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Raisin Pudding, Boiled
Shred half a pound of beef suet very finely. Mix with this four ounces of flour, two ounces of ground rice, a pinch of salt, four ounces of Demerara sugar, four ounces of stoned raisins, and the grated rind of a small lemon. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly, stir in with them a quarter of a pint of milk which has been beaten up with one egg and the strained juice of a lemon. Pour the mixture into a plain, well-buttered mould, tie it closely down, plunge it into plenty of fast-boiling water, and let it boil quickly until done enough. Turn it out, sift powdered sugar thickly over it, and serve with pudding sauce. Time to boil, three hours. Probable cost, 1s. Sufficient for four or five persons.
A plain Victorian boiled suet pudding, small enough to fit a 1½-pint basin. The only real technique is keeping the water at a rolling boil and never letting it drop below the sides of the mould.
- SuetHalf a pound of beef suet, shredded fine, carries the richness of the pudding; it melts during the long boil and leaves the crumb open, while the flour and ground rice give the structure. Packet shredded suet works directly; a block of fresh suet is easier to shred if chilled hard first. Vegetable suet is generally reckoned to give a slightly denser result.
- Ground riceA coarse rice meal, roughly the fineness of semolina and coarser than rice flour, which is a separate and finer product. It is generally credited with keeping the pudding from going close and heavy. Fine semolina is the nearest substitute.
- Liquid measureA quarter of a pint Imperial is 5 fl oz, a little over half a US cup. With one egg and lemon juice added, the mixture should be a stiff dropping consistency; hold back a spoonful of the milk if your flour is thirsty.
- Demerara sugarGenuine Demerara — coarse, pale brown, with a faint molasses note. Turbinado is the closest widely sold equivalent. Light brown soft sugar will work but dissolves faster and gives a slightly damper crumb.
- Stoned raisinsRaisins of this period were often still sold with the seeds in and stoned by hand at home. Modern seedless raisins need nothing done to them.
- The mould and the coveringA "plain mould" is a plain-sided pudding basin, buttered well. Cover with a pleat-folded round of baking parchment and foil, tied under the rim with string and a loop across the top for lifting. The pleat gives the pudding room to rise without breaking the seal.
- BoilingStand the basin on a trivet or folded cloth in the pan so it does not sit on direct heat, and have the water already at a fast boil before it goes in. The recipe calls for plenty of fast-boiling water, so keep the mould well covered, topping up with boiling water from a kettle as it evaporates, for the full three hours.
- Doneness and turning outThree hours is right for this quantity; a skewer through the centre should come out clean and the pudding should feel springy. Rest five minutes before inverting, or it may slump.
- Pudding sauceNo sauce is specified here beyond "pudding sauce". Custard, or a lemon sauce made from the remaining lemon, suits the flavouring. Serves four or five.
Boiled suet puddings in a cloth or basin were the backbone of English domestic sweets from the seventeenth century onward, and they survived into the late Victorian kitchen because they cost little and could sit over the fire unattended while the rest of the meal was managed. The recipe is priced at a shilling, which was the point: a filling pudding for five people from suet, flour, sugar and a handful of dried fruit. The ground rice and lemon rind are the refinements that separate it from a plain "spotted" suet pudding, lightening the texture and cutting the richness of half a pound of fat. Raisins reached British kitchens dried and seeded-in, and the instruction to stone them is a reminder that seedless varieties were not yet the default.