Cutlery and desserts

[Martin]

I came across the wooden box that holds cutlery. The fish knives and forks are still sitting there along with the wee tiny cake forks and it got me thinking. Does anyone still use fish knives and forks or are they dying out ? I remember using them as a child, they were always standard issue in married quarters.
The one thing I do use are proper soup spoons and woe betide anyone who puts one of my dessert spoons in anything savoury.
Now, desserts....
When I was a kid mum always made a dessert on a Sunday. There was proper rice pudding, not that stuff from a tin, but a proper milk pud with a skin on top that dad always claimed, YUK!
Then there was Tapioca or Sago (I think) one of them was called frogs spawn. On occasions she would make a steam pud with either jam or syrup at the bottom. I don't think I could get one of those down me now. Then there was the spotted dick or the jam rolly-polly, makes me shudder now to even think of them.
My favourite was Semolina with a big blob of jam in the middle or a bit of a grated chocolate bar sprinkled over it.
When money was a bit tight or she didn't have much time it was Instant Whip, hopefully butterscotch flavour, that was the best.
She served up Angel Delight once, that was truly vile.
Then she went through a phase once in the seventies of making cherry pies. A tin of cherries from Sainsbury's and they were always so bloody sour.
Apple pie I hated but lemon meringue ( I struggled to spell that) was ok.
The worst one was Christmas Pudding, sitting there stuffed to capacity from the turkey dinner and then having that awful sickly muck put in front of you.
So, do people still make puddings from scratch ? Just wondering.

[LANDROVER ROGER]

We still use our fish knives and forks.With you on not mixing dessert and soup spoons,although in my case it is probably O.C.D.
We always make our own puddings,mainly on Sunday,when the family join us.Apple crumble and Queen of Puddings are favourite.Going back to my child hood my Mother would often make a baked custard which always seemed to be served upside down as the custard soaked through the pastry in the oven.Very tasty though.

[Martin]

You're the second person to mention Apple Crumble to me this morning. My mate said in a mail that he loved the crumble part but not the fruit, I think that's how I felt about it.
I've also remembered those awful Caramel Creams I think they were called with that dark brown goo that ran down them. I reckon it was school dinners that put me off those.