Unraveling the Impact: The Time-Honored Custard Boiling Technique that Captivated My In-Laws' Palates
Unraveling the Impact: The Time-Honored Custard Boiling Technique that Captivated My In-Laws' Palates
Likenumerous individuals hailing from the South, food serves as our family's bonding language, especially during holiday seasons when food-induced nostalgia carries an even stronger emotional pull. Savoring a piece of oyster pie, I can almost hear my late uncle's hearty laughter and recall his playful grin as he urged me to take a bite – just one bite. It took me years, but I eventually succumbed, discovering that the dish was actually delightful, despite its peculiar title. The zesty tang of Zing Zang transports me back to my grandmother's bustling wet bar during Christmas, where adults concocted batches of Bloody Marys as family members drifted in over the course of the day.
A mound of peeled oranges – a labor of love – brings back memories of my mother's bright Charleston kitchen and the decadent post-Santa breakfasts. When my husband Tanner and I prepared to spend our initial marriage Christmas with my extended family in Charleston, my mom sought a way to make him feel more at home by texting my mother-in-law for any cherished Hicklin family holiday food traditions. Her answer was swift: Boiled Custard, a staple at Christmas dinners provided by Tanner's grandpa Hack.
What Is Boiled Custard?
If you're unfamiliar with boiled custard (and chances are you are), visualize a traditional custard that's thicker than eggnog (you'll require a spoon to consume it) but thinner and less extravagant than creme brulee. Crafted from basic ingredients – whole milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla – this ** vintage dessert** has roots in Southern Appalachia and adjacent regions, although even within those communities, it remains a timeless, old-fashioned dish, something your grandma may have prepared.
Both of Tanner's grandmothers had boiled custard during Christmas, despite hailing from different sides of the Appalachian Mountains in Upstate South Carolina and southeastern Tennessee. However, only Hack's teetotal Baptist family dared deviate during the holidays, incorporating a scant amount of top-shelf bourbon into their boiled custard. Later, Hack opted to serve his boiled custard sans alcohol, respecting his wife's non-alcoholic preferences.
The Craft of Boiled Custard
In Hack's kitchen, Tanner, his brothers, and cousins received lessons in perseverance as they learned to meticulously (and constantly!) stir the custard mixture, ensuring it reached the desired consistency – an arduous process that could take an hour and a half or more. "If you needed to pause – for even a moment – you were issued strict orders by Hack to find a replacement stirrer," Tanner's father-in-law recounts.
Although the name misleads one to believe otherwise, the custard should never actually reach a boil, which could potentially scramble the eggs and ruin the dish. Following the thickening process, the mixture is filtered through a fine mesh strainer, and chilled. Given the time required, Hack often prepared several batches ahead of time and stored them in repurposed peppermint candy jars in the refrigerator until it was time to serve.
Keeping the Tradition Alive
With Hack's recipe in hand, my mom attempted to replicate a bit of that Christmas charm for Tanner in Charleston. Although she'd had boiled custard as a child, her grandmother served it on top of Jello, clouding her memories of the dessert. Nonetheless, my mom is an eternal optimist and took it upon herself to give the dish a second chance for Tanner.
Hack's recipe, scribbled in hasty fashion, left room for interpretation, leading to a first attempt that took nearly three times as long as indicated and was slightly thinner than she desired, but no one, especially not Tanner, complained. To preserve a harmony of tradition, she served it in my grandmother's custard dishes for the first Christmas and has perfected her technique since. (A tip: Avoid using overly cold ingredients unless you intend on standing by the stove stirring for hours on end.)
"I started making boiled custard for Tanner," she says, "but I fell in love with the process." She's served it every Christmas Day since, incorporating her own spin. Today, just like Hack's, she includes a generous pour of bourbon and serves it alongside toasted pound cake.
Last Christmas, our son, Hack's namesake, tasted his first bite – and just like that, four generations of food tradition became five.
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During Christmas, my mom sought to make my husband Tanner feel at home by incorporating a traditional Boiled Custard, a holiday staple from Tanner's grandpa Hack's side of the family. Southern Living features various Christmas Recipes, including unique holiday desserts like Boiled Custard, which is a vintage dessert originating from Southern Appalachia and is thicker than eggnog but less extravagant than creme brulee.