I do not like broccoli, I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. Now I am president of the United States and I am not going to eat any more broccoli.
George Bush.
Spotted Dick
As a lad one of my favourite Puddings – I say one of, because I had many favourites – was ‘Spotted Dick’ a sweet, steamed suet pudding with currants and raisins that is served with lashings of custard.
This sweet treat has been around for a long time. The earliest recipe comes from 1847, but where did it get its name?Someone has suggested the theory that Pudding became Puddink, from there it became Puddick and then simply Dick. There are other theories, even one relating ‘Spotted Dick’ to ‘Spotted Dog’ (another version of the pudding) and then to Dalmatians as they are spotted too. Wherever the name came from, it has been changed at least once.
A BBC news article from the 10th of September 2002 reported that the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust had put the name ‘Spotted Dick’ back on the menu. The name had previously been changed to ‘Spotted Richard’ in the mistaken belief that patients might have felt uncomfortable having to order Spotted Dick. Snippets like this may be interesting, but wherever the name came from, the pud is still good, as far as I’m concerned. If you haven’t tried it why don’t you give it a go, it really is a sweet treat.
F Watson
Spotted Dick
Ingredients
8 oz of self-raising flour
6 oz of suet
Pinch of salt
1 oz of caster sugar
6 oz breadcrumbs (white)
2 oz of currants
2 oz of seedless raisins
5 to 8 tablespoons of milk
Method
Mix salt, suet, currants, raisins, breadcrumbs and flour together
Mixing with a fork add milk gradually until the mixture binds together.
Knead until the dough is slightly sticky
Roll dough into a cylinder
Wrap in a single layer of foil that has been brushed with butter and seal
(My mother used to wrap her pudding in a cloth to steam it, but these days it is easier to use foil)
