AT THE TABLE WITH ULYSSES S. GRANT

Slow-stirred rice pudding

Name: Slow-stirred rice pudding
Total time: 45 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 100 g short-grain white rice (½ cup); 750 ml whole milk (about 3 cups); 120 ml water (½ cup); 50 g sugar (¼ cup); 1 tsp vanilla extract; ¼ tsp salt; ¼ tsp nutmeg; 30 g raisins, optional

A general’s comfort food. Your quiet evening.

Dessert45 minServes 4

Jump to recipe ↓

Slow-stirred rice pudding — the black-and-white years — The black-and-white years · Serving illustration

THE STORY ON YOUR PLATE

The gingerbread that helped a cook get hired

More about Ulysses S. Grant →

The Union’s commanding general became the eighteenth president.

Family or White House tradition

Later presidential culinary histories associate Grant with rice pudding. A stovetop method lets you control the creamy texture, with gentle heat rather than an elaborate dessert technique.

The president & the table

Lucy Latimer’s hot gingerbread made an impression on Ulysses and Julia Grant. National Park Service research connects their decision to employ her with tasting that cake; she became part of the household’s cooking story and later its White House years.

Behind this story

National Park Service research on Lucy Latimer and General Grant’s Ginger Cake; Grant culinary histories.

APRON ON. HISTORY CAN WAIT.

Make it at home.

Serves 4

Let’s make it

Put the rice, milk, water and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring just to a gentle simmer, stirring.
Cook over low heat for 30–35 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping the base, until the rice is tender and the mixture is creamy.
Stir in sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and optional raisins. Cook for 5 minutes more, adding a little milk if it becomes too thick.
Serve warm, or cool promptly and refrigerate within 2 hours. It will thicken as it chills.

Cooking notes

Gentle stovetop heat lets you judge the thickness as the rice softens.

Metric and US measures are approximate equivalents. For baking, use weights when you can.

Slow-stirred rice pudding

The gingerbread that helped a cook get hired

Make it at home.

What you’ll need

Let’s make it

More from this table.

Warm molasses gingerbread