Nesselrode pudding

Nesselrode pudding is a French chestnut-based frozen dessert invented in the first half of the 19th century and named after Russian diplomat Karl Nesselrode. The dish spawned a number of variations, including an American pie; other chestnut-flavored dishes also received Nesselrode's name, not only desserts but also savory dishes such as consommé and sweetbreads.

However, cookbook writer Gail Monaghan attributes the creation of the pudding to Antonin Carême, chef to French diplomat Charles Talleyrand, also involved in Congress of Vienna. Carême himself wrote in 1828 that his friend Mony derived the idea from a pudding recipe Carême had already published in an earlier edition of one of his cookbooks.

The dessert is generally agreed to contain pureed chestnuts, mixed with cream or egg custard, flavoured with dried fruit, including currants, raisins and dried cherries, candied peel and brandy or other spirits. An 1897 recipe published in The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by American writer Fannie Farmer was a pineapple–chestnut ice cream with candied fruit and raisins, served with maraschino syrup.

In the 1950s, the pudding was adapted into Nesselrode pie or Nesselrode chiffon pie, in America. Some recipes for this pie omitted chestnuts (and chestnut flavouring) entirely, relying on cherries, rum and sherry for flavour. Other dishes with the name Nesselrode include sweetbreads Nesselrode, venison steaks Nesselrode, and consommé Nesselrode, the common feature to all being that they are flavoured with chestnuts.