'Nilla Vanilla

Vanilla. What a great aromatic and oh-so versatile flavor! Pair it with pudding and imagination soars: Beverages, cakes, cookies, cupcakes, parfaits, pies, trifles,etc. Yep! Everyone of those can be made with vanilla pudding in the recipe. Get ready...get set...go for the kitchen!

May 22 is...

The delicious, creamy pudding we know and love today has been around since the 19th century. Most culinary historians agree that our modern recipe evolved from custards, which date back to Ancient Rome.

What is pudding?

The history of pudding is a complicated topic. Why? Through time, many different kinds of foods have been known by this name. The creamy, rich pudding dessert we (Americans) think of today is more closely related to custard. The history of custard is likewise ancient. This food followed a separate, though parallel, path that managed to converge with pudding in 19th century America. Source: Food Timeline

Jell-O introduced its first line of instant pudding in the 1950s. The advertising campaign announcing the new product promoted it as a “busy-day dessert.”

To celebrate National Vanilla Pudding Day, make some delicious homemade vanilla pudding from scratch. Not into that? Grab a box of instant mix! Nothing easier than that! For an extra special treat, pair it with fresh fruit, especially the banana, or go for the chocolate. Yum!

It was too difficult a decision just to include one recipe of the day. So, here are a few different spins with the classic vanilla pudding as one of the main ingredients: (Click each image for source & additional recipes.)

 Is your mouth watering yet?

yum, yum, yum . . . yummy!