Custard

My story earlier today about jelly and custard was nothing about custard, actually, but a bout a greyhound called Jelly and Custard. While I was researching custard I realised that it exists in different forms – obviously I actually did know that, but it had sort of slipped from my mind.

Custard always means Bird’s Custard, created by a Mr Bird for his wife who had an allergy to eggs. It’s what I grew up with, made with milk and a little sugar it could be hot and runny, or cold  and set – as in banana custard, sponge cake and custard (with extra jam on the sponge cake) or trifle. Then there is actual custard made not from powder in a tin, but from milk and eggs and vanilla and sugar. and then there is – I think crême patissière.

Do other countries love it as much as we do? I was amazed looking through my Modern Practical Cookery, dated about 1930 at the number of listed custard recipes there were enjoyed by families nearly ninety years ago:

• apple custard
• baked custard
• banana custard
• banana meringue custard
• boiled rich custard
• brandy sauce custard
• bread pudding custard
• caramel custard
•  cream custard
• cheese custard
• chocolate custard
•  jelly custard
•  sponge custard
• coconut custard
•  coconut pie custard
• cream custard
• egg baked custard
• fruit sponge custard
• ginger custard
• gooseberry custard
•  and cherry custard
•  and sponge custard
• jelly custard
• orange custard
• pear  custard
• pie custard
• powder cakes custard
• pudding custard
• ratafia custard
• rice custard
• semolina custard
• soufflé custard
• tarts custard

My featured image is of a friend’s recipe – my version of peach and blueberry custard pie