As a child, it enveloped my soul and my aging taste buds.
As an adult, it enveloped my heart with innocent anticipation.
As both, it became my fondest and ageless holiday recipe memory.
A cup of my Granny’s boiled custard made during Christmas was a delectable concoction, served with her personal recipes of homemade Jam cake, Coconut cake and Prune cake. It doesn’t surprise me that no one knows what the cold and thickly dessert-complimentary drink is today. It’s not a fast-food item and it can’t be bought or purchased in groceries or restaurants. For added satisfaction, willingly share with those persons whom you love and who have no idea what the words “boiled custard” means. Just one taste of the spoon-fed delicacy and the willing person becomes a fan for life. It doesn’t take many sips/bites to forget about the taste of eggnog.
What I remember most was watching my grandmother stir the ivory-colored custard together on her kitchen’s electric stove until it reached the right consistency. It always began as a thin liquid, gradually thickening the longer she stirred and the longer it was heated. Then, she would take the preparation pan and set it outside on her steps so the cold air would slightly-freeze the thickened liquid. I remember when she always said that if it (custard) sticks to a spoon, then it is done and ready to drink. By dessert time following the 2 p.m. Christmas meal, the custard would be slightly-frozen and ready to be served in her white China cups, which were braced on matching saucers. I enjoyed getting the tiny slivers of ice stuck in my teeth. Sometimes, Granny would add a small dollop of individually pasteurized whipping cream (not Cool Whip) to the center of the custard. Nonchalantly, it floated for several minutes before being devoured by the taste-testers in attendance. It only took one time until it became a frequently requested mealtime accessory to the dessert tray.
My maternal grandmother was born and reared in the Stock town section (Sparta Highway) of Smithville, DeKalb County, Tennessee. Her given name was Clara Lee Cantrell and she married my grandfather, Everett (TY) Morgan Parker. They were the parents of four children, Jack, Billie Ann, Peggy and my mother Sallie Parker Foutch (McAllen). I’m sure many of these ingrained recipes had been used and inherited throughout generations of the Cantrell and Parker lineages. Before becoming handicapped, I relished making her popular caramel pies for my family and friends.
Although often equated with eggnog, boiled custard is much thicker than its better-known cousin. “It’s odd that we call it a beverage because it’s not always drinkable,” wrote Sheri Castle, a North Carolina food writer. “It’s more like a pudding. You definitely need a spoon to get it to your mouth.”
The name is a misnomer. “It’s called boiled custard not because you boil it, but because it is made in a large pot over the stove,” continued Castle. She further offered advice to avoid bringing it to a boil, which would then blow it up or turn it into a liquid mess of scrambled eggs, as aforementioned!
According to www.wikipedia.com, “The main differences are that holiday boiled custard offers hints of vanilla, while eggnog delivers a warming and spicy flavor. Both are classic sweet drinks, but boiled custard is noticeably sweeter and milder. The flavor of eggnog comes with spicy flavors of nutmeg and cinnamon.”
Another fond memory was watching my mother add vanilla to her dishes – it was 100 percent vanilla (not extract) and it could only be purchased in Mexico. Per individual choices, bourbon or other liquors can be added to the final mixture. Always, Granny chose to make her boiled custard alcohol-free. As toddlers, Lucy and I were lucky to have this continuously abiding rule.
In preparation, “The biggest tip is to lower the general heat. You don’t want the eggs to curdle – you’d have sugary scrambled eggs. The biggest mistake is when people lose their patience and turn up the heat on the stove. This process can take five minutes or one hour,” added Castle. And don’t forget the untold minutes devoted to stirring the mixture with your favorite spoon utensil. There is no mention of hand-mixers or of anything named “KitchenAid.” During this decade, all meal preparations were done by hand – not by machines.
Of utmost important, Castle continued, “When you drink the custard from a cup and it leaves a thick top-lip mustache, that’s how you know that it’s the right consistency. There is such a purity and goodness to it.”
Until her severe health problems and untimely death in 1973, my grandmother was one of the best cooks in the vicinity. The recipe below is adapted from her kitchen during the 1960s. The family’s cookbook preface reads, “On Christmas Day and when the winter weather was extreme, Granny would place a large jug of the boiled custard on her outdoor back steps. By dinnertime, it would form tiny ice slivers! Such good memories!”
GRANNY’S BOILED CUSTARD
3 heaping tablespoons of flour
1 ½ cups of sugar
3 whole eggs, beaten
½ gallon whole milk
1 tablespoon of vanilla
Mix flour and sugar together. Add milk and eggs. Cook until a spoon coats. When cool, add vanilla. If lumpy, strain. Keep cold in refrigerator (or on your porch steps).
Today, time has changed everything. No longer does my family make jam, coconut and prune cakes or jugs of icy boiled custard. With profound sadness, my Granny has been in heaven for more than 50 long years. But her recipes have survived the future years.
Yet, with each passing generation and with each ingredient in each recipe, her family and friends will remember with fondness and appreciation her mouth-watering contributions to antiquated kitchens and dining tables specifically at mealtimes.
I can taste it now - 70 years later.
