Steak and kidney pudding facts for kids
A small steak and kidney pudding, served with mashed potatoes and other vegetables
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| Type | Pudding |
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| Place of origin | England |
| Main ingredients | |
Steak and kidney pudding is a classic British dish. It's a main meal made with tender beef steak and kidney, cooked inside a special pastry called suet pastry. The whole thing is slowly steamed on a stove top. It's a warm, hearty meal, especially popular in England.
History of the Pudding
This yummy pudding has been around for a long time! One of the first times it was mentioned was in a newspaper called Bell's New Weekly Messenger in 1839. The writer talked about how popular "Hot beef-steak and kidney puddings!" were becoming. It seems people really loved them, even back then!
First Recipe in Print
The very first recipe for steak and kidney pudding that was printed in a book came from Sussex, a county in England. It was found in a cookbook by Mrs Beeton in 1861. Mrs. Beeton was a famous writer who created a very popular book about how to manage a household, including many recipes. This shows that the dish became well-known in the 1800s.
How It's Made
Making a steak and kidney pudding involves a few steps. First, a bowl is lined with suet pastry. This special pastry is made with suet, which is a type of fat. Then, a mix of steak and kidney is placed inside the pastry-lined bowl. Onions and stock (a flavorful liquid) are also added.
After the filling is in, another piece of suet pastry is placed on top to make a lid. This lid is sealed tightly to keep all the goodness inside. The bowl is then covered with a piece of cloth, often muslin, which is tied around it. Finally, the covered bowl is placed in a saucepan with water and slowly steamed. This steaming process can take about four hours, or until the pudding is perfectly cooked. Sometimes, a little extra rich stock is poured into the pudding just before serving to make it even tastier!
Nickname for the Dish
In some parts of England, especially among the British Armed Forces, steak and kidney puddings have a funny nickname: "babies' heads." This is just a slang term and doesn't mean anything serious. It's a bit of a playful way to refer to the round shape of the pudding.
