English food revisited

[geoff_bannister]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "tonks_op" <tonks_op at ...> wrote:

Geoff:
> > Ah, if it says treacle *pudding*, then it is a prepared pudding. Are there instructions on the can? You would heat it, probably in a microwave. 

> > Serve it with custard or cream (single or whipped).
 
Tonks:
> Whipped cream I understand. Ah... is there a translator in the house... I am having a flashback... wasn't there a discussion before about what "custard" is? And what does 'single' mean?

Geoff:
If I make be technical for a moment....

Before milk is homogenised (if it is), the butterfat separates out at the 
top and, to make cream, that part of the milk is skimmed off to produce 
various grades of cream dependent on the percentage of butterfat 
included.

In the UK, the most common are:
Clotted cream - 55% This is a very thick cream with a paste-like consistency 
best known for use in West Country cream teas.

Double cream - 48% Used for whipping. Used with puddings, for cake toppings 
etc.

Whipping cream - 35% Used for whipping as the name suggests but is a lighter 
textured cream after being whipped. Uses similar to double cream.

Single cream - 18% A lighter liquid which cannot be whipped. Used for pouring 
over puddings and in drinks such as coffee etc.

<end of lecture on cream>

Geoff's advice to Potioncat:
> Take a long deep breath, go and make some hot chocolate and
> Marmite soldiers.
 
Tonks:
> From the sound of Marmite, why, I ask, would a child eat them? And WITH hot chocolate??  Something sounds not quite right there. 

Geoff:
Kid absolutely love it (or hate it). My 2 year-old granddaughter thrives 
on the stuff. 

I'm just odd. I have all sorts of combinations of light meals and drinks. 
Late every evening, I have a Cup-a-Soup (a dried packet soup reconstituted 
with boiling water) and a bowl of salad vegetables.

Tonks:
> Custard is a milky pudding, not like the treacle type of 'pudding'. What is custard over the pond?

Geoff:
Custard is made to pour over a pudding. It is basically milk with sugar 
added to taste brought to the boil and thickened using cornflour which 
also imparts a bright yellow colour to it. Thickness can be varied to taste. 
For use as a trifle topping, it is made very thick, poured over the other 
ingredients and then allowed to set.

In general, if you are ordering a pudding/sweet/dessert (any of these words 
are acceptable in UK English) you are often asked whether you would 
like custard, cream or ice cream with it - where that is appropriate to what 
you have ordered.  I invariably go for the cream. My wife and daughter always 
grumble because the male side of our family are all greyhounds and tend not 
to go pear-shaped....