Blueberry Duff

A duff is a type of steamed pudding, which is most often, as shown here, boiled in a cotton bag in the same pot with the vegetables and salt beef in traditional Newfoundland Jigg's Dinner. It goes by several different names; my friend Ellen, from St. Vincent's, for example calls it "Lad 'n da Bag". Traditions vary accross the province with some people who only know this dish as a dessert course, being served with a brown sugar or rum sauce; others know it as a side dish served with the other components of a Jigg's dinner.


Sift together:

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder

Add

1 cup blueberries

Add

1/3 cup melted butter
¾ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all together with a wooden spoon just until a soft dough is formed. Put dough into a pudding steamer or a wet heavy cotton pudding bag, tying the bag with a piece of butcher string but leaving about an inch of slack at the top to allow the pudding to expand. Boil for approximately one and a half hours.

Note: you can substitute the sugar for ½ cup molasses and adjust the milk accordingly to form the proper consistency of the dough. Spices like 1 tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp allspice can also be added as variations

Traditionally served with a roast dinner or Jiggs Dinner but also served as a dessert with a rum butter sauce.