My dad loved his food, especially what we called ‘Pudding’, by which we meant dessert. We didn’t use the word ‘dessert’ at all, if anything it would have meant something light like fruit and cream. Light wasn’t a word my Dad would have understood in combination with ‘pudding’, our puddings were pies (we called them ‘tarts’), treacle sponges, rice puddings, bread and butter ditto, … it’s a wonder we could even get up from the table after mealtimes.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/breadandbutterpuddin_85936
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/schooldays-treacle-sponge
All the above were served with custard, or possibly cream. Once my Mum asked my dad if he would like custard or cream and he replied “Both!”
Being in Cornwall, the cream concerned of course would have been clotted:
The word ‘pudding’ is very interesting.
In the UK, puddings are not only sweet but also savoury – steak and kidney pudding for instance, or Yorkshire pudding to accompany roast beef. The word comes from Latin and French and originally meant a sort of sausage.
What Germans and Americans call ‘ vanilla pudding’ is, for us Brits ‘Blancmange’, if it’s set enough to be able to turn out. Otherwise, if it’s pourable, it’s called ‘Custard’ and most people in the UK don’t make their own, they use Bird’s Custard powder… but be careful!
See the history of Custard Powder and the original Bird’s factory!
The most famous German Company making ‘Pudding’ is of course Dr Oetker, based in Bielefeld not too far from here. They even have a pudding museum:
https://www.oetker.com/en/company/about-dr-oetker
The burning question remains, why is May 22 National Vanilla Pudding Day in the USA? Who knows. It’s also National Buy an Instrument Day, just as May is National Hamburger Month.
In case you were wondering, National Chocolate Pudding Day is June 26.
The Cabin Fever Part
http://www.manythings.org/vocabulary/lists/e/words.php?f=desserts
https://www.vox.com/2015/11/29/9806038/great-british-baking-show-pudding-biscuit
English in the time of Corona 