Rice, Bread and Noodle Puddings

Rice and bread puddings, and other puddings based on noodles, starches and grains, collectively form one of the twin pillars that hold up the entire edifice of old-fashioned desserts. (The other is the family of warm fruit desserts that includes cobblers, crisps and brown Bettys.)

Probably no other type of homemade dessert shows so many cross-cultural parallels. All over the world, leftover bread and rice are turned into simple desserts by adding a little sugar or honey, plus milk and an egg or two.