19^th century

Plain Suet Dumplings

As puddings were boiled along with the meat for centuries out of necessity, this suet dumpling was put in with the meat without being contained by a cloth or gut, to stew along with it and be eaten with it just as its big brother pudding was eaten. However, this way of eating pudding with your meal has survived until the present day. The Hungarians and the Czechs have dumplings in their stews; the Italians have their potato gnocchi; and the Swedes, Germans and most other countries of the world have their favourite dumpling.

A Simple Suet Dumpling – One pound of flour, half a pound of chopped suet, a teaspoonful of salt, quarter ditto of pepper; moisten with water until a stiff paste: use where required. They may be rolled in small balls, and may be used in savoury pies, hash, or stews.

Alexis Soyer, A Shilling Cookery for the People, 1854

The recipe on the following page is easy, and based on the nineteenth century recipe of Alexis Soyer, as published in his book A Shilling Cookery for the People (1854), a book written to help the poor cook on a very tight budget. He also wrote Soyer’s Charitable Cookery and gave the proceeds of the book to various charities. But this was only a small part of what Soyer – who was chef at the prestigious Reform Club and regarded by many as Britain’s first celebrity chef – did for the poor. He established one of the first soup kitchens and also worked with Florence Nightingale, improving the diet of wounded soldiers.

The Morning Chronicle said about Soyer, ‘he saved as many lives through his kitchens as Florence Nightingale did through her wards.’