THE TASTE OF HISTORY

The cookbooks the East Hampton Ladies Village Improvement Society have published for more than a century are, to a degree, a community chronicle in their own right. An example, from the 1939 edition, is the following recipe, which was contained in a letter written by Mrs. J.L. Gardiner of Gardiner's Island, Dec. 11, 1852, to her granddaughter, Miss Sarah G. Thompson. Ingredients and instructions are commingled.

BREAD PUDDING

You inquire about the bread crumb pudding. I have no particular rule about it.

Make your custard - 4 eggs to a quart of milk. Make it sweet.

Add:

1 coffee cup heaping full of bread crumbs not too fine
2/3 cup seeded raisins
1/2 tea cup melted butter
Spices to your taste

Put in the crumbs just as it is going in the oven. If they stand any time in the custard they will sink to the bottom of the dish. Bake about as long as custard, or until it rises in the dish. When done, cover it thick with powdered sugar. If you find that it is not quite right, you can improve it next time.

Have your dish large enough so as not to have the butter run over. That enriches the bread crumbs.

Sarah D. Gardiner