[Magdalen] Cooking advice - steamed pudding

[Jay Weigel]

Thank you. Sugar is basically an unknown in our house since S/O's
diagnosis, except for the small quantity of turbinado sugar I keep for my
coffee.

On Fri, Jan 26, 2018 at 11:46 AM, Lynn Ronkainen <houstonklr at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Internet source-
> Various Sugars. Granulated sugar = everyday table sugar; Caster sugar =
> superfine sugar = bakers' sugar; Confectioners' sugar = icing sugar.
>
> On Jan 26, 2018, at 10:41 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> But what the heck is caster sugar? Is it superfine sugar? I think I read
> that once.
>
> > On Fri, Jan 26, 2018 at 10:39 AM, Molly Wolf <lupa at kos.net> wrote:
> >
> > Suet for pudding isn’t rendered; it’s finely shredded or grated.  I used
> > to prep 20-odd pounds of beef kidney fat (it comes as a capsule around
> the
> > kidneys) for the ACW plum pudding fundraiser.  The stuff is utterly
> > revolting until chilled solid.  Then you tease the fat out of its
> > membranes, free it from tiny blood vessels, and break it up into crumbs.
> > Rather peaceful work, if greasy.
> >
> > Molly
> >
> > The man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no
> > other way. -- Mark Twain
> >
> >> On Jan 26, 2018, at 5:20 AM, Simon Kershaw <simon at kershaw.org.uk>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> I would say that suet is essential.
> >>
> >> Althpugh my grandmother would have bought suet from the butcher as a big
> >> lump of fat, these days it is more accessible in ready-grated form. The
> >> standard brand is Atora -- and I see this is available at amazon.com
> for
> >> just a few dollars. So you should be able to get it. Unless you have
> >> vegetarians coming I would use the proper beef version.
> >>
> >> Granulated sugar will probably be okay, but you might be able to test
> > some
> >> of the grains in the pudding. Caster sugar is a little finar. You can
> put
> >> granulated sugar in a food processor or blender for a few seconds to
> make
> >> it more like caster -- but not too long or you'll get icing sugar
> >> (powder).
> >>
> >> The choice of material for the pudding basin shouldn't matter too much,
> >> even plastic. A lid is quite useful, and probably usable with a suet
> >> pudding. (I wouldn't use a lid when cooking a steamed sponge pudding
> >> because the pudding will rise or expand, but a suet pudding should be
> >> okay.)
> >>
> >> You do want to steam it, either in a proper steamer or suspended over
> >> boiling water in some other way. If making do (as I do) with an ad-hoc
> >> arrangement in a saucepan, do think about how you are going to get the
> >> basin out of the pan when it's cooked. I rig up a string cradle -- two
> >> pieces of string placed as a cross and tie a knot at the cross-point,
> > then
> >> place this under the pudding basin and bring the four ends up and over
> > the
> >> basin and tie loosely at the top to form a handle that you can use to
> >> lower and raise the basin out of pan of boiling water.
> >>
> >> simon
> >>
> >> Rick Mashburn wrote:
> >>> ObAng content -- Spotted Dick!
> >>>
> >>> Now that I have your attention, Alex and I are in a gourmet group. Our
> >>> next
> >>> dinner is coming up soon and we're in charge of dessert this time
> > around.
> >>> Because this is a group of gay men, I just can't resist cooking Spotted
> >>> Dick with Cream Anglaise.
> >>>
> >>> I've found several recipes online that call for English products such
> as
> >>> suet and caster sugar. So far as I can tell, those aren't available in
> >>> Texas. Martha Stewart has a good looking recipe that uses butter and
> >>> regular sugar instead.
> >>>
> >>> My questions:
> >>>
> >>> - Will butter and sugar be acceptable substitutes? Or, are suet and
> > caster
> >>> sugar actually available here?
> >>> - We will have to buy a pudding basin as we don't have anything that
> > will
> >>> substitute. There are ceramic and metal (plain and non-stick) versions
> > --
> >>> some with lids. Will the choice of vessel impact the final product?
> >>> - Any other advice with making steamed puddings? We are practicing our
> >>> recipe this weekend.
> >>>
> >>> Thanks in advance!
> >>>
> >>> Peace, Rick
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Simon Kershaw
> >> simon at kershaw.org.uk
> >> Saint Ives, Cambridgeshire
> >>
> >
> >
>