Sweet Tooth: The history of British puddings
一般人認為布丁是甜 點，但其實布丁一開始 是鹹的，如用豬血和肉 類原料所製的黑布丁 等。（取自網路）
撰文及考題設計 英國文化協會 Mark O’Sullivan
B
ritish people have long been famous for their
special cloth bags and by the 18 th century the finished
taste for sweets, and pudding itself can be
product was more like a cake - Christmas pudding is a
claimed to be a British invention, with the word first appearing in the Middle Ages. Pudding originates from the Old French word boudin meaning ‘black
Even so, many traditional British puddings still share a common ingredient.
pudding’, itself derived from the Latin word botellus ,
The inclusion of suet, which is beef or mutton fat, in
meaning ‘sausage; small intestine’, and tracing the
pastries, led to an array of popular desserts including
origins of British puddings reveals some fascinating
the likes of Spotted Dick and Jam Roly-Poly – as well
aspects of Britain’s culinary heritage.
as the savoury classic, Steak and Kidney pudding . Lat-
Although nowadays we think of puddings as being
er on, puddings became much more richly flavoured,
sweet-tasting desserts, the first puddings were actually
leading to other popular after-dinner treats such as
savoury in flavour. This explains the confusion over
Blackberry and Apple crumble , Lemon Meringue Pie
some traditional British foods – such as Black pudding
and Sticky Toffee pudding .
or Yorkshire pudding – which have the word ‘pudding’
Not all puddings are quite so strongly flavoured,
in their name, but are actually made from meat or
however. Bread pudding made ideal use of Britain’s
rather plain ingredients.
staple food, and was a great way for frugal cooks to
Black pudding is essentially a blood sausage, and is
use up stale pieces of bread, which were soaked in
made from a mixture of pig’s blood, pork fat, oatmeal
milk and sweetened before being baked. The pudding
and spices, and is boiled in sausage skins. Yorkshire
was actually viewed as a healthy food option to serve
pudding , on the other hand, is made from flour, egg,
to people who were weak or sick because of illness or
and milk batter, and cooked in hot oil. It is served as
injury. The classic Summer pudding was seen as a de-
a side dish with the traditional Sunday dinner of roast
velopment of this, and was a mixture of locally avail-
meat, boiled vegetables and gravy.
able summer fruits that were in season – like redcur-
Although medieval puddings were mostly meatbased, by the 17 century puddings started to diverge th
116
prime example of this.
rants and raspberries – moulded in a bowl lined with slices of bread.
into both savoury types and sweet types, which were
What about that classic French pudding, crème
made from f lour, nuts and sugar. Instead of using
brûlée ? Can that really be claimed to belong to French
sausage skins, sweet puddings tended to be boiled in
cuisine? Guess again - its history begins in Britain
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when the Romans brought over their expertise in the
英 倫 聚 焦
at Trinity College.
binding properties of eggs and where custard was later
Not all popular British puddings have such clear-cut
developed. Early records show a 17 century recipe
histories however. Some, if the myths are to be be-
book from Dorsetshire that describes a thick custard
lieved, evolved purely by chance, like the quintessen-
mixture of sugar, eggs and cream, sprinkled with
tially British fare of Eton Mess . Nevertheless, whether
sugar and caramelised under heat – hence the name
created by accident or design, British puddings have
‘burnt cream’. It went on to become the standard des-
their own intriguing histories to go with their unique
sert served at Cambridge University, and in particular
flavours.
th
獨特歷史增添英國布丁風味 中譯 陳怡君 （中央社編譯）
英
國人向來以他們對甜食的品味聞名於世，布
甜點在內。之後隨著布丁口味變得更豐富，也發展
丁堪稱一項英國發明。布丁一詞首度出現在
出其他受歡迎的餐後甜點，像是烤黑莓蘋果奶酥、
中古世紀，其源自古法語boudin，意思是「黑布丁」。
檸檬蛋白派與太妃糖布丁等。
黑布丁是從拉丁文botellus而來，意思是「香腸，小
並非所有布丁都是重口味，麵包布丁就是很理想
腸」。追溯英國布丁的起源，也能發現英國烹飪文化
的英國主食，並且是一道可以利用快要不新鮮麵包
的一些有趣面向。
的經濟食譜。作法是把麵包浸到牛奶、加入糖調味，
儘管現在一般人都認為布丁是甜點，但其實布丁
送進烤箱即可完成，麵包布丁確實被視為一種可提
一開始是鹹的，像是黑布丁或約克郡布丁，雖然名
供給虛弱、生病或受傷患者的健康食物。經典的夏
稱都有布丁，但更確切來說，是肉類原料或普通食
日布丁就是麵包布丁的延伸，作法是混合紅醋栗、
材所製，這可以解釋一些英國傳統食物名稱何以令
覆盆子等當地當季的夏天水果，盛入一個鋪滿麵包
人困惑之處。
的模子烘焙而成。
黑布丁基本上是一種血腸，由豬血、豬肉脂肪、燕
至 於 經 典 的法式 焦糖 布丁，真 的 算是法式甜 點
麥與香料混合後，用香腸皮包覆煮熟。約克郡布丁則
嗎？其實焦糖布丁的歷史源自英國，羅馬人把他們
是麵粉、雞蛋與牛奶和成的糊狀物，用熱油煎過，是
有關雞蛋粘結性的專業技術傳進來後，發展出蛋奶
英國傳統的星期天晚餐中，烤肉、水煮蔬菜和肉汁的
凍甜點。早期紀錄顯示，一本來自17世紀多塞特郡
配菜。
的食譜，內容描述一種混合糖、雞蛋和奶油的糊狀
儘管中古時代的布丁大多是肉類製成，但到了17世
物，灑上糖並再加熱烤成焦糖，因此焦糖布丁也有
紀，布丁開始有鹹與甜兩種類型，甜的就是用麵粉、
「燒焦的奶油」之名，後來並且成為劍橋大學、特別
堅果與糖製成，且甜布丁不用香腸皮，而是放在一種
是三一學院的招牌甜點。
特製的布包內去煮；到了18世紀，已做好的甜布丁看 起來比較像是蛋糕，聖誕布丁就是一個好例子。
並不是所有受歡迎的英國布丁都有這樣清楚的歷 史脈絡。要是傳說可信的話，有些甜點的演變純粹
即便如此，許多傳統的英國布丁都有一種共同材
是無心插柳，英國經典點心伊頓雜糕就是如此。 不
料，那就是在麵糰裡添加牛或羊板油，包括葡萄乾
過無論是意外研發還是精心設計，英國布丁獨特的
布丁、 布丁卷以及經典的牛肉腰子派等一系列熱門
風味有其獨特的歷史來搭配。
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Key Words tracing / to trace [verb] – to follow the origin or
staple food [adj. noun] – the main food eaten 主食
development of something 追溯...的起源
frugal [adj.] – economical or thrifty with regards to
culinary [adj.] – of, or, for cooking 烹飪的
money of food 節約的，儉樸的
heritage [n o u n ] – things of cultural or historical
binding / to bind [verb] – the join, stick or combine
importance 具文化或歷史重要性的遺跡
together 捆綁；束縛
savoury [adj.] – having a salty or spicy flavour 鹹或辣的
cuisine [noun] – a style or method of cooking, from a
diverge [verb] – to go in different directions, or
particular region or country 烹調
away from a standard
quintessentially [adv.] – representing the most perfect
偏離，岔開
prime example [phrase] – a perfect example of something 良好典範
雅思考試粉絲團： www.facebook.com/ielts.testcentre
or typical example of a quality or class
典型地，標準
地
雅思考試模擬試題 IELTS questions
Exam tip 1 - Underline key words in the question and study the text carefully to see if any relevant part matches the statement. Exam tip 2 - For standard tasks like this, the questions will follow the order of the text. Write ‘True’ (T), ‘False’ (F) or ‘Not Given’ (NG) after each of the statements 1~10. Questions:
1. The earliest puddings were regarded as having a generally salty or spiced taste. 2. Black pudding and Yorkshire pudding are eaten regularly by people in the north of England. 3. By the 1600s pudding styles had separated into two distinct kinds. 4. A Christmas pudding is a poor example of a boiled pudding type. 5. Suet is made from the fat taken from cattle or sheep. 6. Bread pudding was ideal for cooks who liked to create lavish desserts. 7. Summer puddings were made with imported fruit so that they were available all year round. 8. The Romans were well aware of how to use eggs to stick to hold things together in cooking. 9. ‘Burnt Cream’ was only occasionally served on special occasions at Cambridge University. 10. Eton Mess was created by accident when a dog crushed a meringue dessert on the way to a picnic at Eton College.
1. True 2. Not Given 3. True 4. False 5. True 6. False 7. False 8. True 9. False 10. Not Given Answers 118
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