Ok- this one is an odd recipe. My mum told me about this – when she was evacuated from Coventry during the war, she stayed with Mrs Harris in Cherrington, Shrops. Living the farm life she saw a some unusual recipes – very local, possibly lost now.
She talked about Cherry curds – possibly named for ‘Cherrington’ and nothing to do with cherries. its a baked custard made with Cow Colostrum. (Colostrum is a much richer ‘milk’, from cows that have given birth, before the regular milk starts. It is rich in vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates)
So the recipe, as she remembers it is – get hold of fresh ‘first milk’, put it into aoven proof dish, sprinkle the top with nutmeg and cook slowly till set.
Got me thinking abourt the history of the dish
In the uk i t seems to be called a Beestings or beastings pudding (with the first milk being the beestings). The name seems to change accross the regions. References in wales to calf pudding (Pwdin llo bach). The favourings seem to change by region (or cook) – sometimes ginger, vanilla, nutmeg etc) Sometme cooked quick to caramelise, sometime slow to just set.
Around the world – different recies. In Iceland the pudding is called Ábrystir, and Norway – Kalvedans.
– can’t find any record of this in the uk – but looking further afield, I can find a recipe from Norway where they make KALVEDANS – (translates as Calf Dance) which is still made, and describes as Norways answer to a creme bruleé:
KALVEDANS
3 cups raw milk, mixed from the 1st and 2nd day
1 cup whole milk
4 tbsp sugar
vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 150ºc.
Combine all ingredients and pour into a deep ovenproof pan Fill a deep tray with hot water that reaches half way up the form, place in oven and bake for about 1 hour. Check to see that the pudding is firm before removing from oven. Can be served hot, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Many people serve it chilled topped with a raspberry or strawberry sauce. (from arcticgrub.com/ )