Recipes Of The Damned–Nov. 29, 1999: Food Fruits & Prune Pudding
A Text-Book of Cooking, by Carlotta C. Greer. Boston, New York, and Chicago: Allyn and Bacon, 1915.
OK, today’s recipe isn’t all that “damned;” but I figured with the Thanksgiving feast weekend just behind us, one ought not to challenge the stomach too strongly. Also, I would wager that most of us coming off this weekend of indulgence (the pumpkin cheesecake nearly did me in) would not eagerly greet Prune Pudding as a featured dessert. It’s a comparative thing, I suppose.
The real charm of this recipe is the cookbook from which I got it, which is actually a cooking textbook from 1915. The author, who is listed as the head of the department of foods and household management at East Technical High School in Cleveland, Ohio, provides not just recipes but detailed lessons on the food subjects. The book is designed for both student and teacher to use, and imparts both skill and principle, as the discussion of the food value of fruits and nuts suggests. Part I, which I promise to excerpt in the future (if you’re all really good), consists of four chapters: Fuels and Combustion; Coal and Gas Ranges; Dishwashing; and Measurements. I know a few people who could use Dishwashing instruction myself. And the recipes are followed by lesson points and homework questions, of which I’ll list only one of Prune Pudding’s: “From U.S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 28, tabulate the percentage composition of almonds, Brazil nuts, chestnuts, pecans, and walnuts. Which contains the most fat; which, the most protein; which, the most carbohydrates?” Clearly, Carlotta Greer’s students wouldn’t just know how to cook; they’d be able to explain in wearisome detail just why a recipe turned out as it did.
I’m also taken with the emphasis on easy digestibility. Just another way fashions change over time.
Lesson XCII: Food Fruits
As has been mentioned, some fruits are termed food fruits. Such fruits are not only valuable for flavor, but also for their nutrients, as they contain carbohydrates and valuable ash. Dates, figs, and dried prunes contain calcium, phosphorus, and iron-three of the most desirable forms of ash occurring in foods.
Nuts are another form of fruit. They are rich in nutritive materials. If they can be digested readily, they make a valuable food. Nuts contain much fat, protein, and little carbohydrates. Chestnuts, however, contain much of the latter foodstuff. Because they contain protein, nuts may be used as substitutes for meat. But most nuts are expensive. For this reason in many households they are impractical as everyday foods.
Very often dried fruits and nuts are used as accessories after a meal. For this reason, they are digested with difficulty by some people, because the meal itself has tired the digestive organs. These foods should be considered as a part of the meal and should not be added after enough other nutrients have been eaten. There is no reason a dessert should not be considered one of the nutritious foods of a meal, provided it gives no distress in the digesting.
Prune Pudding
1 cupful cooked prunes, seeded and chopped
3/4 cupful sugar
1 cupful chopped nuts
1/2 cupful milk
1 teaspoonful vanilla
1 tablespoonful butter, melted
3 crackers (1/2 cupful rolled fine)
1 teaspoonful baking powder
Salt
Mix all the ingredients. Pour into a buttered baking dish. Place the baking dish in a pan of hot water. Bake in a moderate over for 20 minutes, or until the mixture is firm. Serve hot, with plain or whipped cream.
From A Text-Book of Cooking, by Carlotta C. Greer. Boston, New York, and Chicago: Allyn and Bacon, 1915.
