Bread pudding facts for kids
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| Type | Pudding |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | Usually stale bread; combination of milk, eggs, suet, sugar or syrup, dried fruit, and spices |
| Variations | Nelson cake, Wet Nelly |
Bread pudding is a tasty dessert that many countries enjoy. It's usually made from bread that's a bit old or "stale." This bread is mixed with milk or cream. The recipe also includes eggs and some kind of fat, like oil, butter, or suet.
Depending on the recipe, bread pudding can be sweet or savory. Sweet versions often have sugar, syrup, honey, dried fruit, or nuts. Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or vanilla are also common. The bread soaks up the liquids, then everything is mixed and baked.
Sweet bread puddings are usually eaten as a dessert. Savory ones can sometimes be served as a main meal. In other languages, the name often means "bread pudding," like "pudín" or "budín." In the Philippines, banana bread pudding is very popular. Mexico has a similar dish called capirotada, eaten during Lent. In the United Kingdom, a moist bread pudding is sometimes called "Wet Nelly."
Contents
The History of Bread Pudding
Bread pudding has been around for a long time! An English cookbook from the 1700s, called The Compleat Housewife, has two recipes for baked bread pudding. One recipe was for "A Bread and Butter Pudding for Fasting Days."
To make this old recipe, a baking dish was lined with puff pastry. Then, slices of bread with butter, raisins, and currants were added in layers. Pieces of butter were also put between the layers. A spiced cream, thickened and flavored with orange blossom water, was poured over everything. Finally, the dish was baked in an oven. There was also a simpler version without the spices and dried fruits.
Bread Pudding Around the World
Many places have their own special way of making bread pudding. It's fun to see how different cultures enjoy this simple dish!
European Variations
- In Belgium, especially in Brussels, they bake it with brown sugar, cinnamon, old bread, and either raisins or apple.
- In Germany, specifically in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, they use dark bread to make something called "black bread pudding" (Schwarzbrotpudding).
North American Delights
- In Canada, bread pudding is sometimes made with sweet maple syrup.
- In the United States, especially in Louisiana, bread puddings are usually sweet. They are often served as dessert with a sweet sauce. Popular sauces include whiskey sauce, rum sauce, or caramel sauce. People often sprinkle sugar on top and eat it warm in squares or slices. Sometimes, it's served with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- In Puerto Rico, bread pudding is soaked overnight in coconut milk. It's served with a guava rum sauce. Raisins and sweet plantains are also added to it.
- In Cuba, bread pudding is called "pudín." Many people serve it with a sweet guava marmalade.
- In Panama, this dessert is known as "mamallena."
South American and Caribbean Treats
- In Argentina and Uruguay, bread pudding is known as "budín de pan."
- In Brazil, it's called "pudim de pão."
- In Aruba, the local name for bread pudding is "pan bolo."
- In Chile, bread pudding is known as "colegial" or "budín de pan."
Asian Styles
- In Hong Kong, bread pudding is often served with a vanilla cream dressing.
- In Hungary, it's called 'Máglyarakás'. This version is baked with whipped egg whites on top, making it light and fluffy.
- In Malaysia, bread pudding is eaten with a creamy custard sauce.
See also
In Spanish: Budín de pan para niños
