Charlotte Mason’s 1778 Recipe for ‘Quince Pudding’
“Take some quinces and scald them till they are soft, then pare them very thin ; put to them some sugar, ginger powdered, and a little cinnamon ; beat up the yolks of four eggs, and mix them with a pint of cream ; put it to the quinces, and beat them all up well together ; it must be made pretty thick with the quinces. A pudding may be made in this manner with apricots, apples or white pear-plumbs.”
Charlotte Mason, The Lady’s Assistant for Regulating and Supplying the Table, 4th edition (1778)
I’ve noticed a fair few quince-harvest pics in my Twitter feed this past week or two, which leads me to conclude that it’s the start of quince season (although ours aren’t ready just yet). That being the case, it’s time to seek out a few historical quince recipes to see if I can help out with any potential quince gluts.
This one from Charlotte Mason isn’t exactly a beacon of clear instruction, but then eighteenth century recipes usually aren’t. Let’s see if we can unpick it and work out what’s what.
“Take some quinces”; okay, let’s say… six? Scald – which I think is meant to be a rolling simmer, but without actually boiling – until soft, and then “pare them very thin”. Which could mean taking off the outer skin, without removing too much flesh? Then “put to them some sugar”. Again, not very precise, and it’s always a good idea to adjust the amount of to your taste. A couple of table-spoonfuls, maybe three? Four eggs and a pint of cream are clear enough, but again, you might want to adjust the quantities, depending on how many quinces you decide to use.
Next: “Put it to the quinces and beat them all up well together.” Okay, I think we have to back-track a bit. Perhaps “pare” in this context means to peel and slice, rather than just peel? That would make more sense if you’re beating the quinces up with the cream and eggs, as presumably you’d want to core them as well? At which point, there’s no mention of a further cooking method, just “It must be made pretty thick with the quinces.” There’s no flour or fat involved, apart from the cream, so it doesn’t sound like the sort of pudding that needs to be baked or boiled.
I’m guessing the end result is more of a whipped quince custard? Something similar to a gooseberry fool or an apple cream, rather than a ‘pudding’ of the stodgy, stick-to-your-ribs sort? Interesting.
What do you think? Does my interpretation seem reasonable? Do you feel inspired to give Charlotte Mason’s quince pudding a go yourself? If you do, or if you have any thoughts on my reading of the recipe, please do leave a comment below and let me know.
Kia Ora from NZ Darren,
As you will see below, you were quite correct in surmising that “pare” means to peel and core, as well as slice. I believe that “scald” may mean to pour boiling water over the finely sliced fruit (then drain when softened) or to briefly drop them in boiling water then quickly drain – that’s the culinary meaning of scald that I learned.
There are a lot of quinces around at the moment as it’s autumn (Fall) in NZ. So far I have made quince jelly with cores and peels and stewed quinces and soda syrup as well as quince jam – a recipe from an old book that didn’t seem likely to work but did.
I have run out of quinces just now but may find more and will definitely be trying this recipe if I do. I believe that using the hot quinces will thicken the eggs and cream into a custard like consistency much like a Fool. Perhaps this recipe is a precursor of the Fool? Anyway, thank you for sharing it.
Ngā mihi nui,
Sue
“In Middle English (circa 13th-14th century), pare (often paren) meant to trim, cut off the outer coating, or reduce something in size, derived from Old French parer (“to make ready, trim, adorn”) and Latin parāre (“to prepare”). It was commonly used to describe peeling fruit, trimming nails, or shaving down materials.
Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster
+3
Key details regarding the old meaning of pare:
Original Sense: The core meaning was to trim or cut away the skin, rind, or edges of something, such as fruit, nails, or in agricultural contexts like turf.
“To Prepare”: The underlying Old French/Latin origin (parer/parāre) means “to make ready” or “to prepare,” suggesting that paring was seen as preparing an object for use.
Reduction: It has long meant to reduce something “by little and little” (bit by bit), specifically referring to removing unnecessary parts to reduce size.
Usage: In Old and Middle English, it was frequently used for activities like trimming a quill pen, cutting a horse’s hoof, or preparing food. ”
Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster
+3
Hi Sue – Thank you very much indeed, always good to have a dictionary definition to work from. The current version of scald, in the sense of dropping something into hot water for a minute or two, sounds similar to blanching? Historically, it was also used to mean heating something to just before boiling point, as in scalding milk, which often crops up in older recipes. And yes, I think your proto-Fool theory is a good shout.
I’m very envious of your excellent quince harvest by the way. Ours weren’t so good last year. A sudden burst of heavy rain at the end of a long, dry spell meant the quinces split on the tree and most of them rotted before I noticed and picked them. Hopefully we’ll have better luck this year.
I would beat the eggs and cream together. Mix in quickly while the quince slices were hot so the heat would cook cream and yolks to thicken the whole lot like a quince custard.
Hi Janet – Yeah, I think that’s what I thought the recipe was aiming for. Good to have a corroborating opinion, thank you.