For over twenty years Historic Deerfield has hosted an open hearth cooking program that gives visitors a taste of the food and diet of Americans living in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Held in the kitchen of its 1786 Tavern Hall, the open hearth cooking program at Historic Deerfield offers adults and children a range of experiences including weekly cooking classes in February and March, and cooking demonstrations from May through June and September through November. Education program coordinator, Claire Carlson, sent us a seasonal ‘receipt’ for sweet carrot pudding—perfect for the weeks between winter and spring.
Receipt for Carrot Pudding
- Preheat your oven to 325° F
- Peel and grate raw carrots to equal 16 ounces
- Grate good bread to equal 8 ounces
- Mix 4 medium eggs with one teaspoon ground cinnamon and one-half teaspoon roseflower water (optional, no substitute), 2 ounces melted butter and sugar to taste
- Add carrots and breadcrumbs
- Add heavy cream until the mixture holds its shape with a spoon
- Bake in a heavy dish until a knife inserted comes out clean, approximately 30-60 minutes depending on how deep your dish is
- This dish could be covered with puff paste
Carrots are a good winter keeper and if stored properly last the entire season. This recipe appears in the following three sources:
Eliza Smith, The Compleat Housewife, or Accomplished Gentlewoman’s Companion, first edition, 1727, London. The 15th edition is available as a facsimile reprinted in 1968.
Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, first edition, 1747, London. Reprinted throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, several editions were printed in America. Facsimile of 1796 edition reprinted in 1971.
Amelia Simmons (An American Orphan) American Cookery, first edition, 1796, Hartford, Connecticut. Reprinted.
