Indian Pudding -- With and Without Fruit

by Hanna Raskin, Posted Nov 13th 2009 @ 3:00PM

Kathleen Wall, the colonial foodways culinarian at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass., understands not everyone wants fruit in their Indian pudding: She just wishes the detractors could find more civilized ways of expressing their distaste.

"I've had people stand in front of me and spit the fruit into their hands," Wall says. "People who are nice and rational."

Rational about all things, apparently, but Indian pudding, the centuries-old sweet dish that's so beloved it has its own holiday: Today is National Indian Pudding Day, an annual celebration of what Plimoth Plantation's Web site calls one of the nation's "ugliest, yet great tasting, bi-cultural culinary treats."

Its name notwithstanding, Indian pudding isn't a Native American specialty. "It's called Indian because of the cornmeal," Wall explains. Other ingredients include milk and molasses, a byproduct of the thriving 19th century sugar trade. While a recipe for Indian pudding didn't appear in print until 1796, references to the mushy snack appeared as early as 1740.

"John Adams liked Indian pudding," says Wall, who's hosting a pudding presentation at Plimoth Plantation Friday.

As the person responsible for preparing the Indian pudding served at the museum's movie nights, Wall is well aware of the controversies surrounding it.

"The biggest controversy is the fruit," she says. "People like it or they hate it. There is no in-between."

Fruit fans add apples, raisins or cranberries to their puddings, provoking the ire of purists who insist the dish doesn't need any extra sugar. Still, Wall's dried cranberry version is so popular that it's all she hears about when Plimoth Cinema goes on summer hiatus.

"People stop me in the street and instead of saying 'hello, how are you?,' they'll ask about the Indian pudding," she says.

Filed Under: Holidays
Tags: fall, indian pudding day, IndianPudding, IndianPuddingDay, plimoth plantation, PlimothPlantation, vegetables