Milk Pudding R&D Journal - Batch 1

I mentioned the last time that i learnt to make milk pudding in KL. Although that recipe was delicious like hell, i've decided to do some pudding R&D on my own, since the original recipe was fattening enough to make me dream of Kawasumi Ayako. I'm not saying she's fat, i'm saying i am. She did look rather chubby around the time F/SN anime came out though, but that's besides the point.

The objective of this little project is to produce delicious, not-so-fattening milk pudding, and possibly develop a few new flavours. I came up with the first batch of plain milk pudding this morning. Not too bad, but definitely has room for improvement. More on that later.

Without further ado, here's what went into Batch 1.

Ingredients:

Low-fat milk - 200ml
Low-fat evaporated milk - 200ml
Low-fat sweetened condensed milk - 3 teaspoons
Unflavoured gelatin - 2 teaspoons.

As you can see i went all out to cut down on the calories, using low fat versions wherever possible, although the regular full cream versions should do fine as well. Some of the more sinful ingredients were cut out from the original recipe (can't tell you what they are, commercial secret), and i've scaled down the quantities to more family friendly portions (should serve 4-5).

Preparation:

Mix the 3 "milks" in a pot. Heat the mixture up. Just when it's just about to boil (Use the Force, Luke; Feel, don't think.), turn flame off and add the gelatin in. Stir the mixture until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Let it cool, then pour out into moulds or whatever container. Refrigerate overnight.

This was what i ended up with this morning. Ok, i know the photo's badly out of focus and you can't really say it's not just a puddle of milk but trust me on this, yeah?

Serving Suggestions:

Can be eaten on it's own (like Gardenia bread) or served with a topping of fresh diced mangoes, which was what i had for breakfast today. I can imagine it would probably go well with canned peaches or chocolate sauce though i've yet to try them out.

Critique and Problems Encountered:

1) Firstly, the taste. On it's own, the pudding tastes slightly too rich. When eaten with mangoes, the fruit's sourness serves to offset the richness somewhat.

2) While stirring in the gelatin, i had a good time fishing out gummy bears from the mixture. It seems that throwing the gelatin in all at one go was a bad idea as it gelled together almost immediately forming "gummy bears".

3) I have a giant pudding which serves 4, but no one to share it with. =(

Possible Improvements and New Directions for Upcoming Batches:

1) To address the problem of richness, i think i'll reduce the proportion of evaporated milk in the mixture.

2) As for the gummy bears, maybe sprinkle the gelatin in bit by bit? Anyone with tips on how to properly dissolve gelatin?

3) Cut quantities by half and use a smaller pot.

4) With the basic milk pudding as a foundation, i can now consider adding flavours to the pudding. Possible candidates are cocoa and coffee, as well as fruits like mango and durian.

I'll start on the next batch after i finish eating this one. Should take me another 2 days or so. The next batch would either be a repeat experiment dealing with the issues raised, or i could try a cocoa milk pudding while working in some of the proposed solutions.