It’s summer right now as I write this, not Thanksgiving, but for some reason the other day I was thinking of the fabulous and totally unhealthy dish known as tomato pudding.
In other places I’ve lived, no one had ever heard of it, but when I made it, people liked it a whole lot, once I explained that it’s not exactly pudding, and for that matter it’s not a dessert. They still liked it even after I told them what was in it, and there was general agreement it should be eaten as frequently as once every two years or so.
While Cincinnati has its chili spaghetti dish and goetta, and Columbus has…well, Wendy’s and White Castles (?), what does Toledo have its culinary hat to hang on? A wide variety of ethnic foods, yes, and sure, hot dogs (there’s Tony Packo’s, but the much better Toledo dogs are found at any Rudy’s Hot Dog restaurant, if you ask me). Is tomato pudding in fact, a Northwestern Ohio thing?
Could be, I thought. My native-to-Northwestern-Ohio grandparents made it every Thanksgiving, and often during the rest of the year as well. Tomatoes are a widely-produced crop in Northwestern Ohio, and Ohio has played a pivotal role in the ascendancy of the tomato in American food culture. My mother remembers the big H.J. Heinz factory in Bowling Green when she attended school there and the smell of tomatoes it produced. It made ketchup and pet food until 1975, and residents of a more recent vintage may remember it burning down in a spectacular fire on Dec. 11, 1980 (Heinz has a plant in Fremont now).
And then I hit the jackpot, from October 27, 1960.
Tomato Pudding had been a staple at the Tally Ho, a tearoom at 133 22nd Street downtown. The key, apparently, to duplicating this “treasured Toledo dish” is to follow the measurements and directions exactly. The recipe came from turncoat Carrie Wall, who made the pudding many years at the Tally Ho before defecting to the Gladieux Corp.
And here it is, Toledo History Box’s first and possibly last recipe.
TALLY HO TOMATO PUDDING
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup tomato puree
1/4 cup water
2 cups bread cubes, crusts removed
1/2 cup melted butter
Combine brown sugar, tomato puree and water and cook five minutes.
While tomato mixture is cooking put bread cubes in casserole and pour butter over. Add tomato mixture.
Bake 50 minutes in 325-degree oven.
For more evidence, there is this Mary Alice Powell food column from 2004. Here again, she claims that the dish is “a Toledo original,” so if we are to believe Mary Alice (and I’m inclined to, given her vast knowledge of food and restaurants and her long career at The Blade), tomato pudding is indeed a Toledo thing.
Mary Alice, whose columns continue to this day, made a huge batch of tomato pudding and served it to 43 people in her home and there were very few leftovers which proves, I guess, that Mary Alice sure knows how to entertain.
Great site. I look forward to your postings…keep up the good work!
I think I will pass on the Tomato Pudding…I can hear my arteries crunching as I read about it. However, you are spot on regarding Rudy’s vs. Packos. I was never a fan of Packos at all, but love Rudy’s. Makes me hungry just thinking of them.
thanks to sandy isenberg. used to make this years ago, and loved it!!!!!
This is addictive and such a nice, acidic touch with a roast or turkey. This is a family favorite that my grandmother and mother enjoyed at Smiths.
I was told that mrs. Hoover and mrs. Arnold had a tearoom in Findlay Ohio. They served it with roast chicken. Mrs. Arnold moved to Washington d c and opened a tearoom there. Congressmen loved the tomato pudding.
Debra Toledo resident
This was a staple on our Thanksgiving table since I can remember, because it was always there.
My grandma to mom to my sister’s.
I not able to this day to have Thanksgiving without it. But…….some how my older sister had the original copy of our families and I asked her for a copy the answer was “NO”.
So be it. This year ,2017, Thanksgiving she made it for me.
Then I thought maybe it could be on Google.
Well there it was receipe and history.
Then, it was in Toledo. Who new.
Thank you
P.S. I LOVE PACO’S & RUDY’S
My Grandmother made tomato pudding her Mother taught her. My great-grandmother was from NC
And She lives there until they moved to Virginia in the 40’s. She Died in 1946! And My Grandmother made her Mother’s Tomato pudding all the time. I loved it. My Grandmother nor my
Great-grandmother ever lived near or knew anyone from there. Toledo, can “claim” they are the creators of the pudding but I know they aren’t. I’m not saying my Great-grandmother created the dish, but poor black sharecroppers made due with what they had. And that dish was one of the treats should would make for them. So, wherever she got the idea, she was cooking it long before the 60’s. Not to mention My Mother ate it growing up.
First had this wonderful side dish when living in Sylvania, a subberb of Toledo , in the late 1970’s and early 80’s. I still serve it as a side dish with my Thanksgiving dinner as everyone loves it. It goes well with a rib roast too.
Easy to make and delicious to eat.
My ex mother-in-law made this quite often for family dinners. She was from Findlay, OH. I recall it being a delicious addition to her home-made meals.
I’m 65 years old and I can’t remember a Thanksgiving without Tomato Pudding. My Mother worked at the TallyHo and recreates this dish using Tomato Soup. It’s delicious. On occasion we top the dish with pecans.
I was born and partially raised in Virginia. My paternal grandparents are from the deep south and my grandmother, from Georgia (almost Florida), used to make this all the time. It was one of my favorite dishes that she would make and I came across your page because I could not think of the name of it so I turned to google. Prior to stumbling upon your page, I came across a recipe page in which many other Virginians were mentioning their fond memories of eating this as a child. I got the sense that it was a southern and region-specific staple. I now live in the North and have tried explaining this dish to people and most have never heard of it. Interesting to hear that it’s also popular in your area.
Moved to Ohio as a newlywed. My dear MIL gave me this recipe. We made is every year for Thanksgiving. Everyone, including our kids loves it. We lived in Findlay.