Vanilla Pudding Review

Who’d ever think you could make pudding without cold milk? Well, Chef Todd at THRIVE headquarters came up with a Vanilla Pudding Recipe  using mostly Thrive ingredients. On the first finger lick, I was hooked!  It reminds me of the cooked custard pudding my mom made with eggs.

I love that this recipe uses dry ingredients because that means I can have these staples on my shelf, and when I want pudding, I can make it! Added bonus, I can pack the ingredients into a container and travel without a cooler, which is perfect for camping and our lake house.

Here are all the ingredients you will need:
Thrive Instant Milk
Thrive Cane Sugar
Cornstarch
Thrive Iodized Salt
Thrive Pure Vanilla Powder (no longer available)

First, mix together the water and Thrive Instant Milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it begins to steam.
Ever wonder what “begins to steam” means in a recipe?  You are looking for the larger bubbles in the pan to dissipate into smaller bubbles.  You do not have to stir.  Once you see the little bubbles, step back to view the steam rising from the pan.

Yes, this is an important step!  (because of proteins, fat, lipids, etc.)

I am not exactly sure the chemistry here, but I have found this step leads to a creamy texture.  Do not boil the milk!  Depending on your stove, this will take 5-8 minutes. This is your rate limiting step.

“Yes, that is the chemistry I know!”

Add:

• sugar
• cornstarch
• salt
• vanilla powder. **because it is no longer available, substitute Vanilla extract**

In case you were wondering, the luscious brown powder, shown below, is the Vanilla.

Due to how they process it, vanilla bean extract is mixed with sugar in the drying process, so you can dip your finger in and taste, unlike tasting the liquid extract.

Stir!  To test the thickness of the pudding:  dip the spoon in the pudding, remove, and quickly run your finger down the back of the spoon.  If the line stays put, you are ready to remove from heat.  If the line fills in, then stir some more.  Caution: very hot liquid.  This is where I licked my finger!  yummy goodness.

Pour into serving dishes. Chill.  Or, eat while warm for instant coziness!  Since I have a pantry of Thrive fruits, I paired my pudding with some Thrive Raspberries. (dry and hydrated)  Oh my!  For some reason, the raspberries make the pudding taste like white chocolate.  Because I am in love with this pudding, I have been trying out all kinds of combinations.  Do you like banana pudding? Well, Thrive Bananas are very delicious, and if you want to forgo the Vanilla Wafers, eat the freeze dried bananas without hydrating, to get your crunch!

For those of you that like to read labels, I am listing the ingredient list compared to Jello Brand Instant Vanilla Pudding.

THRIVE: nonfat milk solids, vitamin A palmate, vitamin D3, sugar, iodized salt, vanilla, bean extractives, sugar, cornstarch, tricalcium phosphate, glycerine, butter (sweet cream, salt, milk)

Jello Brand: sugar, modified cornstarch, contains less than 2% of natural and artificial flavor, salt, disodium phosphate, tetrasodium pyrophosphate (for thickening), mono- and diglycerides (prevents foaming), artificial color, yellow 5, yellow 6, BHA (preservative)

Here is the link to the recipe again: Vanilla Pudding Recipe

The incredible benefit is that these ingredients are Certified Gluten Free (by the Gluten Intolerance Group).  How helpful this is to those that have to watch what they eat for health reasons.  You have ‘instant’ pudding ingredients, suited to your dietary needs, and ready in a flash!  Now that is convenience!!

The yield is the same for both puddings if comparing Thrive to Jello; however, the taste of Thrive Vanilla Pudding will WIN everytime!  The rich taste comes from the Thrive Vanilla Powder.

The cost is harder to compare.  It cost a little over $3.00 for the Thrive ingredients. (serves 4)  For the Jello brand, it will depend on your milk prices, and if you have milk at home.  To make Jello instant pudding, you need cold milk.  It’s not cost effective to buy 2 cups of milk. The point being it would be cheaper to make the Jello brand of pudding, but maybe by only $1.00.

The exciting part for me is you can have these ingredients on your shelf for a year!  No worries about out of date milk, an empty carton of milk,  or running to the store “for just milk”.

Having freeze dried food in my pantry has really changed my life.  Not only has it cut down my trips to the store, but the peace of mind knowing that there is food in my pantry is glorious.  The added benefit, I can whip up a batch of pudding ANYtime I desire!