An Act of Faith

In the beginning, ‘pudding’ was a boudin – anything stuffed inside an animal gut, the medieval equivalent of the vacuum pouch so beloved by contemporary chefs. Haggis and sausages are descendants of the boudin, as are Sussex pond, Christmas and Yorkshire puddings. The distinction between savoury and sweet is a modern one. Blancmange was made with chicken, sugar and almond milk; mince pies, which came to be stuffed with spice and fruit, were made with meat. Slowly, the strands were unravelled, and as puddings became entirely sweet, sugar almost completely disappeared in savoury dishes.