Boiled Indian Pudding

Ingredients

• 2 cups Indian meal (cornmeal)
• 1 pint Whole milk
• 1 cup All-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Butter or vegetable shortening (Originally suet. Substituted with butter or vegetable shortening for modern preference.)
• 1/4 gill Molasses
• 2 cups Dried apples
• to taste Salt

Instructions

1. 1In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. Pour the scalding milk over the Indian meal (cornmeal) in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Let it sit for 5 minutes to soften the meal.
2. 2Add the flour to the cornmeal mixture and stir to combine. Finely chop the butter or vegetable shortening and add it to the mixture. In a separate bowl, soak the dried apples in a little warm water to soften them. Add the softened apples and molasses to the cornmeal mixture. Stir in the salt.
3. 3Tie the mixture in a pudding cloth, leaving room for the pudding to swell (about one-third of the volume). Boil or steam the pudding for 5 hours, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve warm.