Pease Pudding is my Week Three food first.
Facts (and ‘Facts’) about Pease Pudding
- It is a dish made of rehydrated yellow split-peas, often served with boiled meat.
- It can be eaten hot or cold.
- It is also known as Pease Pottage or Pease Porridge.
- Pease Pottage is a village in West Sussex where it is suggested that the food was served to convicts on their way to the south coast from London.
- Due to its consistency, it is likely that Pease Pudding was used as cement in the building of many early properties in Pease Pottage.
- Pease Pudding is suitable for vegetarians … and those who have lost the functionality of their taste buds in an accidental bleach drinking incident.
- Apparently: –
Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold,
Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old.
Some like it hot, some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot, nine days old
- This nursery rhyme suggests that there is favourable opinion towards the food – This assertion is likely to be as realistic as the plot of Humpty Dumpty.
- John Lennon’s song ‘Give Pease a Chance’ conveys an opinion that was infinitely more controversial than his The Beatles are ‘more popular than Jesus’ comment.
As you have probably gathered from the above, I really didn’t like pease pudding.
In the can, it looked like custard and smelt like dog food.
Out of the can, it looked a bit like sick – and judging by the gagging caused when trying to swallow the cold, claggy yellowness, I feared I may well be seeing it imminently as sick.
In order to heed Mr Lennon’s advice, I did give pease a chance and tried it warmed up as per the instructions on the tin – I’m nothing if I’m not reasonable. Perhaps it would be one of those things that is better hot… A cold cup of tea is unappetising; a hot cup of tea is lovely. I am sure there are other examples, but they currently escape me…
The preparation instructions on the tin stated the contents be heated for two minutes – With this timing being based on a 650w microwave. The fact that this length of time is based on the use of a 650w microwave, suggests that the tin may well have been sat on the shelf in the supermarket for a number of years (when 1100w microwaves were the work of science fiction). I sort of wish I had left it there too…
It was no better hot.
Well, I have survived another week in my quest to eat fifty-two new things in a year – and have done myself no favours if I ever wanted a career in food journalism.
Tune in next week to see what I find to eat. Please suggest anything you think might be appropriate…
Fifty-Two Weeks of Filling My Cheeks 