Custard

[poliphilo]

And then there's custard.

Proper custard is concocted out of milk, egg yolk and sugar, but that's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about the economy version- which is a powder you mix with milk to create a thick, bright yellow glop which grows a skin if allowed to cool. The magic ingredient is cornflour. It masks the flavour of whatever you drop it on and tastes of nothing.  I mean, what exactly is the point? 

When I was a kid they smothered it on everything. Some kids (Ailz for example) got a taste for it and adopted it as a beloved comfort food. For me it's a symbol of oppression. 

Show me the tin- with its three happy tweety-birds- and I flip straight back to Cumnor House School with its Oliver Twist-like dining arrangements and its perpetually grim-faced headmaster. Why do people who hate children go into education? Maybe because there's nothing else they're good for. *sigh*.

I feel a rant coming on so I'll shut up.
 



Alfred Bird- the Birmingham chemist- who invented custard powder for a wife who loved custard but was allergic to eggs- Awwwww.

Comments

Re: RE: Custard and Gellatine

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Our word for jello is jelly- which causes confusion because our word for jelly is jam.

I enjoyed the clip. That sounded like our very own Joolz Holland doing the interviewing.

which makes me think of 'Jelly's Last Jam'

[pop-o-pie.livejournal.com]

I'm too lazy to look this up, but I think 'jam' is a preserve of cooked fruit, whereas 'jelly' is fruit juice with pectin. In the states, 'jelly' is clear or translucent, 'jam' is not.

Re: which makes me think of 'Jelly's Last Jam'

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That's right.

And now you've got me confused- I thought you guys called all jam jelly, but it seems not.

Maybe it's just that we like our preserve with lumps of fruit in it and you like it without.

Re: which makes me think of 'Jelly's Last Jam'

[pop-o-pie.livejournal.com]

You would be partial to 'jam' or 'preserves' as I am. I usually purchase imported preserves from France, Denmark or Poland and am partial to raspberry, cherry or blueberry.

Oh, and I love marmalade from Dundee.

Re: which makes me think of 'Jelly's Last Jam'

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I like preserves- the higher the fruit content the better.

I'm fond of marmalade too. I like it chunky- with great big strips of rind in it. Frank Cooper's "Oxford" is a good brand.

Re: marmalade

[pop-o-pie.livejournal.com]

I'll see if I can find "Oxford" here.

My grandmother used to make marmalade. I'm sure it must have been an American recipe. It was sweetened with home grown carrots and was made with California oranges. It was fragrant, but it never had the 'bite' of a marmalade made with tart oranges.

Re: marmalade

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I believe you need Seville oranges to make the best marmalade.

My mother used to make jam and marmalade. It's one of those things you did if you were a mid-20th century, middle-class, English housewife. She was very good at it. She also brewed the best beer I've ever tasted.

Generational thing...

[pop-o-pie.livejournal.com]

My grandmother endured The Great Depression and the food rationing during World War II and I think she probably could've grown, alchemized or repaired just about anything for household use.

My mother came of age during the 1950s and whole-heartedly embraced anything frozen or pre-packaged. I preferred eating at grandma's house.

I've never actually had home-brewed beer. I have friends who brew beer from kits, but I've never sampled it. I'm not much of a drinker, though...