Rice: It's what's for everything.

Rice pudding is itself one the most versatile dishes in the world. It goes back something like 8,000 years. It can be sweet, it can be savory. It can be pure, it can have a multitude of add-ons. It can be boiled, baked, even fried. It can be made with milk and maybe eggs or in weird vegan ways. It can be served hot, cold, room temperature. Scooped or sliced. You can compose it from leftover rice. You can have it for or with any meal. And it can come in a can. 

I was curious to see this product in the teeny little UK section of our grocery store, the place you find Bounty chocolate bars and PG Tips tea. Ambrosia rice pudding has been made in Devon, England, since 1917. Anyone with a passing acquaintance with British culture knows that Devonshire (now just Devon to its friends) is famous for its high-quality cream, often served clotted. But I have to admit what attracted my attention to this rice pudding is that it comes in a can. 

We have plenty of premade rice pudding in the United States, but it comes in plastic cups. However, when I was a tiny tot, one of the first to-go foods I remember eating was rice pudding out of a can. I have been unable to confirm the brand. The Hunt's Snack Pack pudding came in a can, but I'm not sure if that was the one. It could have been a regional brand. 

I was very young, but I certainly was born with a sweet tooth. Given the choice I would have picked a chocolate or vanilla pudding, but being the youngest I probably got stuck with rice, and fell in love right away. It's always been a favorite dessert of mine, although enjoyed very infrequently -- you might be surprised how many people dislike the stuff.

Seeing canned rice pudding brought back those memories of wee Fred and his can o' rice, so I thought I'd try this Ambrosia and see what I thought. I figured they've been at it since World War I, they must know something. 

First off, it does have that yellow glow associated with the very top of the cream. The label says it's 72% milk, and that sounds about right to me. 

It's as smooth and, well, creamy as anything you've ever eaten, The rice is perfectly cooked. It's delightful. Interesting, there's hardly any sugar in it and no seasoning. But it would be easy to add in anything you like -- raisins, cinnamon, cranberries, nuts, granola, lots more sugar, bacon, salami (whatever floats your boat) -- and you'd have a well-made rice pudding, customized. I tried some as is, and with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, and it was a treat either way. I didn't try to heat it up -- instructions are on the label -- but maybe next time. 

So you see, canned pudding is still good. When they start outlawing plastics in America, I guess we will be able to continue to get convenient desserts. And since we now have pancakes in a cup, surely the long-awaited vision of pizza in a cup can't be far behind.