A White Pot
Based on a recipe by Gervase Markham in The English Huswife (1615)
As we heard last week, during the renaissance period melancholy was thought to be caused by an excess of black bile in the body. Therefore, lighter coloured foods were deemed appropriate sustenance for the sufferers. However, as Robert Burton highlighted in the Anatomy of Melancholy it was not as simple as avoiding ‘dark’ foods like hare. Burton surveyed lots of different authors on the topic of what foods melancholics should avoid. As Mary Ann Lund says in A User’s Guide to Melancholy:
[Burton’s] list of foods and drinks which trigger or exacerbate melancholy, and which he tells sufferers to avoid, is a very long one - so long that it almost seems like a joke, for there seems little left that one safely can eat. It is not just a matter of what kinds of food and drink a melancholic should or should not have, but also how much, how they are prepared, how often they should be consumed, and at what times of day or night. (p.160)
Burton is careful not to say the foods on the list are strictly off limits for those prone to melancholia. He weighs up the arguments for and against each item. Milk (except that from asses) and its derivatives was thought to increase melancholy. Sugar and spices are on the ‘list’ too which begs the question as to why have I chosen this dish?
My mantra is that most things in moderation will do you no harm, particularly when it comes to food (allergy sufferers excepted here). As the ingredients in this super rich dish were expensive (fresh cream, rice, cinnamon, sugar, currants) it would have been a rare indulgence than everyday fare. Well, that’s how I’m justifying it anyway.
Besides, rice pudding is the essence of comfort food, don’t you agree?
Ingredients - Serves 4
600ml/1pt single cream
30g/1oz caster sugar
2 x 5cm cinnamon sticks
75g/3oz short grain ‘pudding’ rice (or similar)
Butter for greasing
2 egg yolks
25g/1oz currants
Generous pinch of salt
½ tsp rosewater (optional)
1 tbsp caster sugar mixed with ¼ tsp ground cinnamon for sprinkling on top of the pudding
Method
Place the cream in a saucepan with 30g/1oz sugar, the cinnamon sticks and the rice. Bring up to the boil then turn off the heat source and allow the creamy mixture to cool down completely (it will be an hour or more).
When you are ready to bake the pudding, preheat the oven to 150℃ and put the kettle onto boil.
Butter a ceramic dish that will fit comfortably into a roasting tin. Beat the egg yolks, currants, salt and rosewater (if using) into the cooled rice cream. Spoon into the prepared dish then place the filled dish into the roasting tin. Scatter the top of the rice cream with the cinnamon sugar. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting tin until it come halfway up the dish. Pop the roasting tin and its contents into the oven then bake for 60 minutes or until just set. Serve while hot. I like it just as it is, but you could stir through some stewed fruit or jam if the mood takes you.