Recipe Failed, But it Tasted Great! - Herb Pudding From The 1700's

[@townsends]

Where do you think this recipe went wrong?

[@JR-gl1nx]

Somewhere around 1701

[@1999burban]

When it tasted bad

[@siyacer]

In the authors head

[@bluezebra2759]

You didn't scald the veggies before chopping!

[@jukthewise8776]

Not enough nutmeg! Sorry, the devil made me say it. 😁

[@ravenwolf7128]

Jon, soak groats at least overnight or even longer, and use more greens--greens pre-boiled shrink tremendously so you would end up with more proportionally in the recipe--use lots of lard, no flour on the bag. Boil it forever--really, 3 hours or more. then I bet this recipe would be congealed into a true pudding. We cook groats often--they expand a lot, and can take boiling for a long time without losing flavor. Once cooked into a congealed cake--you can store it and slice it up the next day and fry it in butter almost like a sausage--it's so delicious!

[@colleenuchiyama4916]

I totally agree. Groats take forever to soak and boil.

[@ravenwolf7128]

@@colleenuchiyama4916 right? as hearty a grain as there ever was.....

[@GertrudeTheCar]

I mean hey. All I know is people in the 18th century at healthier than Americans now. And Jon has better cooking skills than me

[@landomilknhoney]

Sounds like you have made this a time or two.

[@ravenwolf7128]

@@landomilknhoney similar, but no recipe--I just use whatever savory stuff I have. I save drippings from cooking meat to use in cooking groats, polenta, or even rice.

[@katanatac]

The absence of nutmeg is the cause of the failure.

[@rainydaylady6596]

😂🤣😂🖖💕

[@sarahallegra6239]

😂🤣😂 Perfect comment!!

[@hideanazawa2155]

I like it!

[@scottstewart3884]

Drat! I'm 8 hours Too late in saying this....LOL

[@lindabarling7719]

🤣🤣🤣❤👍

[@JeffDeWitt]

I used to make cakes for a group I belonged to and took pride in making my cakes from scratch. My first (and only) attempt at an angel food cake failed to rise when baked. I tasted it and it tasted good, but was dense like pound cake. So I mixed some butter, flour and brown sugar to make a crumble top and called it "Fallen Angel Cake. They loved it and ate the whole thing.

[@rainydaylady6596]

Great name and nice save. Have you ever figured out why it didn't rise? 🤗🖖💕

[@maychorian]

@@rainydaylady6596 Most likely the egg whites weren't whipped to stiff enough peaks. That's the most common reason for egg white-based desserts to fail, and angel food cake is basically whipped egg whites with a little bit of sugar and flour.

[@hannahcollins1816]

Just curious: did you grease the Angel Food tin?

[@stanwolenski9541]

Great save even better name.

[@marknesselhaus4376]

No failures, just "Happy little accidents" :-D

[@Bildgesmythe]

Anything you can eat isn't a failure

[@nikorasukamado2245]

f a c t s

[@rickrussell]

I was gonna say... as a side dish, that looked pretty fantastic

[@TheBIGLebowski-jhp9]

You can eat a dog turd, if that isn't a fail, i dont know what is

[@OneAccord1]

@@TheBIGLebowski-jhp9 you should have a talk with my dog

[@eldorados_lost_searcher]

@@TheBIGLebowski-jhp9 I saw some Scouts make up some chili in a Dutch oven, and instead of pouring a batch of cornbread on top to cook, they mixed it in. The result was so inedible that Petey, the camp dog, refused to eat any after it was discarded. I'd call THAT a catastrophic failure.

[@rebekahtarvin354]

Thank you for showing the failure. So many don't show that. I love how much I learn from your channel and the encouraging words you always seem to have.

[@adamfox1669]

Well said. I concur

[@Chalz108]

You can tell a lot about a man's character when he can show and accept his failures

[@sandrataylor2323]

You can always use it as a side dish just like it is. Perfection isn't always the aim of what a dish looks like, its the taste that counts.

[@BeeWhistler]

Yeah, it’s got a pilaf look to it.

[@greywuuf]

It does have a pilaf feel, ...though I bet the flavor is more like a stuffing

[@nicolelasher]

@@greywuuf this is what I was thinking. Maybe it was supposed to be something like a stuffing or dressing and some portion of the groats should have been leftover bread or something.

[@TheSuzberry]

That’s what I say about some of my layer cakes.

[@mordekaihorowitz]

Amen!

[@fartzinwind]

i genuinely appreciate the posting of successes and failures.

[@wendynordstrom3487]

TROGDOR! The Burninator!

[@Msfeathers7]

Me too!

[@TrogdorBurnin8or]

That's a handsome avatar.

[@JonathanQShrimpling]

Jon Townsends is the most wholesome, likable guy to ever cook really old recipes for some reason

[@chezmoi42]

He really is one of a kind. You may also like Max Miller on 'Tasting History', too - another very wholesome fellow, with a very different style.

[@angiebee2225]

@@chezmoi42 Very different feel to the channels, but they're both great.

[@jamesellsworth9673]

You made quite a nice-looking oat groat pilaf! Served with roasted fowl, I bet it would have met with approval from hungry diners in the period.

[@dwaynewladyka577]

It does look like a pilaf. Cheers!

[@jamesellsworth9673]

@@dwaynewladyka577 Hey DWAYNE! Good to hear from YOU.

[@anarchoutis]

@@jamesellsworth9673 'groat pilaf' 😆

[@wadejustanamerican1201]

One of the reasons I love this channel is it shows everything warts and all. Besides if you can eat it, it's a success.

[@giausjulius4]

I think this would make a wonderful bed for a stew as-is. Strong beef gravy, meaty bits, perhaps with carrot or parsnip in it. It may not have turned out well for a pudding but I can see this being an addition to something else. A vegetable hash to be served with fried or poached eggs, perhaps under a steak in sauce.

[@juliejay5436]

You are making me hungry! That sounds BEAUTIFUL!

[@itgetter9]

Parsnip . . . YUM!

[@jenniferprice1036]

Yes. Just yes. That sounds delightful!

[@clogs4956]

That sounds like an old-fashioned steak and kidney pudding!

[@BogeyTheBear]

2:13 Guess that's where we get the adjective 'pudgy' as well-- someone/something with a big belly.

[@tasteofcrazy182]

I'm also wondering if the "scald the vegetables" meant wilt them. It would probably change your groats:veg ratio. I'm theorizing, too, that the raw vegetables might shrink and leave water pockets. Just a thought.

[@tauIrrydah]

I think a modern interpretation would be to 'blanche' which involves dipping them in cold water after but I don't get why you need to here :S

[@veronicavatter6436]

Like scalding milk.

[@sorrenblitz805]

@@tauIrrydah I think the idea is to take some of the water out, so I don't think they blanched it.

[@mad6575]

I think it needed more moisture

[@melissarmt7330]

I have a question. My grandmother would make 'stirabout' when I was little. She'd use oatmeal but instead of butter and honey, jam or fresh fruit, it was savory. She used onions, a little bacon, some garlic (tiny bit) and a few savory herbs. It was delicious. We'd have it with breakfast and she'd serve eggs along side it. Is this anywhere near the same but without the stomach or pudding cloth? We're of Irish descent with her parents being recent to the US.

[@katarinaroman8392]

This sounds amazing and I am going to try and make this!

[@matildas3177]

Did she make it on leftover porridge? If so, it sounds like the fancy version of fried porridge that used to be common in Sweden.

[@lisaharmon5619]

Sounds delicious.

[@skrimper]

This reminded me of Fried Cabbage. The Irish know good food

[@KairuHakubi]

that sounds like something i'd wanna make with hominy grits instead.

[@johnboleyjr.1698]

What you ended up with sounds to me like a decent hearty side dish. Kind of a take on stuffing.

[@rileywebb4178]

Yeah I am not a food historian but at the least they would have eaten this maybe it was not supposed to be a perfect "pudding" as we or people at the time had said. People ate some food those was bad even at the time because they expected it.

[@antaine1916]

It's actually very close to my pseudo-risotto I make with McCann's Steel Cut Oats -- I top it with a poached egg or two.

[@katarinaroman8392]

A huge part of cooking, as I'm sure you know!, is learning from your mistakes and adding the new knowledge to your repertoire! It's wonderful to see recipes that may have been difficult for our ancestors as well! Thank you for this video!

[@wmschooley1234]

Mr. Townsend: The recipe ingredients for this pudding sound a lot like the base ingredients for groaty pudding. Next time, consider soaking the groats or steel cut oats for an insanely long time. As a young child, I remember my great grandmother’s groaty pudding. She would literally “soak”/cook the groats for half a day. The only way I can describe what I remember coming out would be groats that have disintegrated into a texture of thick congee. Boiling the steel cut groats was way too short. Respectfully, WS

[@ravenwolf7128]

my thought too--to get that gooiness--soak groats at least overnight and use more greens--greens pre-boiled shrink tremendously so you would end up with more proportionally in the recipe--use lots of lard, no flour on the bag. Boil it forever. then I bet it would be congealed into a true pudding.

[@applied__science]

Yes, thanks for showing something that failed. We're on the journey with you, so it is great to see what happens (good or bad).

[@ravenpineshomestead]

I'd love to watch a re-attempt

[@Trund27]

Yeah, I’m kind of hungry now! It frankly looks deletions as a side dish.😊

[@floralcat7328]

I know it has been said already, but not often enough: DON'T THROW THE GREEN PART OF THE LEEK AWAY! Especially Not in the 18th century - they wouldn't throw away perfectly fine food!

[@RadFallout100]

I was genuinely surprised when he did, and I don't even cook.

[@Freakinviking]

I use leek all the time and it has never crossed my mind to throw away the green part 😅

[@jennil7797]

Leeks being the national vegetable of Wales, we eat them often. I can't imagine throwing the top two thirds away!

[@MariOlsdatter]

UK residents today call beets as beet-root. Otherwise, "beet" refers to greens of beets.

[@kinremnant4616]

Good to experiment with both. Beets to me could be too dense since scalding it might not do as much. Beets as in Beet-root. lol

[@juliawikaryasz9430]

It's very refreshing to see a chef get it wrong. Cooking is never perfect! So many shows think they have to show a perfectly done recipe, but the failures make you relatable. Great job Jon! I'm sure the next one will turn our awesome! 😊

[@chimpaflimp]

'Pud' today still means a body part in Scottish slang, but it's a little lower down than the gut and not terribly family friendly to mention.

[@m_d1905]

Good to know! LOL

[@The_Gallowglass]

Never pull your pud on camera.

[@criswilson1140]

2:30 "you can almost think of them as sausages"

[@petramarishko]

And in old russian it is a weight - 16 kilos. Now I wonder how much our guts weight.

[@WolfingtonStanley]

@@The_Gallowglass you rotter, I was going to say that 🤣

[@sststr]

Gah! Don't throw away those leek greens! I like to steam them, and with just a little bit of butter, they make a perfectly fine side dish to any meaty dinner.

[@VepzZz]

Great on pizza too.

[@user-mc5vy2vk5n]

Was looking for a comment saying to not throw leek greens away! I use whole leeks in leek quiche, in leek soup, as soup vegetable, in salads (i.e. chop leek, grate two apples, add two spoons of natural yogurt or sour cream, season with some salt, optionally a bit sugar and/or lemon juice), idk why people throw it away, they are as tasty as the white part and imo they are even prettier, because they give fresh green touch to your dish!

[@sheilam4964]

The only reason people throw the green part away is because it became FASHIONABLE to the Great Chefs of the world back in the 80-90s. Before then they were used a lot but were so much more expensive than regular onions that they were rarely bought. They were the only onion I could eat without severe GI discomfort back in the 60-70s.. No one threw out the greens back then. They didn't become popular again till the Great Cooking Shows came along and for whatever reason the Chefs were throwing the greens away. Maybe because of the dirt just under the split in each green leaf and they couldn't be bothered to remove each leaf and wash the dirt out. 😕 So now everyone does it - they've never eaten them and I've heard people and chefs say it's because "they are not good to eat". I swear I've heard that, not a word of a lie. I can't believe my ears. My family and I have always eaten leeks with the green tops. It's the best onion for stuffing.

[@user-mc5vy2vk5n]

@@sheilam4964 THANK YOU! I always wondered why, as born in early 90' I didn't saw the cooking shows from these years, I was a toddler then. 😅 But even here, in the middle of the Europe I heard since I can recall (so current century, I think) people saying that the green parts aren't edible, but they couldn't tell me, why! The greens aren't toxic, they aren't woody nor anything else what would make them inedible, and people kept telling me that they shouldn't be eaten. O.o Sure, washing the dirt out is a bit tedious, but not enough to waste perfectly fine food!

[@kleineroteHex]

Always stick my not so nice top parts in my freezer to add along with onion skins, potato peels, carrot tops, woody asparagus stems..... when making broth. No need to buy new to make a broth😊 Yes, I use a lot of green only cut off dry and withered.

[@ashleighlecount]

I've been looking forward to this since you talked about it on the live Friday

[@MrChronicpayne]

I love watching these when they fail or are kind of ambiguous - it just feels so much more authentic to how someone back then might also have to work around the issues!

[@TheArchaos]

*Throws away the green part of the leek* THATS THE BEST PART!

[@MariOlsdatter]

Pinhead oats takes a lot of cooking in my experience of making goetta. An hour or two isn't enough.

[@TiggiTheWillful]

I’m physically disabled and housebound currently. It won’t always be an issue but right now it is. One of my fave things is an open fire, I instantly feel safe and content. However, I live in a ground floor flat and can’t access my tiny garden atm. So I’m stuck dreaming of simplifying my life. Gathering the tools to bake and cook for myself more. Plus redecorating my home to better reflect the life I see in these videos and want for myself. You and Mrs Crocombe are my happy places. you both allow me to switch off from pain and relative isolation for a little while. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.

[@itgetter9]

What a lovely comment! Tiggi the Willful, I hope your pain comes under control, and I hope you'll be able to get out and about, but in the meantime, I wish you many moments of small pleasures! (I like your name, too)

[@TiggiTheWillful]

@@itgetter9 I play a lot of skyrim. Name comes from that…. Thank you for the lovely reply ❤️ I should explain I’m a wheelchair user with Cerebral Palsy and hip dysplasia. So my pain isn’t really curable. Just controlled with meds.

[@itgetter9]

@@TiggiTheWillful I've had experience with chronic pain (for years), so I have a little bit of an idea of how that can be. May your pain come under control, and keep playing games and dreaming dreams of peak coziness!

[@TiggiTheWillful]

@@itgetter9 just learned today. I’m getting Botox in my legs!!!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@itgetter9]

@@TiggiTheWillful Awesome! Hope it helps significantly!

[@mammiemania893]

In its current form, it reminds me of rice pilaf. Did you cover the groats with a tight cover? Like rice at a 2 to 1 ratio, this will make the jelly you might be looking for. I personally wouldn't put flour on the cloth as it pulled the groats to it. It simply pulled the pudding apart in this instance. Precooking the veg would help break down fibers in the veg of that time. Older, tougher veg would need this precooking. Even oats that we currently have available aren't the same variety that would have been available in the original recipe. Great try. Good luck next time.

[@dianapovero7319]

Yes. Blanching the greens aso preserves the color. I do beleive keeping the bag tight at the begining would've helped it set as well.

[@lalalinda36]

I thought for a pudding you were supposed to rub the suet into the cloth then flour the cloth before adding the other ingredients. Could that make a difference?

[@adedow1333]

No, it didn't stick to the cloth. Treating the cloth with boiling water before flouring was just the thing to do as with other similar puddings (like spotted dick)

[@amerinethorburn1124]

But it did stick to the cloth. “If at first you don’t succeed try try again. Definitely looks like a nice side dish though.

[@sorrenblitz805]

He doesn't do the suet in the cloth. He dips the cloth in the hot water and flours it. He explained that all that does is act like a seal and help block water from destroying the pudding inside.

[@AllDayBikes]

Jon looks so disgusted and concerned the whole time he's prepping this lmfao

[@titaniumdiveknife]

This was really, really genuine. Well done Mr. Townsend!

[@Ottawajames]

Recipe: Needs to be boiled until the string slackens up. Townsends: The recipe doesn't say anything about boiling.

[@kinremnant4616]

Ah is that the last line was talking about? Makes sense to me. Wasn't too sure what the bottem left word was. Far away it did look like loosen but, I had no idea what firing was.

[@genericpersonx333]

Personally, what amuses me is how many of these authors of these early how-to manuals took the time to write a book, often paid a good deal to get a publisher to print the book, in theory with the purpose of educating strangers on a subject the strangers are not expert in, and then the authors write like the reader can see what the author is doing, essentially defeating the whole purpose of using a book to learn a new skill instead of asking someone to show you. Basically they write as if you are in the room and cam see what a "handful" is or what onions chopped "small" look like, instead of giving readers actual points of reference. Shows you how undeveloped the concept of how-to books still was for the most part. Thankfully, people got better about it, but boy it took longer than you would have thought!

[@ricktwisty5636]

10:08: Also Townsends: "It's ready to go in the BOILING water, you don't want it to go into half-BOILING water, this goes into full-BOILING water. And this will probably BOIL, I'm guessing, one hour for this size, so let's get it into the BOILING water."

[@gray_mara]

@@kinremnant4616 The bottom line says "slacken the string a little." But it's written "flacken the ftring a little." This is because back then the letter S had two different ways of being written. If it appeared at the end of a word, it looked like a normal S. If it appeared anywhere else in a word, it looked more like a lower case F (f), sometimes without the central cross bar, sometimes with a longer stalk on the bottom. In this position, it's called a non-terminal S. Especially against a textured background, it makes it much harder to read.

[@Banzai431]

Words cannot adequately express how much I am thankful for this channel.

[@ohusky271]

John: You might not be familiar with leeks Everone on the internet since 2009: Brave to make such assumptions

[@TheArchaos]

My fridge always have a leek and potato soup with massive amounts of garlic, delicious in fall with croutons and sweet corn.

[@boat02]

but I'm not familiar with the non-rotational leeks

[@theJellyjoker]

Leeks, spinning since 2006!

[@mrdanforth3744]

Leeks are not a common vegetable in the US. I dare say most Americans have never seen one.

[@suzannecooke2055]

@@mrdanforth3744 I don't know where YOU live, but leeks are quite available in my supermarket in Texas and were always at the market in Pittsburgh too. My husband and his dad would go to the woods in the spring for wild leeks (they called them 'ramps'). The family adage was "if one person eats leeks - everyone eats leeks". The explanation was that leeks give you BAD breath - but-like garlic- if everyone has eaten them, no one notices.

[@AntiChrisV]

I believe firstly, that the greens need to be processed first. They release a lot of moisture initially. Secondly, the oats were underdone, therefore not providing enough starchiness. They can be soaked longer, and cook the whole lot longer as well.

[@bitsnpieces11]

I know that when you cook quick oatmeal for just a short time it doesn't stick together well. If you cook it for longer it forms much more of a gelatinous lump. Possibly more water for a longer time.

[@FrikInCasualMode]

It's true. My mother used to boil groats. Then she wrapped still scalding hot pot with paper and put it under blankets for a hour or two more. It resulted in delicious, sticky lump - much tastier than modern, pre-boiled groats in plastic bags.

[@bitsnpieces11]

@@FrikInCasualMode That sounds perfect.

[@FrikInCasualMode]

@@bitsnpieces11 It was :( Now no one has time to properly cook groats or kasha. Everyone use pre-boiled and pre-packaged convenience sized portions from markets.

[@petramarishko]

@@FrikInCasualMode haha. Just two weeks ago I tried to cook exactly kasha. Oatmeal kasha :). I boiled that cursed oats from local supplier at least for two hours! (the instruction was "20-25 min") I thought I was damned. I posted on Facebook asking why. Nobody couldn't guess what's wrong. It was steel balls, not oats. But after two hours at least it cooked

[@mattv5281]

There is an oatmeal product from Bob's Red Mill called Scottish Oatmeal. It is basically oats that are lightly stone ground, so it's a mix of almost whole grouts, coarse flour, and everything in between. It makes a very thick chewy oatmeal. Maybe the recipe was expecting you to use something like that?

[@kueapel911]

scalded veggies and salt... I suspect they were meant to be squeezed off their excess moisture before being combined with other ingredients. The thing falling apart might be because of the excess moisture from the raw veggies wilting while boiling, creating pockets of air and water, breaking things apart.

[@oxoniumgirl]

I believe "it will be required to be taken up in boiling to slacken the string a little." means that you ARE to tie it very tightly and boil it until the ingredients soften to the point that there is some slack on the string due to reduced consistency of the contents. In other words "boil it until the string begins to slacken". Also, "Groats" can be any whole hulled grain, such as wheat or rye or barley, not just oats!

[@stumccabe]

The word "pudding" is derived from Old French "boudin", meaning sausage (example Cajun boudin). Another example of a non-sweet pudding is the English "steak and kidney pudding" which is a sort of steamed meat pie.

[@FunkyTreasureHunter]

I can't wait to see you re-tackle this!!! I also love that you post when things go awry - and your cheery attitude even when things don't work out 💜

[@goodoldbubba6620]

This channel is a great comfort.

[@tiffanyjones249]

I cannot express to you how much I wish I had your set up or was a part of your family so I could eat all of the wonderful foods I've seen you make over the years. Please don't ever stop doing what you're doing!

[@bunnyslippers191]

I think the "groats" should have been Scottish oats aka Scottish oatmeal. That's what I prefer as my oatmeal. In my experience with rolled oats, steel cut oats, and Scottish oats, the Scottish oats cook up much faster and have a creamier consistency. You have to put the pan into cold water immediately after dishing up or else "the mass" will solidify and take *forever* to get off the pan. The same goes for the bowls you serve them in. If the "groats" had been Scottish oats/oatmeal after cooling that pudding would have been a solid ball. I think there should also be a much thicker coating of flour on the pudding cloth. As for tasting "bland" may some diced garlic would kick the flavor up a notch.

[@applegal3058]

My grandmother used to make a scalded pudding, and my mother makes it sometimes too. She sometimes gets the texture perfectly dense, where other times it's a soggy blob. I remember my grandmother tying the pudding bag super tight, and if it's not tied tight enough you get a soggy pudding. So...here's what I wrote down while watching mom make scalded pudding: Mix 2-3 cups boiling water with 1/2 cup butter. Mix and boil. Stir the hot liquid into 2-3 cups white flour mixed with 1 tsp table salt. Make a stiff dough. Tie into a ball in the pudding bag and tie really tight. Cook submerged in the boiled dinner pot liquor about 3 hours. So...as a Newfoundlander, a boiled dinner (also called a jiggs dinner) consists of boiling together salt-cured beef or pork, cabbage, turnip (what most people outside NL call rutabaga), carrots and potatoes. The pot liquor is the liquid that everything boils in. Mom uses this liquid to add to her meat pan to make gravy. I also know she used to eat it with bread as a kid. It's savoury and salty, and can also be used in soup recipes in place of stock. We would eat the scalded pudding with the boiled dinner vegetables and meat and gravy. You can eat the pudding either with gravy, or top it with some fancy molasses. Hope someone found this information interesting.

[@eileencarroll6418]

...and remember that wall paper used to be hung using a paste made from oats. So if oat groats had been cooked to a creamy state, pressed together with scalded veg and lard (not tallow) by a string tied up so close that you would have to loosen the string during boiling, and allowed to set up after removing from the boil, the ball of ingredients would have held together.

[@timkibben8004]

That's what I love about your videos!!! Experimentation and candor!!! I think it looked very appetizing. Wholesome! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your clan!

[@matteotome771]

In italy we have something similar, normally we use fresh spring herbs and we add beaten eggs

[@nebbindog6126]

Everybody loves Italian food! I'm sure it is delicious.

[@matteotome771]

@@nebbindog6126 thanks

[@blakemccabe15]

I love your series. Between this and Tasting History, have lots to procrastinate with between my PhD work and teaching. Great to relax with and learn from and am planning to try some of these (maybe even in an outdoor cooking situation in the summer at camp or our family cottage in the woods)

[@MrColinwith1L]

I would have boiled the greens for at least 5 minutes (blanching can equate to scalding). The reason why is because they come out so shreddable they turn to mush, and the extra liquid would help the oats. This is common in Indian cuisine to make greens into a puree, but it does appear in late medieval European cuisine from time to time as a method for using herbs in sauces. Likewise, the recipe here could be talking solely about using greens, including leek and spring onions -- more mush and less hard chunks of onion. For the groats, it is possible they are not talking about oats at all, but wheat, barley, or some other porridge-able grain product. These could be better at coagulating into a pudding type material. Also they could call it pudding when what they really mean is a porridge (like Groaty Pudding today), something more like a pilaf (German Stippgrütze is a good example), or what we think of as a stuffing -- the recipe does not say how much water goes into the pudding mix. Perhaps what you made is basically what they meant. Or maybe this author simply left out some important details. Sometimes these things were just hastily scribbled down and sent off to the publisher without any trial run. I would look at recipes immediately before this one in the same book, as the lack of description on method here implies that the author already taught it previously. Fannie Farmer's 1897 cookbook for example explains a lot in the chapter intros that never appears in the recipe itself.

[@timl.b.2095]

I thought the same thing about the groats, thinking barley myself.

[@nordicson2835]

I always love your posts, even if things don't go quite right , you make it informational and enjoyable.

[@jessicacaraballo645]

i think hes right about the groats steeping... my father overcooks oatmeal by most ppls standards and then when it cools it becomes bread pudding consistency....the water ratio and how sticky you make the oatmeal might get you a ball

[@StrawHatTony420]

I've just discovered this channel maybe 2 weeks ago. I literally love this channel

[@karenmaier477]

I think your right. The Grouts needed to be soft so they could bind together.

[@Dexterity_Jones]

I just love everything about this show and channel. It's like a little slice of calm in todays chaos. I've learned so much, and its been fascinating the whole way.

[@pinkwolf2020]

I'd be fine serving this as a side dish with baked chicken, maybe a good steak. I have a feeling that many even in the 18th century didn't make it perfect, they'd eat it just fine! Thanks again for all your content :)

[@moodyjames7871]

Love the channel. Happy to find it. I'm binging the back catalogue...

[@Objective-Observer]

I agree with others: if this is from a British Source, BARLEY groats would be what they were talking about. Oat has nothing to bind ingredients. And I couldn't eat the oats or barley, but a Course Ground Corn Meal sounds AWESOME with this recipe... even if it's boiled. Oh, and I would rub a fat on the cloth, not flour- that was the ONLY binding agent in what you did.

[@patrickharmon9459]

I truly love your 18th century cooking along with the mistakes and success. It's truly educational, and I like history. Keep up the good work and God bless you and your staff

[@nickimacrae7163]

This is ‘white pudding’ it’s traditional in scotland and we still eat it in the modern day. Often these days the green veg and herbs are omitted, but there are many variations. If the mixture is cooked in a pan, it becomes ‘Skirlie’. I’ve even had it coated in batter and deep fried from a fish and chip shop (I don’t necessarily recommend it, the oats soak up the oil big time). I think the mistake here may actually be expecting the cooked pudding to be a solid mass. Some cloth-cooked dishes, like ‘clootie dumpling’ (a cloot is a cloth) do hold together (though I’ve eaten many that have fallen apart), but when we eat haggis or veggie haggis - even though they’re cooked in a modern casing - they’re essentially a pile of crumbs on the plate, rather than a slice of something that has form.

[@ingemar_von_zweigbergk]

I'm glad atleast someone is trying to keep the old arts alive

[@chadthundercock5641]

Here in Britain, which presumably this recipe came from, we have a lot of savoury puddings. Things like black pudding, or steak and kidney pudding.

[@chimpaflimp]

Yeah, one definition I've seen is that pies are baked while puddings are boiled, and that's where the distinction is made (with yorkie puds being an exception, of course).

[@CeToxihuitl]

Or Yorkshire pudding...

[@garygreen7552]

Think Haggis which is a Scottish pudding that is traditionally cooked in a sheep stomach. It is made from left-over animal parts with oats, herbs and spices. It may also have a bit of Scotch added. It boiled. It is famous partly because of Robert Burns "Ode on the Haggis." It is one of many common people's dishes that use what the wealthy didn't want/

[@harold6510]

Do you know it's actually AGAINST THE LAW in the USA to commercially serve HAGGIS!...LOL BTW, HAGGIS is traditionally served with TATTIES and NEEPS... TRANSL: Potatoes and SWEDES/RUTABAGA.

[@alp4778]

It sounds like a vegetable version of haggis. We have sweet and savoury puddings in the uk. Most of them have suet in common, and / or were cooked by boiling or steaming. (To add further confusion, in some areas of the UK, people will call the dessert course "pudding" .)

[@Melissa.Garrett]

We do like to confuse people, don’t we? Even ice-cream can be called “pudding” in some places, if you’re eating it as an after-dinner dessert. 😂

[@golfmk2driver]

with a suet type pudding which is similar to this you would generally flour the cloth before wrapping and you would twist the cloth to tighten it when wrapping so it hold everything tightly together while it cooks.

[@barbarawenton8020]

If it tastes good , (it looks like stuffing ) then it’s not a problem that it didn’t work itself in a ball.

[@jschwederslp]

You mentioned how sturdy the cloth was. Perhaps the fine weave in combination with the flour did not allow enough water in to finish hydrating the oats. Steal cut are pretty sturdy and a require more water and cook time.

[@b.johnathanwarriorinagarde7980]

You should've added nutmeg when you floured the cloth bag.

[@corinneone]

Oh my gosh! I just laughed at the end result! You’ve totally mastered these recipes. It was fun though. Thank you

[@mbiker345]

it was fun to actually see the moment, half way through, where John realized he has to eat this thing. Taste it anyway. Lol

[@reftouswarships6731]

love this channel

[@rangerstl07]

So... haggis is "pudding" then? Hold my beer.

[@12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon]

This is the comfort content I come for when I've had a rough day. Always makes it better.

[@gardenplots283]

Next time follow the recipe exactly. Like scalding the greens before chopping finely.

[@Palach303]

Im pretty sure thats not the reason why it was falling apart.

[@TiggiTheWillful]

Rude much? Did your mother skim on teaching you manners?

[@nebbindog6126]

@@TiggiTheWillful It's an opinion, speech cop.

[@veronicavatter6436]

@@Palach303 it could be. The shrinkage of the veg may have made it not hold together. However, he's a bit rude

[@TiggiTheWillful]

@@nebbindog6126 it is indeed. Could be because I believe in treating people respectfully. Comment could of read like this: ‘Just a suggestion, but next time follow the recipe closely and chop the veggies more finely. Hope that helps!’ It comes across much more politely and less like you are barking orders. Just a thought. Hope this helps …hehe.

[@RandyDanger]

Thank you for uploading these cooling 'failures', even if they don't turn out totally presentable or how they're supposed to! Most channels only put out their best successes, but in cooking you're gonna have some failure and some things turn out not quite right.

[@HeatherNaturaly]

For starters, you didn't put nearly enough flour on the cloth. I've been eating and making boiled 'puddings' for 60+ years. Also, I think it should have been tied tighter and cooked for at least another hour. The oats should be rolled, which would then have cooked much more and thus bonded it all together.

[@perry92964]

ive never made a pudding but what your saying makes a lot of sense as he was tying it up i thought, it looks like he is about to make regular oatmeal in a bag

[@civilizationinruins]

But rolled oats weren't invented until the late 19th century. They wouldn't be appropriate for an 18th-century recipe.

[@HeatherNaturaly]

@@civilizationinruins hmm I wasn't aware of that. I still think the oats were underdone and that was why it failed.

[@civilizationinruins]

@@HeatherNaturaly Yes, agreed. Another hour in the boiling pot might have released more starch and made a more cohesive pudding. And there's always the possibility that some here have suggested: like a haggis, perhaps it wasn't meant to hold together.

[@maxsav007]

Other folks on here with extensive boiled pudding experience have said the opposite of flour on the bag. Just saying...

[@slickrickard]

This was a great vid, ty for showing despite the outcome. Love this channel.

[@DudokX]

Maybe they wanted you to scold the greens: "You stupid little greens!" 😋

[@steve8189]

There are moment of experimentation on your channel that really makes me wish I had a neighbor with a similar historical knowledge, interests and drive like yours. It would be fun to try and try again. How fantastic would that be! I believe it is the journey which makes most of the fun. Great job as always, keep going!

[@sariekitchen]

13 minutes ago! This recipe must be pretty fresh!

[@oliverhel9629]

Nice set up for the plum pudding video townsends. Smooth

[@markcole377]

could it be that instead of a cloth it should be in a sheep's stomach like in the Scottish Haggis?? just a thought. Oh and great vid as always :)

[@airshipswashbuckler6420]

Whether the recipe works out or not I always consider it a success when I get watch a Townsend video Always informative and fun! Keep up the good work! 😁👍

[@arielpaulson9509]

Looks like an early prototype of sage-and-onion stuffing.

[@ericboland1428]

I would love to see future episodes on this dish to watch the progression/steps you take to make it. I never thought about a savory pudding/oatmeal and think I might try it.

[@atlasking6110]

I once did a 17th century plum pudding in a bag recipe, and it also failed yet tasted delicious. So, I do not know where this went wrong LOL. I don't see how the groats were supposed to keep this together. Usually there's flour involved, to help form the crust.

[@nokomarie1963]

Maybe the writer forgot and the non-cooking printers didn't know?

[@aaronsonger5582]

Love these videos

[@SkywalkerAni]

Jon, if you ask me, a lot of times even a failure in the kitchen can still be a success. Yes, this fell apart, but the flavor is there and I think that means you were on the right track!

[@garbodude4365]

My grandpa collects leeks for, among other local folk, my wife and I every spring, and it’s my favorite part of the year. He’s got a good walk to get to where he picks them, and he’s in his mid 70’s, so I think I’m gonna offer to take on the mantle sometime here soon, or at least to tag along. Gotta make memories and share love when you can, and I love him (and his leeks) a whole lot

[@ajl8198]

Its like a haggis in a wAy Often when i follow recipes they dont turn out and i never know why: )

[@jovonrosen8417]

Always a joy to cook along, even when Im making something completely unrelated! Thanks for the video!

[@eileencarroll6418]

BEETROOT (poor man's fruit) would have added more moisture, made it sweet and colored it more brown (beet red +green spinach = brown),

[@jbmaximus6910]

A very sincere and genuine video. Love it, Do Not feel embarrassed, Its what everyone encounters in life. If anyone makes fun of the video? enjoy it, Its ok to laugh at yourself and with others laughing at you. Unexpected things happens to everyone.

[@Summer_Harvest]

Could you make a Sage sausage Stuffed pumpkin?

[@DIEGhostfish]

Oh I like that one/

[@TipsyFlipper]

i really enjoyed the problem solving in this one. Thank you for showing us the not so great results. Fails make for learning

[@daniellebarker7667]

This almost sounds like meatless version of that Scottish oatneal and organ meats cooked in a stomach thing. Edit: HAGGIS!! I remembered.

[@adedow1333]

Very haggis-like

[@leoniesableblanc]

I agree it does

[@Joy_56]

it's more akin to white pudding, oats, barley, beef suet and spices boiled in a sausage casing, again similar to black pudding, all the aformentioned plus blood, both really tasty.

[@annasahlstrom6109]

You can also ask Michael Dragoo what he thinks would be best for making the recipe work. I don't know anything about boiled puddings and oatmeal binders. I love Ryan's episodes!