To Make An Oatemeal Pudding

This recipe comes from "The Lady Cravens receipt-booke", written in early 18th-century England by Elizabeth, Baroness Craven. Receipt books like these were treasured domestic manuals, handed down through aristocratic families, and closely associated with women’s culinary expertise. Recipes were often shared among friends and family, reflecting the author's social network and cultural aspirations. Lady Craven’s book combines recipes for both luxurious and everyday dishes, with puddings like this oatmeal pudding bridging the gap. Oats were often seen as humble fare, but in such preparations, enriched with fruits, spices, and expensive dairy, they ascended to tables of the well-to-do. The presence of exotic spices evinces trade connections and affluence, while the pudding’s form—steamed in a cloth for hours—reflects traditional British cookery before modern ovens.

In 1702–1704, cooks would have prepared this pudding using a large wooden or earthenware bowl to mix the ingredients. Milk was boiled in a heavy-bottomed pan over an open hearth. The pudding itself was steamed by tying it tightly in a well-floured cloth—usually linen—secured with twine. It would then be lowered into a cauldron or large pot of simmering water using hooks or tongs and boiled for several hours, replenishing water as needed. Other tools included wooden spoons for stirring, a mortar and pestle for grinding spices, and a buttered earthenware basin to shape the pudding within the cloth. If a thin pastry ("past") was used, it would be rolled out by hand with a wooden roller.