A Bit About Custard

One of our most popular products is our Real Vanilla Custard, so I thought I would write a little bit about the history of custard and a few interesting facts.

Custard became a popular food in the middle ages when it was paired with pastry to become a custard tart. The origin of the word custard actually dates back to the middle ages, coined from the French term ‘croustade’ originally referring to the crust of a tart, and can also be linked to the Italian word ‘crostata’.

The Forme of Cury is a collection of recipes from 14th century England and they include ingredients such as meat, fish and fruit bound by the custard. In the Elizabethan era, marigold was used to give the custard a stark yellow colour, much like the custard produced from powder products in the 21st century.

‘Custard’ can refer to many variations of the dish, when starch is added it’s considered crème pâtissière or when gelatin is added it is referred to as crème anglaise collée. Technically, however, the word custard refers only to an egg thickened custard.

An example of crème pâtissière.

An example of crème anglaise collée.

Our Real Vanilla Custard is praised for its rich vanilla flavour and creamy texture. Less than 1% of the world’s vanilla flavour comes from real beans. The taste and potency of vanilla pods vary depending on where they are grown, just like grapes grown for wine. We use vanilla paste and extract made from beans from Madagascar, where we believe the worlds finest vanilla is grown, exhibiting a fabulous rummy taste and sweet aroma it is perfect for making the best custard in the country. The issues with crops in recent years have pushed the price of vanilla higher and higher, at one point recently topping the price of silver. It is no wonder so few vanilla desserts are made with real vanilla pods.

We pride ourselves on the fact that we have met the cows who help to make our custard and we have seen and know that they are well looked after by the farmers at Jackson’s dairy. Knowing that happy cows have helped make our product makes it taste even better in our opinion.

Custard is a quintessential British accompaniment to desserts and here at the Buxton Pudding Company, we pride ourselves on keeping up this medieval tradition with such a delicious version of the dish.