Custard, Pudding, Bread and Rice Pudding
- They Settle the Stomach

Last Edit December 22, 1999

To D:

Do you have a recipe for really good rice pudding or tapioca? When my husband isn't feeling well, he'll run over to the store and buy it premade and heat it up but I don't want him doing that. Is this one difficult? I don't want a seven-stage type thing because I get discourage when something takes that long. I remember in my Girl Scout days we had to drop something in a pan to a hard ball stage and I just lost interest at that point and let everyone else finish the project and went out and slammed a ball against the wall of the Girl Scout building.

But foolproof means Pepperproof and I'm not making this up!

To Pepper

Homemade puddings vary in trickiness and I screw up a batch from time to time. I'm stubborn. Unless I burn it (yuck), I'll eat it anyway. Which is why I am on a diet. I have had many a not-quite-set custard. Bread pudding is almost foolproof so I'd start learning with that recipe. Men usually love bread pudding. Serve it hot with ice cold milk poured over it.

Don't know why - something like plain yogurt lets the bugs settle down and behave. Soft. Soothing. Great for ulcer patients. Not so good on the waist. Although, if milk is on your eating list, this can work too. I have been known to eat an entire batch of tapioca pudding in lieu of dinner when I haven't felt good. Custards never get to cool. Or not often anyway.

There is nothing wrong with premade pudding-in-a-cup. Nothing wrong with starting with an instant version. Homemade is just WARM. I use Watkins vanilla and always add extra vanilla. I prefer the full-fat eggs and real milk versions but then I was born on a chicken farm. I've learned to settle for powdered skim milk and egg substitutes. You can also do 1/2 egg substitutes and 1/2 real eggs and compromise. You cholesterol levels and waistline will dictate.

Anything with a "hard ball stage" is candy - probably fudge. We all did fudge in Girl Scouts. Of course. No would-be wife and mother should be without that skill! (That was a joke!)

How to Scald Milk

Almost every recipe in this section can be made with scalding the milk or not. Scalding the milk is recommended. I take shortcuts. The chocolate version must have hot milk so the chocolate doesn't turn around and cool down quickly, leaving you with little unsweetened chocolate lumps. (Gee! How did I know that?)

To scald milk, put the milk into a saucepan and place on medium to medium to high heat. Watch it. Milk will slowly heat up and then suddenly boil over. Just before it commits hari-kari, it forms a skin on the top. Immediately remove from heat. A spoon dipped in will come back out with the skin hanging from it. Discard. Use this to teach your kids what icky means.

Milk, when it boils, swells up and over the sides of the pan and it smells very bad. It also makes a mess out of your burners. Clean up with white vinegar or the blue coffeepot cleaner. Air out the house. If you let it really boil over and burn on the burner, wash the carpet, drapes and upholstery.

Baked Custard Basics

2 large eggs (To use as a pie filling, use 3 eggs)
2- 2 1/2 Cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 Cup sugar
Nutmeg - ground - 1/2 teaspoon
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla if desired

Mix up everything but the Nutmeg and pour into the casserole dish. Sprinkle nutmeg over the top. Bake in a 1 - 1 1/2 quart glass or Corningware casserole dish. Set the dish in a pan (14"x10"x2") with 1" of water in it. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. A table knife stuck in the edge (1" from the edge - not the center) comes back out clean when it is done. Cool. If you serve it early, it will "bleed" a bit. Tastes good anyway.

If you like it sweeter, use 1/2 Cup sugar.

Notice that the amounts can slop around a little - precise is not necessary in this recipe. I use powdered skim milk ( 1 cup powder to 2 1/2 Cups water = 2 1/2 Cups skim milk) with 1/2 Cup granulated sugar. I prefer the large real eggs to the substitute in the recipe although others swear that you can be just as successful with egg substitutes. This attitude of mine explains why I am now on a diet.

Over-baked custard has bubbles in the bottom where it started to boil (avoiding this is why you put the casserole dish in a pan with water in it). Over-baked custard is still edible, up to a point. It will separate - kind of like curds and whey. If it isn't too overdone, you can still eat it ( I wouldn't serve it to company). If it really over-cooked, it is probably wise to feed it to the dog. Dogs can eat cooked eggs and milk (the amount depending on the size of the dog). In the old days, we would have slopped the hogs with our kitchen disasters.

Nutmeg is the secret ingredient in eggnog. Eggs, milk, sugar and nutmeg = eggnog. Custard is baked eggnog.

Eggnog

1 egg, well beaten
1 Cup rich milk or 2% milk
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla if desired
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

beat (use a mixer or a blender)
pour in a glass and sprinkle with nutmeg.

1 1/2 tablespoon sherry flavoring and 1 tablespoon either brandy flavoring or rum flavoring may be substituted for the vanilla.

Purists use real rum or real brandy.

For health reasons, do not use real eggs for eggnog. Use egg substitutes because you can get very ill drinking a raw egg.

This is not a low-calorie recipe.

Lower Fat Custard

Use the baked Custard Basic but substitute EggBeaters equal to 3 eggs (3/4 Cup Egg substitute) and use 2 Cups skim milk. Add 1/4 Cup extra powdered skim milk if you wish. Eggs (or equivalent) make it "set" and the extra milk powder makes it creamier.

Chocolate Baked Custard

2 large eggs (To use as a pie filling, use 3 eggs) or use 3/4 Cup egg substitute
2 Cups milk (real, low-fat or skim)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 Cup sugar
1 1/2 oz. Unsweetened chocolate Add 1 teaspoon vanilla if desired

Custard is smoother with the higher fat content milks. Firmer with the real eggs.

1 1/2 oz. Unsweetened chocolate, melted in the 2 Cups milk in a double boiler and beat smooth with a wire whisk before adding to sugar and eggs. Use at least 1/2 Cup granulated sugar - a little more if you like it sweet. Not one of the best custards for egg substitute.

Place in casserole dish and set dish in a pan of water in oven. Bake at 350 degrees until knife inserted 1" from the edge comes out clean - 30-35 minutes.

Rice Pudding

2 large eggs (To use as a pie filling, use 3 eggs)
2- 2 1/2 Cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 Cup sugar
Nutmeg - ground - 1/2 teaspoon
2 Cups cooked rice
1/2 Cup plumped raisins (optional)

Stir rice and raisins in before baking. Sprinkle with Nutmeg.

Mix up everything but the Nutmeg and pour into the casserole dish. Sprinkle nutmeg over the top. Bake in a 1 - 1 1/2 quart glass or Corningware casserole dish. Set the dish in a pan (14"x10"x2") with 1" of water in it. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. A table knife stuck in the edge (1" from the edge - not the center) comes back out clean when it is done. Cool For a creamier custard, cook the rice in milk instead of water. Then follow the same recipe.

How to Cook Rice for the Puddings

2 1/2 Cups water
1 cup white rice
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

Bring ingredients to a boil and cover, turning heat down to lowest setting. The SaladMaster Stainless pans, as expensive as they are, make rice making a snap. There are rice cookers in your grocery store. Or use a good quality covered pot (not a thin pot). Takes about 20 minutes. Do not use Minute Rice (although they have their own recipe on the box). Rice is done when all water is absorbed and the rice is tender. Hint: do not open the lid a lot as the steam will escape! Also, do not leave the kitchen!

If you hear a crackling noise, you've burned the rice! Never submerge a hot pan in cold water - you will fatigue the metal and bend or warp the pan. Cool down, throw out the rice, and soak the pan in white vinegar or blue coffee maker cleaner.

While the pan is cooling down, sip a glass of red wine and serve something else for dinner.

How to Plump Raisins

Boil some water in a small saucepan. Remove from heat. (Avoid fires - Turn off the burner!) Put in the raisins and soak. They will swell up. This is called "plumping up" the raisins. Drain off excess water. Use as directed in the recipe.

Of course, for the holidays, plump them with hot brandy! Watch out who gets the excess!

Bread Pudding

Never thrown out stale bread again (unless it's blue). Men love this. My older son does. My younger son however......

2 Cups milk (whatever kind you use)
4 Cups bread (tear it up in small pieces; not fine crumbs)
1/4 Cup butter or margarine - I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light
1/2 Cup granulated white sugar
2 Large eggs or equivalent egg substitute
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup plumped raisins (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg

Melt butter or its equivalent, mix everything together and put into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Cook same as for custard, 350 40-45 minutes. Use the knife test to test for doneness.

Serve hot or cold, with or without cream (or ReddiWhip Non-dairy whipped topping or CoolWhip).

Custardy Bread Pudding

Half bread pudding - half custard

4 Cups of milk and
2 Cups of bread crumbs
Follow rest of the bread pudding recipe above.

Stove-Top Custard (Tricky)

You can buy prepared pudding-in-a-cup. You can buy a boxed mix that you prepare in the microwave or in a double boiler. You can buy instant pudding to which you just add milk and whip until it thickens. But it started with the following version.

2 large eggs (or use 3/4 Cup egg substitute) or 4 egg yolks
1 1/2 Cups milk (real, low-fat or skim)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 Cup sugar
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla if desired

Add it all together in a double boiler and whip it smooth.
Cook over hot water (not rapidly boiling) until mixture coats the spoon. [The test is a thin coat on a silver spoon - if you have one.] Remove from heat. If it starts to curdle, beat with a hand mixer until smooth. Cool.

This is the recipe that forms the basis for ice cream in an electric ice cream maker.

Stove-Top Cornstarch Custard (Less Tricky)

1 large eggs (or use 1/2 Cup egg substitute) or 2 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 Cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Cups milk (real, low-fat or skim)
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla if desired

To the egg, cornstarch, salt and sugar, gradually add the milk while stirring with a wire whisk.

Cook over low heat until it boils. Boil for 1 minute. Then blend in the butter and vanilla. Chill. Serve in sherbet glasses..

How to Thicken a Fruit Pie

Cornstarch is a thickener just as tapioca is. Both are used in fruit pies to reduce spillover of fruit juice during cooking. To any fruit pie recipe, add 1-2 tablespoons of tapioca (or cornstarch) and stir well. Add it with the flour-sugar mixture. Shhh! It's a secret!

Custard, Pudding, Bread and Rice Pudding - They Settle the Stomach