Corn Starch Budding

This recipe comes from an 1884 Danish-language cookbook published in Chicago, a time when Scandinavian immigrants brought their culinary traditions to America. The dish reflects both the availability of new American ingredients—like corn starch—and the comfort foods cherished in Danish-Norwegian households abroad. Such puddings were common in both homely and festive meals, bridging Old World techniques with New World products. Baked custards like this showcased the influence of both European culinary style and American baking ingenuity, especially at a time when ovens and accurate temperature control were becoming more accessible in domestic life.

In the 1880s, this pudding would have been assembled with simple kitchen staples: a mixing bowl, a sturdy wooden spoon or whisk, and small porcelain or tin cups for baking. The water bath—a shallow baking pan filled halfway with water—was essential for gentle, even cooking. The mixture was first cooked on a stovetop or hearth, then finished in a wood- or coal-fired oven, which required careful monitoring for temperature by feel rather than precise thermometers. Serving straight from the cups or unmolded onto plates was typical, and the use of milk, eggs, and vanilla signals both celebration and everyday nourishment.