National Rice Pudding Day
National Rice Pudding Day
Celebrate the long history of this ancient and historical dish for National Rice Pudding Day on August 9th. Although there are a wide variety of individual recipes, the base of rice pudding is made of cooked rice and some form of milk mixed with bread.
The first record of rice pudding, called kheer in Hindi, dates back to 6000 B.C. in ancient India, though the dish may have originally been developed in China. By the 1300s, rice had spread to Europe via the Silk Road and new recipes for rice pudding were being crafted to fit the tastes of the European elite, the only ones that could afford the Asian-grown grain.
It took another several centuries for the flavor trend of rice pudding to shift from a savory dish to a sweet one during the Tudor period of the 17th century. As industrialization spread, rice became more readily available and therefore cheaper, opening access to rice dishes such as rice pudding to the average individual.
So whether you whip up your own from grandma’s recipe cards or just pick some up from the store, be sure to fit a helping in on August 9th for National Rice Pudding Day.
