Don’t you just love it when a local author writes a(nother!) great book? Many of you will recognise Neil Buttery from his days trading at Levenshulme market, or his takeover of the POD premises with a restaurant that had the aim of demonstrating just how good British food can be.
So, it’s safe to say he knows his stuff and in the last few years he’s focussed on research for his blog British Food: A History and food-related books.
The Philosophy of Puddings comes hot on the heels of the author’s 2022s A Dark History of Sugar, and Before Mrs Beeton, which was published in 2023. the clues are in the title: no further explanation needed.
We learn about gems such as that the puddings we know and love today started out as meat puddings, often boiled in animal intestine. Then there’s the fact that the Burns night haggis is not in fact particularly Scottish in origin... Also, who knew that the history of the pudding bowl could be so interesting? Or the importance of the pudding to culture generally?
Books like this make absolutely ideal gifts, and gifts to self. It’s beautifully packaged, has the added credibility of being published by the British Library, features many images from the library’s collections, and at 112 pages it’s pleasantly readable in a couple of sittings, but crammed full of knowledge, expertise and pudding history.
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