Magic Mix makes fabulous pudding. We all really enjoy all flavors of Magic Mix pudding here. However, Magic Mix pudding does have a couple of drawbacks.
Magic Mix itself is made with butter or coconut oil. If you use butter, then the mix isn’t shelf stable. With either fat comes a lot more calories. And at the same time, that fat due to inflation and scarcity is becoming a lot more expensive. Neither one is an easy make at home option. As our society deteriorates, we’ll need to conserve both butter and coconut oil.
SOS Mix functions almost just like Magic Mix in thickening soups and savory sauces for entrees. However, due to the added salt and seasonings, it is totally unsuited to pudding. But it just seemed to me that we ought to be able to make a pudding from the SOS Mix ingredients, specifically the milk and cornstarch.
So it was off to the internet for some research. After all, I don’t really need to re-invent the wheel here. It was interesting the number of recipes that claimed to be “instant” pudding, but which, however, were not. Instant pudding by definition is not cooked, a fact seemingly lost to many people publishing pudding recipes.
Cooked pudding, non-instant, you guessed it, is cooked.
With supply chain issues popping up everywhere, I figure it couldn’t hurt to be able to make our own convenience mixes. Especially low-fat ones.
Many years ago, the Home Storage Centers sold just-add-water vanilla and chocolate pudding mixes. Most everything I found online as I was researching made a pudding mix with powdered milk which also required the addition of milk to make the pudding. That just seemed silly, especially with the time it takes to mix up powdered milk and then have the extra dishes to do.
So this is the basic just-add-water cooked pudding mix I came up with.
*If you do not have vanilla extract powder, you may add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract per batch of cooked pudding.
Combine the powdered milk, sugar, cornstarch, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt. Store in a covered container. Yields 4 cups of mix.
Basic (Vanilla) Pudding:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup of basic pudding mix and 2 cups of water. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Makes 4 servings.
Chocolate: Stir 2 tablespoons cocoa powder into the basic pudding mix before adding water and cooking.
Butterscotch: Substitute brown sugar for the granulated sugar when making the basic mix.
Lemon: Towards the end of cooking the basic vanilla pudding, stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest. Another option is to add 1 teaspoon of lemon extract after cooking the pudding.
Pumpkin: Stir ¼ cup canned pumpkin into the basic pudding.
For added richness, when preparing the pudding use fresh milk or evaporated milk instead of water. Canned coconut milk is another option. Garnish with sprinkles, chopped nuts, or mini chocolate chips. Add some whipped cream or aquafaba Cool Whip.
Reviews: Well, this pudding is acceptable. It’s on the thin side and not very rich. We far prefer the instant pudding mix (posted last month, link below) or pudding made with Magic Mix. However, it wasn’t bad, just not very exciting. It would be fine for serving to children, but if you are trying to show off your dessert-making skills, you’d be advised to choose one of the other pudding options posted here on the blog.
Well if I remember right REAL home cooked pudding uses a couple of egg yolks in the recipe. That might be why it did get as thick and rich? And not using butter might change the "richness"? I don't know. Just putting out some thoughts.
ReplyDeleteAlso in your recipe you posted you have 1 1/4 cups but you don't say what of. I read the instructions and it was the sugar you left out lol
Yes, some recipes for pudding do call for eggs, and butter definitely adds some richness. I had a friend who wanted to know about cornstarch puddings and wanted to avoid the extra expense of using instant Clear-Jel if possible. Based on my experience with different pudding options, these cornstarch puddings would be my last choice when I want to impress. I would choose them if I had to feed a crowd with limited resources.
DeleteAnd thanks for mentioning my omission of the sugar. I wonder where my brain is sometimes.
I imagine any treat during TEOTW would be acceptable with no complaints. I'm definitely putting this recipe in my notebook.
Delete