Blancmanges

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A sweet dessert made from milk and sugar, set with gelatin and often flavored with vanilla or fruit
2. A creamy pudding typically made with milk, sugar, and a thickener, served chilled and sometimes garnished with fruits
3. A delicate dish, usually made by combining milk with sugar and a gelling agent to create a smooth, gelatinous texture, often enjoyed as a sweet treat

Etymology: "Blancmanges" is simply the plural of "blancmange," so the history belongs to the singular. The name comes from Old French "blanc mangier," meaning "white food," and it reached English in Middle English as "blancmanger" and "blomanger." The most surprising twist is that the pudding we now know is a descendant of a savoury dish. Medieval cooks made a chicken-based dish, pounded meat or fish mixed with milk or almond milk and thickened, which was pale in colour, hence the name. Over time the dish was transformed. Cooks gradually dropped the meat and kept the white, milky, thickened base, which became a sweet, set dessert flavoured with sugar. The French form "blanc-manger" preserves the same name, so the pudding and its ancestor share a single identity across the two languages.