Define custard!
Back in December we hosted the Novi Most team Christmas party here in Mostar. The food was an eclectic mix of local delicacies and traditional festive fare from England. Turkeys are not easily come by here so chicken sufficed but we did have a real Christmas pudding which was duly set alight and served with Bird’s custard!
This presented a challenge that, as yet, remains unresolved: how do you explain ‘custard’ to someone? It’s so much a part of our heritage yet no English person I heard could come up with a description that made it sound as appetising as we know it is. Consequently, there were few new converts. Not such a bad result, I guess, as it left generous servings for the initiated.
Today we were trying out a new cafe, one that came recommended for the quality of its cake. Indeed the cake was among the best that we’d sampled here, probably the best we’ve found in Mostar so far. But the curve ball was the ‘Čokolada Antika’ Rowan ordered to drink. She was expecting some kind of quality hot chocolate. Perhaps something was lost in translation but what she got, hidden below the generous whipped cream topping, was undoubtedly a mug of custard!
This presented a challenge that, as yet, remains unresolved: how do you explain ‘custard’ to someone? It’s so much a part of our heritage yet no English person I heard could come up with a description that made it sound as appetising as we know it is. Consequently, there were few new converts. Not such a bad result, I guess, as it left generous servings for the initiated.
Today we were trying out a new cafe, one that came recommended for the quality of its cake. Indeed the cake was among the best that we’d sampled here, probably the best we’ve found in Mostar so far. But the curve ball was the ‘Čokolada Antika’ Rowan ordered to drink. She was expecting some kind of quality hot chocolate. Perhaps something was lost in translation but what she got, hidden below the generous whipped cream topping, was undoubtedly a mug of custard!
Comments
Custard has a couple forms here in the US. One is a soft, sweetened baked egg and dairy desert, delicately soft set and akin to a creamy jello (or jelly if you prefer) Custard is often flavored with vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
The other is a thick pudding that is used to stuff donuts.
Near as I can tell, milk or cream, eggs and sugar are the 'must have' ingredients in custard.
We use a cooked custard as the base for homemade ice cream as well.
Cheers!
-dan'l (off in search of ice cream)