THE SHIP, THE DUTCHMAN, & SPOTTED DICK.

  This is a story about a new ship, a Dutch shipbuilder, and old fashioned English puddings.

  In 1972 we had returned from Nova Scotia to Somerset. The Company [a subsidiary of Cunard] considered posting me to Norway and then decided to send me to Holland with the launch and commissioning of a new class of tug/supply ship. This coincided with the search for oil and gas offshore Norway and the Shetland Islands. And so I went to Capelle aan den IJessel, near Rotterdam, and stood by the commissioning of the "Ocean Shore". This ship was , and is, a really great ship and it was a privilege to be the fist master and see my name there in fine script on the Certificate of Registry. It will be there now. Anyway back to this tale of a man and food.

  The crew were recruited in Hull, a tough but competent bunch of seafarers and former fishermen, that included the brothers, Bert and Frank. Bert was the Boatswain, a huge guy with a broken nose and cauliflower ears, who had also played rugby league. Fred was a little smaller, not much though, a former rugby league player, gnarled features, and was the Cook/Steward. They turned out to be real stalwarts. Fred started ordering all the gear for the galley and that evoked a stir in head-office back in Great Yarmouth. The kitchen equipment he ordered harked back to the Victorian era! Nevertheless I supported his order because he seemed to know what he was doing and this ultimately proved to warrant my support.

 The commissioning went well, the trials went very well, and then the shipbuilders, IJsselwerf B.V., requested that the Managing Director join the ship for the maiden voyage. This was their first ship built for offshore oil and they needed feedback. The Company asked for my approval and Jan joined the ship as we sailed out into the North Sea and bad weather.

  Jan was sea-sick, very sea-sick, and I felt sorry for him, he was a really nice guy. But we persevered with getting him up and about and in three days we had Jan over sea-sickness and gaining his sea-legs. And then the inevitable happened - he was hungry and the Cook, Fred, proved to be a chef par excellence and so Jan tucked in to English food at its best.

 The one thing that really took Jan's fancy was the range and great variety of English puddings. In no time at all he had Apple Charlotte, Canary Pudding, Spotted Dick, Plum Duff, and Figgy Dowdy! [In case you do not know these puddings the recipes follow at the end of this blog.]

 We left the gas fields off Holland and headed to Stavanger and worked the seas off Norway and across to Shetland. Jan ate more duffs and his enjoyment expanded and so did his waistline! He really enjoyed the voyage and the experience proved invaluable. He even managed to talk to Hammond Innes, the author, at sea on another ship. So for all you food buffs the recipes follow.

Apple Charlotte

The original 'Charlotte' is a dish of the 17th Century and is a British invention. The dish consisted of lining a ring mould with bread and filling with apples, with the dish being served hot. In all likelihood the dish was named after Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, as she was the patron of apple growers

Serves: 4 - 6
Ingredients

• 120g Breadcrumbs
• 900g Cooking Apples
• 60g Brown Sugar
• Butter
• Juice & Rind of 1 Lemon
• 2 Tablespoons Syrup
• 1 Tablespoon Water
• Slices of stale white bread
• 900g Cooking Apples
• Juice and rind of half 1 lemon
• 85g Clarified Butter
• 30g Margarine (or Butter)
• 60g Brown Sugar

Method
Pre-heat the oven to gas 4 or 180 centigrade. Peel, core and slice the apples and stew in a little water with the sugar. Be careful not to let the apples completely disolve into a purée you need some peices for texture. Grease a caserole dish (1.75 litre) well and springkle some of the breadcrumbs over the bottom. Add alternate layers of apple and breadcrumbs finishing with a topping of breadcrumbs.

Heat the lemon juice, syrup, water and lemon rind and carefully pour over the top. Dot peices of butter over the top and bake for 30 minutes.

Canary Pudding

Serves: 4-6


Ingredients

• 3-4 tbsp jam or golden syrup or lemon curd
• For The Sponge
• 100g softened butter
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 3 -4 tbsp lemon juice
• 175g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• Butter for greasing the pudding basin

Method
In a large mixing bowl add the butter and sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until all combined. Sieve the flour and baking powder into the mixture and add the lemon zest and juice, fold through gently with a metal spoon until all the ingredients are combined together. If the mixture seems a little stiff add a little more lemon juice to the mixture but don't over do it and make it too sloppy.

Place the jam or golden syrup or lemon curd, whichever one you are using, into the base of the pudding basin. Spoon the sponge mixture over the top and level off the sponge with a spatula.

Place the buttered pleated greaseproof paper over the top and then the pleated foil over the top. With the string tie down the foil tightly under the basin rim and loop it back over to make a handle.

Place the pudding into the steamer for 1½ - 2 hours until cooked through. A skewer inserted into the centre of the pudding should come out clean without any uncooked sponge mixture clinging to it when ready.

Spotted Dick

An  old suet puddings that has  retained its popularity, consisting of a plain mixture with currants or raisins. In the middle of the nineteenth century it was as often called spotted dog.  


Serves: 8


Ingredients

• 25g soft butter for greasing
• 350g plain flour                                                                        
• 2 TBS baking powder
• 15o g shredded suet
• 75g caster sugar
• 15og currants
• 2 TBS brandy
• 25g butter, melted
• zest and juice 2 lemons
• 1 egg
• 150ml whole milk
• 150ml double cream

 


Method
Warm the brandy until it is just simmering and throw in the currants. Remove from the heat and allow to infuse for at least 3o minutes.

Butter a piece of greaseproof paper, or wax paper, measuring about 60 cm square with the soft butter.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and caster sugar together in a bowl. Stir in the currants (drain any liquid off and reserve) and suet. Add the melted butter. Stir in the lemon juice and zest and egg. Stir the reserved juice from the currants, milk and cream together and then add slowly, stirring, until you reach a dropping consistency. You may not need to use it all.

Spoon the mixture into the paper and rollit up into a sausage shape about 6 cm in diameter. Be careful not to roll it up too tightly, otherwise the mixture will not be able to rise sufficiently and will be heavy rather than light when cooked.

Tie at the ends with some string and place the pudding in a hot steamer fitted with a lid, over steaming water. Cover and steam for 1 1/4 hours until cooked. Check the bottom of the steamer from time to time and make sure you keep it topped up with hot water.

Remove the pudding from the steamer and unwrap.

Plum Duff

 

Serves: 6


Ingredients.

• 110g Self raising flour
• 110g shredded suet
• 220g dried fruit (currants or sultanas)
• 110g Bread crumbs
• 110g Dark brown sugar
• 1/2 Teaspoon mixed spice
• 1/2 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Little freshly grated nutmeg
• 250g plums, stones removed and chopped.
• 1/2 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped.
• Juice & zest of 1 orange
• 4 Tablespoons of dark rum
• 225ml Milk
• 2 Eggs

Method
Butter the inside of a 1 litre pudding basin with butter and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the chopped plums and apple, orange juice and zest, rum and eggs and mix together well. Begin adding the milk gradually and stir well. Keep adding milk until the mixture drops easily from the spoon when lifted from the bowl. Spoon the mixture into the buttered pudding basin.

Take a double sheet of foil and form a pleat across the middle. Cover the top of the pudding and tie well in place with kitchen string. Form a handle with string to make it easy to lift the pudding out of the steamer when cooked.

Partly fill a large pan with boiling water and place a steamer on top. Bring the water back to the boil and place the pudding in the steamer, cover and steam for three hours. Check the water every thirty minutes to make sure it doesn't boil dry.

When serving, remove the foil from the pudding and loosen the pudding carefully from the edges of the basin.

Figgy Dowdy

Serves: 4- 6

Ingredients

450g Plain Flour
110g Shredded Suet
100g Sugr
115g Raisins
115g Sultanas
1 teaspoon of dry ginger
1/2 teaspoon of mixed spice
60ml Rum
180ml water



Method

The evening before cooking place the dried fruit in a bowl with the rum and water and leave to soak overnight.
Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Strain the fruit and reserve the liquid. Mix the ingredients together well and gradually add the soaking liquid to form a stiff dough.
Form the dough into a large fat sausage shape and wrap in foil twisting the ends of the foil tightly together.
Take a steamer and fill with boiling water. Place the pudding in the steamer, cover with the lid and steam for two hours. Remember to check the water every 30 minutes to ensure it doesn't boil dry.