Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor
Egg Custard made with eggs, cow's milk, brown sugar, nutmeg, vanilla and a dash of Appleton White Rum. It may not be Grandma's, but the memories are precious. - Andrew Smith/Photography Editor
We all have had one at some point in our lives and she has left treasured memories that we look back on with a smile. Many of those memories centre around food because no one cooks it better than grandma. It's as if some magic seasoning lodged in her fingers only to be transferred to either her fried dumplings, chocolate tea, fried fish or rice and peas.
Food continues our monthly series, Grandma's Cooking. We hope you enjoy the late Clementina Powell's Egg Custard and we look forward to sharing yours as well.
Egg Custard
I was given a healthy introduction to good Jamaican food by my grandmother, Clementina Powell (now deceased). Whether it was the thick cream from boiled cow's milk that she'd hold on her index finger and invite me lovingly to lick before drinking a glass with nutmeg on top, or a bowl of grated coconut with brown sugar before she squeezed the juice for Sunday rice and peas.
Then, in rainy weather when no matter what else was planned, she changed the menu to fried dumplings and chocolate 'tea'. And, that comforting meal would then be accompanied by stories from her days
as a girl or laced wisdom and lessons in
etiquette.
Dinner Favourite
The 'custard' formed from boiling coconut oil was another favourite with dinner on the days when she grated many coconuts to make the precious cooking oil. It was extra special because I would always get a taste before the meal was ready. And I had to help remove the coconut from the shell.
'Nanny' or 'Miss Clemmy', as she was affectionately called, instinctively knew what every child loved to eat and would introduce goodies such as a dumpling or bit of sweet potato roasted on hot coals while she cooked the meal. I got to knead and shape my own dumpling for my little treat. Then there were the Sunday desserts of fresh fruit salads or potato pone.
But best of all, I loved her Egg Custards made on Sunday evenings with: eggs, fresh cow's milk, sugar to taste, a dash of white rum or brandy, vanilla and nutmeg grated on top.
These ingredients were beaten together then poured into a Pyrex container, covered and steamed in a pot of boiling water, just long enough to set, not harden.
I can still taste it, so to this day it's my favourite treat. It may have evolved to sophisticated delicacy glazed with caramel and included in the dessert menu of popular hotels or showered with a rum/brandy sauce, but I will always remember Grandma fondly for the simple treat she made me.
Do you have a treat that you cherish because your grandmother made it for you? Send a copy of the recipe and a picture of your grandmother to: Lifestyle@gleanerjm.com.
