Whip it? Good FLUMMERY

A CHEAP ’50S DESSERT MADE FROM PANTRY STAPLES IS MAKING A COMEBACK

WITH a smorgasbord of variations, you’d think flummery wasn’t a recipe at all, but rather a whipped-up on-the-spot creation born from the ’50s that used whatever you had in the pantry.

Those of you who actually remember the word would surely agree that’s an accurate explanation.

What does flummery mean?

Let’s hark back to the era of eating ale with congealed foods: the 17th century. If you were a time traveller and happened to visit this era, you’d most certainly decline a plate of flummery if it was served to you. That’s because flummery of the 17th century was derived from the Welsh word llymru, possibly related to the word llymrig, which meant “soft and slippery”. Hmm. Tasty.

This concoction was a blend of milk, bran and the best wheat available (which containeth the purest flower).

Flummery from the 20th century, however, conjures up memories of Mum, Nan or Aunt Barb whisking evaporated milk

(or cream) with your favourite jelly flavour, in a Corningware dish. If you saw the old silver rotary whisk on the dining table, it guaranteed flummery for dessert. And with so many jelly options to choose from, you could almost play “guess the flavour” if you were bored. bored

Fast forward to the new ’20s (2020) and flummery is making a comeback, reliving the retro days of the thrifty ’50s where folks ‘made do” with what they had.

How do you make flummery?

If you’re looking for an easy recipe when guests pop around, flummery won’t let you down. It’s literally made with jelly and evaporated milk (or cream).

Here, “Grandma’s two-ingredient raspberry flummery” uses cream, which is a more decadent flummery option. It’s ready in about three hours.

How to make flummery with evaporated milk

Flummery made with tinned evaporated evaporatedmilk milk is simple: simple Mix Mi 85g jelly crystals in 250ml boiling water and place in the fridge for an hour.

Then, whisk (or beat) the almost-set jelly with a can of creamy evaporated milk. Pour into retro dessert cups and place in the refrigerator to set for another hour.

The “Passionfruit flummery” recipe is a tad more sophisticated but still results in an airy puddingstyle dessert. You need at least six passionfruit for this recipe.

If you’ve got Mum, Nan and Aunty Barb coming over, try the “Gin & candied orange flummery’” It’ll not only knock their socks off, but will also pay homage to the era that gave us devilled eggs, and made flummery famous.