For A Carrot Pudding

This carrot pudding recipe hails from early 18th-century Scotland, attributed to a certain Mrs. Johnston around 1700. It emerges from a time when sugar and spices were precious, and puddings—baked, boiled, or steamed—were a mainstay of impressive dinners. Carrots, sometimes called the 'poor man’s saffron,' added both sweetness and vibrant color to dishes before the widespread use of cheaper sugar and golden spices. Recipes like this reflect the domestic creativity of housewives and cooks, who made the most of seasonal produce. The use of bread as a binding filler is typical, making the pudding lighter and more delicate than its later Victorian descendants.

In Mrs. Johnston’s kitchen, this pudding would be mixed in large earthenware bowls using a substantial wooden spoon. Carrots were grated with a handheld, iron grater, and eggs beaten with a fork or an early whisk. Bread was freshly grated just before use. The mixture would be poured into a shallow, round ceramic pie dish. The decorative pastry border was hand-rolled and shaped. Baking would take place in a wood-fired oven, monitored by scent, color, and gentle prodding rather than exact temperatures.