Frozen Pudding Is the Most New England of All Ice Cream Flavors

There are a number of uniquely New England ice cream flavors. It’s doubtful you’ll find cranberries, grape nuts and even lobster in ice cream in other parts of the country.

We’ve told you about ginger ice cream, but now it’s time to introduce you to another old-timey Massachusetts classic flavor that you may not have heard of, or saw on the list of flavors at your favorite stand and had no idea what it was.

I’m talking about frozen pudding.

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Basically, frozen pudding comes down to this: we New Englanders just couldn’t leave rum raisin alone. We took the basics – rum flavoring added to a vanilla custard-style ice cream, along with raisins – and added in a lot more ingredients. However, those ingredients may vary from recipe to recipe.

First, a really good frozen pudding uses golden raisins as opposed to the normal dark-colored ones. Golden raisins are just slightly sweeter. You can also throw in what is known as “pudding fruit,” which means some chopped maraschino cherries, chopped pineapple, maybe some diced peaches and apples.

The end result is very intense, and you’ll either love it or you’ll hate it. Some folks refer to frozen pudding as “tutti frutti,” but real frozen pudding connoisseurs will chide you for doing so, because true tutti frutti is more of a citrus taste and features a lot of berries – and no rum. The rum is key here, although I promise you, you don’t have to worry about your kids getting tipsy if they try it.

The next time you’re out for ice cream and they have frozen pudding on the menu, give it a try. If you’re from around here, your taste buds may be naturally predisposed to enjoy its uniquely New England flavor.

Just don’t call it “tutti frutti.”