Putting Food By - Janet Greene [201]
Do not store the pudding at room temperature, even if you have processed it in a canning jar. Remove it from the jar, wrap it in foil, and refrigerate or freeze it.
Because this dessert freezes wonderfully, it can be made long ahead of time—even well before Thanksgiving—when you’re likely to have a few more free minutes.
Steamed Holiday Pudding
10-plus servings
This freezes like a dream: when cool, wrap carefully with a “drugstore fold” in heavy-duty aluminum foil, freeze. Heat wrapped pudding(s) in a 350 F oven at start of the dinner.
2 tablespoons plus ½ cup (¼-pound stick) melted butter or margarine
1 cup finely chopped or shredded raw carrots (about 3 medium)
1 cup finely chopped or shredded raw potatoes (about 2 large)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup firmly packed chopped raisins
1 cup heavy cream for whipped topping (optional)
Best is the classic charlotte mold with a cover, or a straight-sided casserole or soufflé dish that can be covered with thick foil that’s bound tight with wire. First, grease your mold with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Using a pastry brush, paint the inside of the mold generously, paying special attention to any swirled designs in the bottom and to all surfaces of the center tube if it has one. Put the mold in a cold place to let the butter congeal while you make the batter.
The steel blade of a food processor does a good job with the vegetables here, cutting them fine and freeing the juice well. Otherwise, shred them on a box grater. In a bowl combine grated carrots and potatoes; dissolve the baking soda in the vegetables’ juices. Stir in the sugar well, and add the ½ cup melted butter. Sift flour with spices and salt, and add; dust raisins with a bit of flour and stir in. Pour the batter into greased mold to no more than ⅔ full; cover tightly and steam as directed, above. When pudding is done, take cover off mold and let it sit for 5 minutes, then invert onto a rack if the pudding is to be cooled and reheated or onto a serving plate if to be served warm immediately with a flavored whipped cream or hard sauce if liked. Or pour brandy over it, set aflame for a flourish then add topping as it is cut and served.
Boiled Cider Sauce
Two ½-pint jars
This sauce uses the Boiled Cider you put by earlier in the autumn. It can be made at the last minute—or give this recipe along with a present of Boiled Cider. It’s a good nonalcoholic topping for Holiday Steamed Pudding.
1½ cups sugar
½ cup butter (or good margarine)
⅓ cup + 3 tablespoons water
¾ cup Boiled Cider
2 tablespoons ClearJel
In a heavy pot, combine sugar, butter, ⅓ cup of water, and the Boiled Cider. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring. Make a “slurry” of the ClearJel and 3 tablespoons of water, in a smooth paste. Dilute with several spoonfuls of the hot cider mixture, return all to the pot, and boil until glossy, clear, and thickened. Pour immediately into hot ½-pint canning jars, leaving a scant ¼ inch of headroom. Wipe sealing rim, put on disc lid, tighten screwband firmly. Process 10 minutes in a Boiling–Water Bath (212 F/100 C); remove jars; let cool upright.
APPENDIX: WHERE TO FIND THINGS
In their sequence, the letters C-E-S can give help to every householder in the United States on any matter of preserving food. They stand for Cooperative Extension Service, and mean that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is ready to instruct and advise anybody, anywhere, about any branch of food technology, including how to preserve food safely at home. Each state land-grant college or university has a “USDA-CES,” one of whose virtues is that it has no axe to grind. None. Except, of course, to sharpen our awareness of safety.
From People
The CES person who handles questions from the public used to be called a County Agent in Home Economics (hence