Un Pudding De Mais

This recipe hails from 'La cuisine créole à l'usage des petits ménages', published in New York in 1903—a beautiful snapshot of Creole cooking as imagined in turn-of-the-century American society. The fusion of European culinary technique (notably, soufflé-making and the French method of mixing airy batters) with a core New World ingredient—corn—reflects the rich intermingling of cultures in Louisiana’s Creole kitchens. The dish captures a mix of luxury (the eggs, cream) with the everyday (corn), offering readers then—and now—a glimpse into the resourceful yet elegant dining of old Creole homes. It bridges rural American abundance with French culinary elegance, infusing the everyday with a touch of celebratory style.

In 1903, cooks would have used a large pot for boiling the corn, a sharp kitchen grater (often tin or steel) for processing the kernels, and mixing bowls made of earthenware or glass. Eggs were separated by hand, and egg whites were whisked to peaks using a hand-held wire whisk—arthurial effort was a must! The pudding was baked in a ceramic or heavy metal dish, typically greased with butter, and placed in a wood-fired or early gas oven whose temperature was judged by experience rather than a thermometer. Serving spoons, ladles, and perhaps a wooden spatula would have rounded out the essential toolkit.