i Puddings may be luscious concoctions full of candied fruits and nuts or they may be frugal blends of little more than flour and suet. They may be the heart of a holiday celebration or a clue to a murder, a simple breakfast or a symbol of cultural identity. Pudding: A Global History tells the story of puddings and how they developed from early savoury, sausage-like mixtures to today's sweet and sticky confections. It traces the development of a range of puddings - blood, bread, rice, batter, vegetable - and explains how advances in kitchen equipment have changed puddings over time. It also describes the many and varied ways cooks from countries around the world make their puddings - for example, England's rice pudding is a different animal to Iran's. However, the history of puddings is not simply written in cookbooks and on family recipe cards. Puddings have a prominent place in novels, poems, songs, and cartoons as well as on dining tables. This book, uniquely, shows how authors and artists from Anthony Trollope to Robert Burns to George Cruikshank have used puddings to illustrate their characters' sorrows, joys, and even political leanings.

Like a rich plum pudding, Pudding: A Global History is bursting with choice morsels about puddings past and present. Whether you make puddings or just indulge in them; whether your interest is history, culture, or cooking; whether your favourite is Yorkshire or plum; if you love a good story and a good pudding, this book is for you.