Time Travel Kitchen

Rice Pudding: The Perfect Comfort Food or “Meh”?

Who doesn’t like rice pudding?

Apparently, several of my friends and family members can take it or leave it. This surprised me. My mother made a good one and served it cold in little glass custard cups in the summer. It was a real treat.

When I enthusiastically told my brother I was making what I mistakenly thought was a favorite childhood dessert, he chuckled and asked, “Are you making tapioca pudding next?” — hinting that I may now be on a path of retro desserts appreciated only by drooling toddlers and the infirm.

Several friends were also “meh” about rice pudding. I assured them that my rice pudding would change their poor attitude on the subject.

I was a proselytizer of rice pudding now, foisting the recipe on anyone who was foolish enough to politely show even the slightest interest. “Yeah, I’ll have to try it sometime!” was the courteous “please go away” response.

Even my hero, the great food writer M.F.K. Fisher, let me down. She wrote about rice pudding in With Bold Knife and Fork, saying “I make it fairly often when the house holds young and/or old people.”

A few weeks ago on Instagram, I posted a rice pudding recipe with somewhat better results. I was heartened by comments about how delicious it is. There were also several ‘mercy likes’ from people who are fond of me, but told me privately rice pudding was a no-go.

And then, I found it. On Google. A restaurant in New York City called Rice to Riches (tm) dedicated to serving rice pudding, and rice pudding only, in a variety of flavors. Somewhere on their site I read “Finally, rice pudding that doesn’t suck!” I’m heading there, pronto, the next time I go home to New York. These are my kinda people!

Rice pudding was popular in diners in the 1920’s and 30’s. Creamy and luscious — what more could you want from a comfort food in these times (and theirs) when we need all the comfort we can get?

Here is a simple recipe I made from a 1927 cooking pamphlet published by Woman’s World Magazine in Chicago.

I hope you enjoy it!

Some notes: I halved the recipe. Sweet milk is whole milk; I used an 8”x8” glass baking dish in the middle rack of the oven; a moderate oven is 350F, but my oven runs hot so I baked at 325F. I stirred more frequently up from the bottom to make sure it wasn’t burning. Then I let it bake untouched for the last hour, which gives a nice crust. I added sweet sultana raisins, so I took out a tablespoon of sugar.

Next week: Daffodil Cake from the 1930’s, which I think will be a nice cake for Mother’s Day.

Have a great weekend and please share this newsletter with anyone you think may enjoy it. Even rice pudding haters!

All the best,

Jolene

Other sources: Epicurious; M.F.K. Fisher; Wikipedia; Google. photo: Jolene