Pineapple Pudding - ☺

This recipe is compliments of my former wife, Janet. I never heard of pineapple pudding before and she surely provided a winner of a dessert. This is a family recipe that Janet’s children have enjoyed for many years. Once I tasted it I knew it belonged in Food Nirvana. It is simple to make and you will love it.

There are a few variations to the basic recipe and serving style that you might consider as they are all very good. See below.

Ingredients:

2, 20 oz. cans of crushed pineapple, drained

1 pint of heavy cream

2 cups of whole/4% butterfat milk

1 10.5 oz. bag of Kraft® mini marshmallows

1 tsp. of vanilla

½ cup of sweetened shredded coconut, chopped (optional, see variations below)

16 Maraschino cherries, chopped (optional, see variations below)

Directions:

Scald the two cups of milk in a saucepan on low heat. That means heat the milk to 180° F. Do not boil it.

Put the mini marshmallows into a heatproof four quart bowl.

Pour the scalded milk over the marshmallows and mix them with a spoon until the marshmallows are dissolved. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the mixture until it is thoroughly chilled.

Drain and press out the juice from two cans of crushed pineapple using a sieve and a wooden spoon. Save the juice for other uses. Put the drained, pressed pineapple into a one quart bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it.

When the milk and marshmallow mixture is chilled fold the pineapple into it.

Put the vanilla into a cold mixing bowl along with the heavy cream and whip the cream with your electric mixer until firm peaks form.

Fold the whipped cream into the milk, marshmallow and pineapple mixture gently and then cover and refrigerate the pudding. Serve it cold.

Variations:

Using a small amount of sweetened shredded coconut that has been chopped into small pieces is a nice addition, added when the scalded milk and marshmallows are combined. The coconut adds a flavor that complements the pineapple and it adds a small amount of a different texture within the pudding.

Use Maraschino cherries, chopped into quarters, along with 1/8 cup of the cherry syrup from the jar of cherries to give the pudding additional color and taste. Add the chopped cherries and juice at the same time the chilled pineapple is folded into the chilled milk and marshmallow mixture.

Instead of serving the pudding refrigerated/cold, put it into an oblong 9"x13"x2" glass baking dish and cover it with plastic wrap and put it into the freezer for two or more hours. When completely frozen the pudding can be cut with a knife into 2"x2"x2" or larger blocks and served frozen using a narrow spatula to remove each piece to a saucer or small individual serving dish.

Enjoy!