Fight Chimeric spike effects with.... Pudding! A year of pudding to look forward to...
Our gut Bifidobacterium species are harmed by spike and we need them to make butyrate for us from resistant starches. Zinc is needed by this species in generous amounts too.
Pudding helps our gut microbes! A happy gut helps us to have a happy mood!
*Long post, a Pudding Tutorial and list of Special Days for our world’s favorite puddings. Corn starch is not an ideal food. I would recommend learning pudding making and then making your own with arrowroot or tapioca starch instead of the corn starch that is used in commercial instant or cooked pudding mixes.
Anaerobic butyrate producing species are critical for our colon cells because they don’t make oxygen. Butyrate and other short chain fatty acids produced by beneficial gut microbes are used for energy so our colon can be oxygen free, anaerobic, for best health. Butyrate producing species need a lot of zinc, as much as 30% of our daily intake. The butyrate species also need resistant starches like pudding, polenta, and cold pasta salad. They can’t survive well on a processed food diet. Neither can we.
Baked puddings include custard style Crème Brûlée and Plum Pudding. But Yorkshire Pudding is more like an egg raised popover - which is served hot and crusty with a gooey center.
This recipe agrees with me. Yorkshire Pudding is a basically a Popover - an eggy batter puffs up dramatically into a souffle like crusty bread. “Yorkshire Pudding” is traditionally served as a bread side dish served with roast beef and covered with roast beef drippings. Popovers are typically served with a sweet filling as a dessert item. (seriouseats.com)
Pudding Basics
Cooking starch with a water based liquid turns into a thickened sauce, pudding or custard-like pie filling depending on the starch to liquid ratio.
Stirring frequently is important for stove-top puddings like Vanilla, Butterscotch, Chocolate, Indian Corn Pudding and chunkier Tapioca and Rice Puddings. Having a double boiler makes it easier. A six-cup pot with a rounded bottom fits snugly inside of a 2 quart sauce pan. This version is slightly smaller but the picture shows the rounded insert. (temu.com) You need a double boiler to work with melted chocolate which will get gritty if it is overheated even a little bit. *Chocolate is already an emulsification of creamy fats, sugar, and cocoa powder.
Put about 2 inches of water in the larger pan, and heat your pudding liquid in the rounded pan with a lid to keep it all steaming hot. You still need to stir occasionally but is less likely to scorch to the bottom of the pan. Milk scorches easily when being heated - stir a lot more frequently if you don’t have a double boiler. Stirring is still very important for a smooth textured pudding. The bottom of the double boiler will still tend to be cooking more than the upper areas of the liquid.
Once the pudding liquid is simmering or almost boiling, slowly pour in your starch slurry (corn starch, arrowroot, or tapioca starch mixed in a glass or bowl with a small amount of cold water or milk), stirring frequently. Adding powdered starch to a hot liquid turns into starch lumps almost instantly. You will not be able to whisk or stir adequately. Lumpy pudding can be strained if it isn’t burnt tasting and just start over again with a new batch of starch slurry.
Baked puddings include custard style Crème Brûlée and Plum Pudding. Yorkshire Pudding is like an egg raised popover - served hot and crusty with a gooey center.
This recipe agrees with me. Yorkshire Pudding is a basically a Popover - an eggy batter puffs up dramatically into a souffle like crusty bread. “Yorkshire Pudding” is traditionally served as a bread side dish served with roast beef and covered with roast beef drippings. Popovers are typically served with a sweet filling as a dessert item. (seriouseats.com)
A year of Special Pudding Days:
January 23 - Sticky Toffee Pudding Day, a date sponge cake is served with a hot toffee sauce which moistens the cake into a pudding-like texture, foodandwine.com.
February 3 - Yorkshire Pudding Day.
February 12 - National Plum Pudding Day, holidaycalender.com. Traditionally a Christmas pudding that was savory with meat broth and may have had dried prunes as plums. It is a bread pudding made with stale breadcrumbs and may have had meat broth as the liquid and bits of meat making a savory dish rather than being a very sweet dessert. It might be baked in a Bundt pan or Plum Pudding pan and be served as a fruitcake type dessert that has some brandy or other liquor added. Raisins/sultanas are used with prunes in this recipe: food.com//christmas-plum-pudding. A version by James Beard, epicurious.com//superb-english-plum-pudding. It is traditional to add 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and his 12 apostles. Meats add zinc to our diet which our butyrate producing gut microbes need to be able to thrive. Unhealthy gut species can thrive on junk foods and a mineral deficient diet - and we don’t want those species to thrive.
May 22 - Vanilla Pudding Day.
June 26 - National Chocolate Pudding Day, nationaltoday.com.
July 15 - National Tapioca Pudding Day, holidayscalender.com. Milk based vanilla flavored pudding thickened with small sized tapioca pearls. Larger tapioca beads/pearls are used to make Bubble Tea. I have a Minute Tapioca recipe variation on a page with more info about resistant starches and menu ideas to increase use of them in the diet. jenniferdepew.com/How Much Butyrate?.
July 22 - National Crème Brûlée Day, a baked custard with a crispy caramelized top made by finishing it off under a broiler or with a pass of a blow torch. Let it chill overnight before serving as a cold dessert. Resistant starches need the chilling overnight for full texture and flavor changes to occur. It is the chilling that increases the resistant starches which help feed our butyrate producing gut microbes, Bifidobacterium and other species.
August 9 - National Rice Pudding Day, holidayscalender.com. Rice pudding is a mild vanilla flavored pudding which can be a good way to use up leftover rice.
September 19 - Butterscotch Pudding Day.
November 13 - National Indian Corn Pudding Day, holidayscalender.com. Corn pudding is made with cornmeal, milk, eggs, Pumpkin Pie blend type of spices and it is sweetened with iron rich molasses. Brave AI gives us a variation made with roasted corn on the cob, summary. Cornmeal as the base is more typical.
10 Days of the Year to Celebrate Pudding, pudforallseasons.com.
Minute Tapioca Pudding:
1 Egg, 2 3/4 cup Milk (whole or 2% is recommended, Coconut milk works, or add a tablespoon of Coconut oil to a low-fat equivalent milk), 1/3 cup Sugar, 3 tablespoons Minute Tapioca, 1 teaspoon Vanilla - in addition to those listed ingredients I added an extra teaspoon of vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon of Cardamom and an extra three tablespoons of Tapioca Starch or Garbanzo Bean flour. Make a slurry in 2 oz of the cold milk before adding to the cooking pudding. A double boiler prevents burning, but you still need to stir regularly. Pudding is love!
More pudding tips: Presoak tapioca pearls for 30 minutes or overnight, or for five minutes for instant tapioca; then drain the leftover water. Traditional tapioca pudding is milky because no extra starch is added but I prefer a thick pudding. I add a couple extra tablespoons of arrowroot or tapioca starch, or I use part garbanzo bean flour for added protein and to reduce stretchiness of a fully tapioca starch pudding. -> A double boiler makes it easier - you still need to stir often to prevent lumping of the pudding starch but it won’t burn. -> Always mix starches in a cold slurry with a small amount of liquid before adding to the heating batch of milk/milk equivalent. I like BPA-free-cans of coconut milk as I can’t tolerate cow’s milk.
Indian Corn Pudding:
Indian Corn Pudding - breakfast or dessert. A thicker batch can be fried like pancakes, called Johnny Cakes. Coarse ground cornmeal (organic, non GMO) is heated into a pudding with milk or meat broth, butter or bacon grease, molasses, cinnamon & raisins might be added. Pumpkin Pie Spice blend would be good and Pure Maple Syrup on crispy hotcakes. Ratios: 1 Tbs starch/cup liquid - sauce; 2 Tbs/cup - thin & 3 Tbs/cup - thick pudding.
Hotcake dates: Blueberry Pancake Day - Jan. 28, Pancake Day - IHOP - Feb. 13, National Pancake Day - Sept. 26
Bread Pudding - can be savory or mildly vanilla flavored.
Christmas Plum Pudding is like a savory Bread Pudding which is traditionally made with stale bread, egg, milk and maybe rum soaked raisins. I made a fabulous version when I was head of a Bakery department at a healthfood/whole foods restaurant. We had Pumpernickel, Marbled Rye, Whole Wheat and white sandwich breads, baguettes, and various pies, cakes and cookies. The strongly flavored mix of breads made for a flavorful bread pudding and I did use rum-soaked raisins - start those soaking the night before.
Brave AI gives us these ratios and seems to have emojis now too, :-):
6 slices day-old bread, torn into small pieces 🍞️ *Chop stale bread into crouton squares and let that fully dry out. We want the bread to absorb the sweetened milk mixture or in a savory “Plum Pudding” a savory meat broth with bits of meat might be used as the liquid base.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 🥖*Salted butter could be used - bakers tend to use ‘sweet’ unsalted butter as a general rule of thumb.
0.5 cup raisins 🍇
2 cups milk 🥛
0.75 cup white sugar 🍮
4 large eggs, beaten 🥚
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ❀️ *or cardamom or Pumpkin Pie spice blend or your choice or just vanilla for a milder version. Add the spices to the dry sugar to make it easier to mix the spices into the milk or make a spice paste with a bit of milk first, like making a starch slurry (aka corn starch goop). Powder added to a bunch of liquid will become little lumps of powder that are hard to chase around the bowl to smash against the edge.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 🌿
Mix the liquid ingredients together, add the sugar/spice mix, and then pour over the bread croutons in pre-greased square baking pan and gently stir so the bread is evenly covered with the liquid but don’t stir it into a mush. The finished bread pudding will have little squares of the various types of bread that you used, kind of like a savory Thanksgiving stuffing.
Bake at 350’F for about 45-60 minutes. The crust will be crusty and the center shouldn’t be soggy when you press on it or the egg might not be fully cooked. It should spring back a little bit when you touch it and it will have risen a bit in the pan. Bread pudding is good cold too, but it is super good served hot and a Rum sauce over the top might be a nice addition.
Rum Sauce to serve with a hot bread pudding: allrecipes.com//rum-sauce/. *Could be made in advance and be reheated. Also good over ice cream.
I wasn’t the pie and cake baker but made most of the other breads and cookies and I standardized the recipes for the restaurant. A seasoned crouton with cardamom and other spices became a signature addition to salads and I turned leftover stale baguettes into crisped garlic or plain baguette chips by slicing the stale loaves with a meat slicer, mixing the baguette rounds with garlic butter and re-baking to crisp them. They were a side dish with hummus and were sold in bags to-go. I also made a few flavors of granola sold for breakfast or in bags.
Bread pudding made with the various types of sandwich breads was savory rather than a bland white bread and vanilla pudding and did add rum-soaked raisins. Bread pudding is typically served hot, maybe with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a more adult Rum Sauce.
Crème Brûlée
Crème Brûlée is a baked custard which is made with egg yolk as the emulsifier. An emulsifier helps water and oil remain mixed together. Pudding is creamier than gelatin desserts because of the addition of cream/high fat milk or other fats. Egg yolk or a different emulsifier helps make it work. I have found that a spoonful of Gumbo file spice (mixed with the cold liquid) works as a vegan emulsifier. It does add some color and a little flavor and would be less noticeable in a chocolate or spicy pudding than in a mild vanilla pudding.
The advantage of baked custards is less stirring, however, knowing when the eggy dish is fully cooked in the center is something you master over time - make a dish few times before planning to serve it hot and fresh for a company meal.
Pumpkin or Sweet Potato Pie, Pecan Pie and Lemon Custard Pie are examples of egg custards baked as pie.
Crème Brûlée Recipe - Brave AI summary.
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar (for caramelizing)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt until pale and thick.
In a small saucepan, combine heavy cream and vanilla extract. Heat over medium heat until hot but not boiling.
Slowly pour the hot cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
Pour the mixture into 4-6 ramekins or small baking dishes.
Place the ramekins in a large baking dish and add hot water to come halfway up the sides.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are set and the centers still jiggle slightly.
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Just before serving, sprinkle a thin layer of granulated sugar over the top of each ramekin.
Caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch or under the broiler for 1-2 minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning. *This last step forms a crispy caramelized crust on top of the creamy custard. It is a classic or signature aspect of Crème Brûlée that you can’t skip if you want it to seem like the classic dessert… but certainly the baked custard would still be delicious without the added AGEs (acrylamide-rich) and delicious crispiness of broiled sugar.
Tips:
Use high-quality ingredients, including farm-fresh eggs and real vanilla extract.
Don’t overbake, as this can cause the custard to become too firm.
Let the crème brûlée chill thoroughly before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
For a more caramelized sugar crust, use a kitchen torch or broiler for a shorter time.
Nutrition Information (per serving):
Calories: 320
Fat: 24g
Carbohydrates: 23g
Protein: 4g
Variations:
Add a splash of liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or Cognac, for a grown-up twist.
Use different flavorings, like lemon or orange zest, to create unique variations.
Top with fresh fruit or nuts for added texture and flavor.
Enjoy your perfectly caramelized crème brûlée!
foodnetwork.com, Creme Brulee Recipe | Alton Brown | Food Network
thefirstyearblog.com, Recipe For Creme Brulee - The First Year Blog
Spice Blends
Sept. 4th is also National Wildlife Day, so get a jump on Ants on a Log Day with animal crackers too. Spice it up by premixing the almond butter or peanut butter with raw honey and some cardamom or cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice blend. Get really wild and experiment with your own blends or make blends from recipes.
The go-to book for a gazillion authentic spice blends from around the world is ‘Healing Spices - How to Use 50 Everyday & Exotic Spices to Boost Health & Beat Disease’ by B.B. Aggarwal, PhD. & Debra Yost, 2011. It’s available used for reasonable prices at many online sites and is a great kitchen and healing reference. Your library may have a copy! (BarnesandNoble.com)
Someone with an overgrowth of gut microbes (SIBO) might have too much growth from suddenly increasing use of resistant starches. A half cup portion of pudding once a day generally is a good amount for health. Lack of resistant starches for healthy anaerobic colon species can be part of SIBO though. We want our small intestine to have aerobic species and our colon/large intestine to be oxygen free and producing short chain fatty acids out of undigested resistant starches for the colon cells to use as an anaerobic, oxygen free, food supply.
Gassy bloating can be a symptom of gut microbe overgrowth but might also be a symptom of salicylate or sulfate excess or other issues.
Weather counts: Cold foods in wintertime might be more gas-producing or upsetting than eating warm or hot foods in cold weather.
Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.
You can just eat butter. Easy and fast.
Please come to my house and make me some dairy-free tapioca. Or can I just get it by mail order? Honestly I am not actually lazy, just temporarily too busy painting iodine on horses' feet. But making some pudding might be a better option than sleep....