I guess it's partially ignorance. For years I was making "instant" pudding, which was a packet combined with milk.
It turns out that you can make homemade chocolate pudding with only one extra ingredient; cocoa powder, cornstarch, and milk. (A pinch of salt usually improves it, though.)
I still buy rice pudding, though. I've tried making it and it always turns out awfully.
Ah, that reminds me that nowadays "homemade fries" are frozen fries put into your own fryer ;)
> I still buy rice pudding, though. I've tried making it and it always turns out awfully.
Here's grandma's recipe how to make rice pudding.
Ingredients: 1 liter of milk, 1 or 2 eggs, about half a cup of dessert rice, half to a whole cup of sugar, cinnamon, salt.
Bring the milk to a boil. Put in rice and sugar and a pinch of salt and cook with a lid for about 20 minutes (or whatever the package says). Make sure it doesn't char. In the meantime split the egg yolks from the egg white. Add some sugar to the egg white and whip until creamy with a fork or with a mixer. Add some sugar to the egg yolks and stir until white and creamy. When the rice is ready put out the stove, and add some of the milk to the egg yolks and stir. Then slowly add the egg yolks to the pan while stirring. You need to stir really well otherwise you get bits of solidified egg yolk in your pudding. Next add the egg white and stir. Put in a bowl, cover it with cinnamon and then sugar. Let it cool down for a couple of hours.
My grandma used to say it tastes as if an angel is peeing on your tongue. I can guarantee that it tastes so much better than rice pudding from the supermarket.
Many dishes have a kernel, the essential thing that makes that dish that dish. For puddings it's stirred egg yolk and whipped egg white. Next time you make instant pudding use a little bit less of the instant pudding powder, and add egg yolk stirred with sugar and egg white whipped with sugar in the same way as for the rice pudding. This will improve the flavor and change the texture from a gelatiny pudding to something more like a real custard.
Like chocolate pudding, caramel pudding is just a small variation. Put sugar and a little bit of water in a pan, and heat until brown (not black!). Then add milk or water and dissolve the caramel, and add this to the pudding. Nice with whipped cream.
3 cups milk (or one cup cream/half-half and 2 milk)
Teaspoon of vanilla if you like
Put in non-stick pan
Bring to boil
Turn down to lowest setting for 25mins
When it's done (depends how sticky you like it)
Stir in a spoon of sugar and a spoon of butter if you're feeling decadent - or jam or maple syrup or whatever
It turns out that you can make homemade chocolate pudding with only one extra ingredient; cocoa powder, cornstarch, and milk. (A pinch of salt usually improves it, though.)
I still buy rice pudding, though. I've tried making it and it always turns out awfully.