olde English recipe

Olde English Rice Pudding

Olde English Parkin

Olde English Raspberry Crumble

Comfits: Before There Were Jellybeans . . .