Eliza Acton's Herodotus Pudding

Eliza Acton's Herodotus Pudding is a traditional British recipe, based on Eliza Acton's recipe of 1845, for her classic boiled dessert pudding of raisins, breadcrumbs, suet, lemon zest and figs that's based on a description in Hereodtus' Histories (written about 435 BCE). The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Eliza Acton's Herodotus Pudding.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

330 minutes

Total Time:

350 minutes

Serves:

6–8

Rating:

Tags : Beef Recipes Bread Recipes Dessert Recipes British Recipes

This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Eliza Acton's 1845 volume Modern Cookery, the first classic Victorian cookbook.

Original Recipe

HERODOTUS' PUDDING.
(A Genuine Classical Receipt.)

"Prepare and mix in the usual manner one pound of fine raisins stoned, one pound of minced beef-suet, half a pound of bread-crumbs, four figs chopped small, two tablespoonsful of moist sugar (honey, in the original), two wineglassesful of sherry, and the rind of half a large lemon (grated). Boil the pudding for fourteen hours."

Obs.—This receipt is really to be found in Herodotus. The only variations made in it are the substitution of sugar for honey, and sherry for the wine of ancient Greece. We are indebted for it to an accomplished scholar, who has had it served at his own table on more than one occasion; and we have given it on his authority, without testing it: but we venture to suggest that seven hours would boil it sufficiently.

Modern Redaction

I scoured my copy of Herodotus' 'Histories' and eventually came upon the right paragraph:

Writing about 435 BCE, the Greek writer, Herodotus, (Ηρό͋οτος Hēródotos) [c.484 BCE – c.425 BCE], who has been termed the 'father of history' wrote the following in the second book of his 'Histories' when the sacrifice of kine by the Egyptians:

The disembowelling and burning are, however, different in different sacrifices. I will mention the mode in use with respect to the goddess whom they regard as the greatest, and honour with the chiefest festival. When they have flayed their steer they pray, and when their prayer is ended they take the paunch of the animal out entire, leaving the intestines and the fat inside the body; they then cut off the legs, the ends of the loins, the shoulders, and the neck; and having so done, they fill the body of the steer with clean bread, honey, raisins, figs, frankincense, myrrh, and other aromatics. Thus filled, they burn the body, pouring over it great quantities of oil. Before offering the sacrifice they fast, and while the bodies of the victims are being consumed they beat themselves. Afterwards, when they have concluded this part of the ceremony, they have the other parts of the victim served up to them for a repast.

In effect, in the description above the pudding mixture is cooked in the fat of the inside of the animal's stomach and though the Victorian recipe may look very different, in fact it's not that far away.

Ingredients:

225g seedless raisins
225g shredded suet (beef is best)
115g fine breadcrumbs
4 dried figs, finely chopped
2 tbsp runny honey
70ml dry sherry
finely-grated zest of 1/2 large lemon

Method:

Combine the raisins, suet, breadcrumbs and chopped figs in a bowl. Pour over the honey, sherry and lemon zest then stir well to combine, ensuring that the breadcrumbs are all moistened.

Turn the resultant mixture into a pudding bowl or basin. Cover this with a lid or a sheet of greaseproof (waxed) paper with a plat folded in it to allow for expansion (tie the paper securely down if using). Cover the bowl with a double layer of kitchen foil (again fold a pleat in this). Tie a string around the edge of a bowl then use a piece of string to tie a handle to it.

Set the pudding bowl on a trivet or upturned saucer set in the base of a large saucepan (never set it directly on the bottom of the saucepan). Pour in enough boiling water to come 3/4 of the way up the sides of the pudding basin. Put the pan on the heat and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and boil for about 5 1/2 hours, or until the pudding is cooked through.

Remove the coverings and invert the cooked pudding onto a serving plate. Serve hot, accompanied by sweet wine sauce.

Find more Eliza Acton Recipes Here and more Traditional Victorian Recipes Here. For the modern version of this pudding, see the recipe for F3's Herodotus Pudding.