How to Prepare the Mould or Basin. — A pudding which is to be steamed or boiled must be put into a well-greased mould or basin. To prepare the mould or basin, first see that it is perfectly dry. If there is any doubt about this, stand it in a warm lace for a while. Then to grease it, use fresh utter, clarified butter, clarified fat, or salad oil. Salt butter is not so good, as it might cause the pudding to stick. A little of the fat should be put into the mould or basin, melted in a warm place, and then run round the sides, or painted on with a brush. A piece of white paper to cover the pudding should be greased at the same time. Besides greasing, pudding moulds are sometimes coated with fine browned bread-crumbs, biscuit-crumbs, or brown sugar ; or they may be prettily decorated with raisins, candied peel, almonds, or preserved fruits, according to the kind of pudding that is being made. Then again, a coating of caramel sometimes takes the place of the greasing (see p. 399). The mould should be prepared before the pudding is mixed. Bor light puddings a plain mould is best, as it will be easier to turn out, but for the more solid kinds, with flour and suet, some- thing more fanciful may be taken. How to Steam a Pudding. — As a rule the mould should not be more than three-quarters full, or even less, if the mixture is of a very light and spongy nature, as room must be allowed for the mixture to rise. (1) Cover the top of the mould with a piece of greased paper, twisting it on so that it does not fall down the sides, place it in a saucepan with just sufficient hot water to reach half-way up the mould, put a tight-fitting lid on the pan, and keep the water at simmering point until the pudding is cooked. If the water boils down, more must be added. Any pudding of the nature of a custard must be very slowly and carefully steamed, as extreme heat would curdle the eggs and make the pudding watery. With the lighter kinds of puddings it is a good plan to put a saucer or old plate at the foot of the saucepan, so as to raise the pudding mould a little above the heat of the stove. (2) Instead of the ordinary saucepan a steamer may be used ; care must be taken to keep plenty of water boiling underneath the pudding all the time. (3) Or, the mould containing the pudding may be placed in a deep tin or saucepan with boiling water round it and then cooked in the oven instead of the top of the stove. This is sometimes a more convenient method, as it saves a saucepan on the top of the stove ; it is also a very successful method if care is taken that the water does not boil away. How to Boil a Pudding. — A pudding mixture may either be boiled in a basin covered with a cloth, or in a cloth only. If a basin is used, the mixture should fill it, or it should be filled up with a round of bread, which is afterwards removed, to prevent the water soaking into the pudding and making it soft. Tie over it firmly a cloth that has been wrung out of boiling water and sprinkled with Cloth Tied on Basin.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

How to Prepare the Mould or Basin. — A pudding which is to be steamed or boiled must be put into a well-greased mould or basin. To prepare the mould or basin, first see that it is perfectly dry. If there is any doubt about this, stand it in a warm place for a while. Then to grease it, use fresh butter, clarified butter, clarified fat, or salad oil. Salt butter is not so good, as it might cause the pudding to stick. A little of the fat should be put into the mould or basin, melted in a warm place, and then run round the sides, or painted on with a brush. A piece of white paper to cover the pudding should be greased at the same time. Besides greasing, pudding moulds are sometimes coated with fine browned bread-crumbs, biscuit-crumbs, or brown sugar ; or they may be prettily decorated with raisins, candied peel, almonds, or preserved fruits, according to the kind of pudding that is being made. Then again, a coating of caramel sometimes takes the place of the greasing (see p. 399). The mould should be prepared before the pudding is mixed. For light puddings a plain mould is best, as it will be easier to turn out, but for the more solid kinds, with flour and suet, something more fanciful may be taken. How to Steam a Pudding. — As a rule the mould should not be more than three-quarters full, or even less, if the mixture is of a very light and spongy nature, as room must be allowed for the mixture to rise. (1) Cover the top of the mould with a piece of greased paper, twisting it on so that it does not fall down the sides, place it in a saucepan with just sufficient hot water to reach half-way up the mould, put a tight-fitting lid on the pan, and keep the water at simmering point until the pudding is cooked. If the water boils down, more must be added. Any pudding of the nature of a custard must be very slowly and carefully steamed, as extreme heat would curdle the eggs and make the pudding watery. With the lighter kinds of puddings it is a good plan to put a saucer or old plate at the foot of the saucepan, so as to raise the pudding mould a little above the heat of the stove. (2) Instead of the ordinary saucepan a steamer may be used ; care must be taken to keep plenty of water boiling underneath the pudding all the time. (3) Or, the mould containing the pudding may be placed in a deep tin or saucepan with boiling water round it and then cooked in the oven instead of the top of the stove. This is sometimes a more convenient method, as it saves a saucepan on the top of the stove ; it is also a very successful method if care is taken that the water does not boil away. How to Boil a Pudding. — A pudding mixture may either be boiled in a basin covered with a cloth, or in a cloth only. If a basin is used, the mixture should fill it, or it should be filled up with a round of bread, which is afterwards removed, to prevent the water soaking into the pudding and making it soft. Tie over it firmly a cloth that has been wrung out of boiling water and sprinkled with Cloth Tied on Basin.

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