• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
✮ The Food Dictator ✮

The Hirshon British Spotted Dick Pudding

November 10, 2020 by The Generalissimo Leave a Comment

725
SHARES
FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditWhatsappYummly
Light Dark Dark Light
()
The Hirshon British Spotted Dick Pudding
Spotted Dick Pudding Image Used Under Creative Commons License From daringgourmet.com

My Citizens, today is the second installment of our series of posts on ‘British recipes with odd names’ with the O.G. of strangely-named dishes – I speak of nothing less than the infamous and unnecessarily maligned dessert that is spotted dick!

Yes, people of all ages have been sniggering about this name for literally centuries – but American English hilarity aside, the etymological truth is far more sanguine than might otherwise be assumed. Allow the Mufti of Magnificence, the Emir of Etymology – YOUR TFD! – to show you the one true path of gastronomic history and one hell of a delicious recipe to boot!

Mentioning this pudding to people unfamiliar with British food always generates great amusement. Its etymology is indeed the culprit, though an entirely innocent explanation can be provided: ‘dick’ is simply an old dialect pronunciation of ‘dough’, just like ‘duff’ in plum duff. Spotted dick (also known as “spotted dog” or “railway cake”) is a traditional British pudding, traditionally made with suet and dried fruit (usually currants or raisins) and often served with custard.

While “spotted” is a clear reference to the dried fruit in the pudding (which resemble spots), “dick” and “dog” were dialectal terms widely used for pudding, from the same etymology as “dough” (i.e., the modern equivalent name would be “spotted pudding”). In late 19th century Huddersfield, for instance, a glossary of local terms described: “Dick, plain pudding. If with treacle sauce, treacle dick.”

The dish is first attested in Alexis Soyer’s The modern Housewife or ménagère, published in 1849, in which he described a recipe for “Plum Bolster, or Spotted Dick. The name “spotted dog” first appeared in 1855, in C.M. Smith’s “Working-men’s Way in the World” where it was described as a “very marly species of plum-pudding”. This name, along with “railway cake”, is most common in Ireland where it is made more similar to a soda bread loaf with the addition of currants.

The Pall Mall Gazette reported in 1892 that “the Kilburn Sisters … daily satisfied hundreds of dockers with…Spotted Dick” – proof that by the 19th century, double entendres using this name were already in mainstream use (one might argue that this was indeed subtly calling out the Killburn Sisters as whores and the dock workers as having venereal disease – or perhaps that is just the sick mind of TFD at work…).

The name has indeed long been a source of amusement and double entendres; reportedly restaurant staff in the Houses of Parliament decided to rename it “Spotted Richard” so it was “less likely to cause a stir”.

There is a long and proud history in Britain of comparing the term ‘pudding’ to the male genitalia (sorry, bad pun), as noted in this fascinating article from inews.co.uk:

‘Pudding’ comes from the Middle English ‘poding’ and the Old French ‘boudin’, both of which mean a sausage, so it should come as absolutely no surprise that ‘pudding’ has been common slang for the penis since at least the fifteenth century (Green, 2010); as this jolly song attests:

“Will ye have of the podynges cum out of the Panne

No I will have a podyng that grows out of a man

for he may helpe me at my need

Therfore I pray you now let me spede” (succeed)

“Merry Dialogue between a Maid and her master” (1674) tells how the master gave the maid ‘a breakfast as she did it call. He gave her a pudding, but that was small’.

Thomas D’Urfey goes even further in 1682 and complained that too much sex ‘left little more than the skin of his pudding’, and John Cooke made jokes about ‘insatiable women, whom two puddings would not satisfy’ in 1611.

Penile pudding euphemisms have also given us the delightful expression to ‘pound’ or ‘pull one’s pud’ (1911), meaning to masturbate, or indeed to pull someone else’s pud.

But penises don’t have it all their own way. ‘Pudding’ as slang for the vulva dates to at least 1535, when J. Bale Comedye wrote about eating “durty puddynges”.

In 1681, ‘The Old Pudding-Pye Woman’ writes that “If any young man have a mind to such a rare prize, / He shall have her Daughter and all her Pudding-pyes.”

Whilst we might understand why “pudding” would mean a penis (it looked like one), quite why vulvas got in on the act is less clear.

Nowadays, the pudding is sold in tins all over the country, a reminder of how the English searched for a way to have their puddings without having to spend the time making them! It was in fact as a child in NYC that I first spotted a tin of this in some random supermarket and embarrassed my parents by falling to the ground in sheer hilarity. Yes, TFD as a child (and adult) was/is possessed of a mighty sense of childish humor in every aspect imaginable. 😉

Spotted Dick Heinz

Spotted dick was also a popular school-dinner pudding; many people who were young in the sixties and seventies will remember them well, all covered in custard. Any self-respecting Brit would always serve this with Bird’s Custard, a popular brand of instant custard in the UK. Being TFD – I eschew this in favor of making it with a proper custard, one straight from the 18th century!

My version – of course – demands that it be made ONLY with proper suet, aka beef fat. It adds a richness that cannot be obtained by any other fat – I only recommend this brand, which is used in the UK. It is shelf-stable and can be used in many other recipes, including the only proper way to make a Yorkshire Pudding! I also call for turbinado sugar (known as demerara sugar in the UK), which has a touch of molasses still in it and makes for a better pud’, IMHO. Buy my preferred brand here. Currants, which are somewhat like a better-flavored raisin, are easily available here.

One change I’ve made to the classic recipe may not be greeted well by staunch traditionalists, but I find adding a small amount of coconut oil sits very nicely indeed with my palate – you can simply leave it out and replace it with an equal amount of beef suet if you are so inclined. Lastly, you’ll want a proper pudding mold – this one is nice.

Citizens – this dish may be oddly-named to modern sensibilities, but it is a recipe with at least a century of provenance and it is supremely delicious to boot! Keep the chuckles to a minimum and follow my lead – sally forth and enjoy this delightful British recipe forthwith! To close this post in the proper spirit of double entendre that is endemic to this dish, I’d personally serve it at the close of a classic British dinner – with roast pork as the main dish! 😉

Battle on – the Generalissimo

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
The Hirshon British Spotted Dick Pudding

The Hirshon British Spotted Dick Pudding


  • Author: The Generalissimo
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 300 g (10 1/2 oz/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 116 g (4 oz) shredded suet
  • 14 g (1/2 oz) virgin coconut oil (TFD addition – optional, use beef suet instead for original recipe)
  • 50 g (1 3/4 oz) turbinado sugar
  • a pinch of freshly-ground cinnamon
  • microplaned zest from 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 egg (TFD would use a duck egg)
  • 200 ml (7 fl oz) whole milk, preferably from a Jersey cow
  • 150 g (5 1/2 oz) currants, soaked in water, brandy or rum (TFD prefer brandy)
  • ***
  • 18th Century proper custard, from ‘Pride and Pudding: The History of British Puddings, Savoury and Sweet’:
  • 10 egg yolks
  • 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) whole milk
  • 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) heavy (known as double in the UK) cream
  • 50 g (1 3/4 oz) turbinado sugar
  • 1 mace blade or 1/4 tsp. powdered mace
  • 1 bay leaf (optional, but TFD likes it)

Instructions

  1. For the custard:
  2. Whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl. Bring the milk, cream, sugar, spices and bay leaf, if using, to a simmer in a saucepan. Strain the hot milk mixture and discard the flavorings.
  3. Pour a little of the hot mixture into the egg yolks and whisk thoroughly. Now continue to add the hot milk mixture in batches until fully incorporated and you get a smooth sauce.
  4. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula until just thickened, making sure the eggs don’t scramble.
  5. When just thickened, remove from the heat and pour into a cold sauceboat for serving. If you don’t want the custard to develop a skin, cover the sauceboat with plastic wrap.
  6. For the spotted dick:
  7. Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F).
  8. Place a folded towel or crumpled tin foil in the bottom of a large stock pot to prevent the pudding mold from touching the bottom of the pot. Add a goodly amount of water and bring to a boil.
  9. Combine the flour, suet, coconut oil, sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and baking powder together in a large bowl and mix well.
  10. Add the egg and a little of the milk while constantly stirring the mixture. Soon it will be looking like very coarse breadcrumbs. Keep adding milk until you can bring the mixture together with your hands into a stiff dough. If it is too dry, you might need another splash of milk, although the dough should not be wet or sticky. Lastly, work in the currants.
  11. Roll the dough into a ball and press into a well-greased pudding basin. Put the entire stock pot with the pudding mold into the oven. Steam the pudding in the oven for 4 hours. Serve with custard sauce.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @thefooddictator on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook and hashtag it #TFD

How useful was this post, Citizen?

Click to rate My Recipe, Citizen - 5 hearts are ALWAYS appreciated!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

As you found this post useful...

Follow us on social media, Citizen!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Related posts:

The Hirshon Serbian “Hamburger” - Гурманска Пљескавица
The Hirshon Equatorial Guinea Baked Banana Coconut Dessert - Akwadu
The Hirshon Southern Jezebel Sauce
The Hirshon Vietnamese Pandan Sticky Rice - Xôi Lá Dứa
The Hirshon Zambian Pineapple Chutney
The Hirshon Mexican White Mole Sauce - Molé Blanco
The Hirshon Spiced Cranberry Cheesecake Cookies
The Hirshon Vietnamese Grilled Pork and Shrimp With Rice Noodles - Bún Thịt Nướng Tôm

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Dessert

About The Generalissimo

The myth of the Generalissimo is far more interesting than the reality.

Previous Post: « The Hirshon London Eel Pie With Parsley Liquor
Next Post: The Hirshon British Bubble And Squeak »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

Primary Sidebar

➤ Citizens – Please Support TFD Nation!

Donate to Help TFD!

⇔ Search, And Ye Shall Assuredly Find!

✮ Citizens ✮

TFD currently has a total of 1,365 posts and 1,162,744 words written since December of 2014! Add your voice to My 50,000+ dedicated readers, comment on My recipes and thus become an active member of TFD Nation! Looking for a particular recipe? Search for it in the box above or via the category tags below - there are THOUSANDS of the finest in world and historic recipes here!

❧ TREMBLE Before Our Categoric Zeal!

Appetizers (146)Beef (143)Beverages (24)Bread (112)Cheese (64)Chicken (132)Chinese (122)Chocolate (16)Condiments (262)Dessert (166)Drinks (23)Duck (20)Egg (47)Fish (56)French (56)Game (30)Georgian (34)Indian (60)Italian (58)Jewish (84)Lamb (73)Manifestos (1)Pasta (90)Pork (148)Salad (40)Sandwich (42)Seafood (84)Shrimp (53)Soup (110)Spices (12)Tofu (7)Turkey (15)Veal (18)Vegetables (108)

✺ Click to Follow Us Across Social Media!

Facebook   

    instagram

☥ TFD SPEAKS!!!

https://www.thefooddictator.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/TFD-Avatar-Cold-Open-FINAL.mp4

 Enjoy TFD’s Mellifluous Podcasts, Citizen!

Listen on Apple Podcasts

© 2023 · The Food Dictator is abjectly served by WORDPRESS

✮ The Food Dictator ✮
Manage Cookie Consent
Citizens!

Be advised that as an enlightened Dictatorship here at TFD, we are indeed on the side of right when it comes to protecting the privacy of TFD Nation!

We do use technologies such as cookies to store and/or access device information, solely to improve your browsing experience and to show personalized ads.

Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions - trust us, we really ARE on your side!

YOUR LOYALTY IS NOTED! 🎖️
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
725
SHARES
FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditMailYummly