Rice pudding traveled from Britain and became a New England mainstay. Considered costly and elegant, there were many variations of this creamy pudding. A Lenten tradition was rice pudding made with almond milk and colored with saffron. Lemon zest, rosewater, chopped apples and ground nuts were used to create different types of rice puddings for different times of the year. Maple syrup is a real New England ingredient, used as a flavoring agent in cooking and as a condiment for cooked foods.
Rice is boiled with milk then added to whipping cream flavored with vanilla extract.
Appledore pudding took New England puddings to new heights. Maria Parloa was an orphan who supported herself by working as a cook in private homes and resorts. The Appledore House was a resort on the Isles of Shoals of Maine where she had worked in the kitchen. The cooking school that she helped to found in 1879 was incorporated into Simmons College, Boston, in 1902. Resembling an English trifle, it requires stale cake, maple sugar, blueberries and rum.