LOL trailrunner.. we had this conversation ourselves just the other day. I'm the "skin" he's the "pudding". He's the sadsack Englishman, and I'm the tough, thickskinned Canadian.. lol.. thanks for the laugh!

Sadly, I imagine the majority of marriageable twentysomethings, having been raised on instant pudding, know nothing of pudding skins and the importance of them to their future happiness.

I love the pudding skin, DH just the pudding.

pudding has a skin????

uh oh, should I be concerned? Both DH and I like the skin (but only on the chocolate pudding). We're celebrating 20 years of wedded bliss tomorrow. Okay, so maybe the past 6 weeks of remodel has not been akin to "bliss," but we're still hanging in there.

Morton: It totally warmed the cockles of my heart just earlier today to hear that my pickiest of the picky eaters, my 10-year-old son, told me what he missed most about us not having a kitchen was my real, homemade macaroni and cheese. Interestingly, both kids like the skin on the chocolate pudding as well but really look at it rather suspiciously.

So where do I find a blue eyed puddinhead with Mel Gibson's bank account but not his ideology (no puddinbrain)?

We both like the skin. However, I like the crunchy outer ring of a cookie, and my spouse likes the soft, chewy center.

OK, I LOVE the skin on pudding. I was thinking how much I missed warm chocolate pudding, last night and was unable to make any due to my kitchen not being there anymore. My sweetie and I just celebrated our 4th anniversary on Friday. I will definately have to ask him about the skin test. I need to know if we will last another 40 more years (at least).

Definitely the thick skin! If only they could invent instant pudding with skin! You twentysomethings: you know you can still buy pudding in boxes (near the Jello) that you cook on the stove. You don't know what you're missing.

Cute side story: I was cooking a boxed pudding mix on the stove for my son when he was about 6. He casually commented that his paternal grandma could make pudding without a box. Really? I didn't know there was any other way (this was right before instant packaged was available.) So I asked his grandmother about it and she told me how she cooked it; don't remember all the details but it starts with cornstarch. She never got into the instant.

Ganggreen, my sincerest congratulations on 20 years! No small feat, especially during a remodel.

BTW, I also LOVE lumps in Malto Meal!

Almost 33 years and going strong -- there must be something to this pudding test -- I like the skin, my hubby detests it!!

We are in our 34th year, and I have no idea about pudding. Should I risk making some? If it is chocolate DH would eat any and all of it, LOL!

Wow, I never knew that thing could actually be enjoyed. In case I've been missing something, next time I'm going to take a deep breath, tell myself to keep an open mind and a steady stomach, and give it a...nibble.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ganggreen!! And congrats to all of you who have made it this far.

I just knew there were pudding lovers out there. And yes DH and I wondered if there would be a few "young" ones on here that only know about instant. Perhaps this is a whole new food advertising campaign. I can see it now...a commercial shows a kitchen with only the light on over the stove and a stealthy person reaching for the fridge door...as they slowly open the door and reach for the chocolate ( yes it has to be chocolate) pudding ...FLASH the overhead lights come on and the pudding skin thief is caught .

I think there has to be something to this. As I ponder I think I know why you can stay happily married and both like the same as well as the opposite. It is simply a matter of sharing, either way.

So all ya'll that haven't tried this make some cooked chocolate pudding and then see what happens. It is so good and creamy when it is still warm underneath and that lovely chewy thick layer on the top...I am going to have to go make some pudding.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chocolate pudding recipe

Thanks for the best wishes.

This is our "unofficial" anniversary. We actually got married twice, once on May 26 and then again on June 4. Twenty years ago today we stood in the back room of the church with the minister and both my maid of honor and bridesmaid stood up for us. We then went back to my parents' house for a dinner of leftovers. LOL

Church wedding was on June 4.

I'm Canadian, he was a US resident serving in the army, and we needed to jump through some hoops for immigration purposes. Thus the 2 weddings.

Okay, so now I am absolutely craving real chocolate pudding. Wonder if I could convince a neighbor to let me borrow their stove?

Not to hyjack the post, but neesie--I absolutely LOVE lumps in Malto Meal or any kind of hot cereal! YUM! Now, if only I had a kitchen...

we've been married 30 years and are building our 3rd and last house. We do 90% of the work ourselves and we are getting WAY too old for this! I must admit though...when it gets down to the wire, we both get really stressed out. Anyway....neither of us like the skin, so I put saran wrap on top of the putting (I mean right on the surface) and no skin forms. Yummy!

Seems to be a common thread - if one of the couple dislikes the skin, it is usually the male (my DH included). Wonder why???

Celebrated 40 yrs a few months ago and both prefer the pudding. I will admit there are other things we are opposite of though and they sure came through with our renovation.

He hates the skin, I don't mind it. Seventeen years since we met, six years married, it's all good. Well, actually....

I will admit there are other things we are opposite of though and they sure came through with our renovation.

Yeah, that. There have been a few too many times when he has said "I can't get wait to get rid of..." while I'm saying "the one thing we have to keep is..." and we end with the same word. Ack.

Oh dear, hubby HATES pudding. He calls it baby puke. Makes me mad! I, on the other hand, love everything and will eat pudding skin on or skin off. We're doing okay, I guess, as we've been married 26 years. I think it works cause we are the orginal "he could eat no fat, she could eat no lean, twixt (how do you spell that?) them both together, they licked the platter clean." Yep, that'd be us!

gangreen...we got married 2x too !! Eloped and had a JP in the courthouse in Pearl River MS. Then we came back to N.O and his parents had a fit and made us have a blessing service with a priest...Father Buddendorf in the chapel at Loyola...my BIL played the organ.

OK why men hate the skin part...I asked DH just now. He said it is too leathery. Then I said well I wonder what there is about the soft warm pudding underneath...he gave me a very naughty grin ( I will leave it at that so we don't get X rated).

About remodel marriage tension. My DH said years and years ago that when we successfully wallpapered together that there was nothing that could tear us apart. He was right. These 2 big remodels were so hard but we reminded each other that we survived worse...the wallpapering...in unison !!

This has been a fun thread. I love the stories. c

DH and I have been happily married 45+ years. Neither of us likes pudding skin, so we just cover the pudding with waxed paper. (Ya know, that pre-saran stuff.) Haven't had any pudding for a long time; maybe today's the day. We don't like instant, but don't do scratch, either. Is it better than boxed?

Just hit 23 years of marriage on the 10th of this month, even with DIY building the house, and with a miles-long list of projects left to go that can definitely cause strife and expose opposing ways of viewing things-- but both of us like the pudding skin.

One of our kids is old enough to qualify as a twenty-something, but doesn't believe in instant anything. My kids use any reason they can to fire up the Wolf rangetop.

Thanks for the recipe! I'm making it in a few minutes. DS is home from college this weekend. He can add the pudding test to his GF criteria, LOL.

In our 25 years of marriage we hardly ever ate pudding, and still don't. But, I love chocolate pudding. So, with that, I HATE the thick skin, but I'd think that DH wouldn't mind it. Now you make me want to cook some up to see if I'm right.

Yummy pudding. DH and DS like the skin. I don't mind it, but wouldn't fight them for it.

DH and I celebrate our 31st Anniversary this coming Wednesday. We were married the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, so that's the time we always recognize it.

This year we were at the lake house we built last summer, and hope to retire to someday. It was lovely there this weekend and made all the angst and craziness of last year's build seem worth it.

The pudding test - I like the skin, DH finds it a little creepy. I think of the two of us, I tend to go for foods with more texture while he likes smoother things like mashed potatoes and ice cream.

I've enjoyed this post - My DD gets married in 25 days, I'll have to ask her how she and her fiance feel about pudding skin!

I haven't made pudding since the pudding shot fiasco (Rum Cream and instant toasted coconut pudding is a very, very, very bad idea- even the people who drink toilet bowl cleaner said they were awful).

But Tom and I have the pizza test- I won't eat the edges of the crust or the corner pieces, and those are his favorites. It works for us.

Today is my anniversary. Seventeen years. He likes the pudding....I like the skin. I guess we'll go for another 17.

We've survived wallpapering together too, but only half walls... Does that count?

Amy ...it ALL counts. Happy Anniversary to you and amck too. You are all so great to share your stories. And you know what the common thread always is...you share...good , bad, tired, hot and sweaty...you share and are there for each other.

My kids are all here tonight. They loved the idea of the pudding test. They are 25,31 and 33. Only the oldest is married and his wife said to maximize the pudding skin make it on a 1/2 sheet pan...you know she is a chef too !!

The other two are going to ask all future dates what they prefer. Maybe the test is a good one if the person laughs and plays along...sounds like a good way to find out how light-hearted a person is.

Cotehele how was the pudding ?

Pizza test , cookie test...he eats the filling she eats the oreos...corners and centers...c

The pudding was yummy! It was made with 60% and semi-sweet Gardelli chips; I didn't have any milk chocolate in the house. Tempering an egg was a new experience. It was so easy, I made macaroni and cheese (with an egg) for supper too. The egg really thickens the sauce. Thanks for the pudding recipe.

We were married on Mother's Day 1974. DS was born the day after our anniversary (1987). Mother's Day weekend is always a fun extended family celebration.

I think that anyone who is married or even thinking of getting married needs to learn to love a good THICK skin...LOL

Viv you are so right. It is nice to be sensitve but there are times when you just have to let the "stuff" roll on by.

Cotehele what fun for you to have so much to celebrate at the same time. Glad the puddign and Mac and cheese turned out well. I haven't made a mac and cheese in a long while I will have to do that...DH loves it. There is that thick and creamy again :) c

What a fun thread to read! DH & I just celebrated our 25th anniversary in January and we're still crazy about each other . . . at least most days (LOL!)
I like the pudding skin, he doesn't. He likes chocolate; I like vanilla. He loves his steaks rare; mine are way too done for him. But, as with most married couples who still like each other after all these years, we don't focus on those little differences. I still remember all the great reasons why I married him way back in 1983 . . . like the way he always wore his comfy old (cowboy) boots with his scrubs :~) and how he loved to cook with me. He still does.

Unbelievably enough, DH and I have never discussed pudding. Oh, we all make jokes about how (Red's Family) can't wait for anything to attain the right temperature; Cheesecake gets served as soon as it's baked rather than the hours of chilling it needs, puddings get served hot from the pot rather than any chilling. But since I scrape off any skin before serving, I may never ever know whether he and I are really right for each other.
However, it doesn't really matter. Whether we were right or whether we were completely the reverse of what the other one needed, only one thing is important. When I was first getting to really know Mr. Red in the winter of 1982 as we both rented bedrooms in a friend's home (him waiting for his divorce to become finalized and me, waiting to save enough money from my job so I could move out to California with a girl friend) I happened to mention some of my Ex-husband's annoying traits, including addiction to (ALL) sports on t.v. I blathered on for a while on that and other ex-husband-related stuff and then..........

.....and then he said IT. Yes. The Fateful words that would elevate him from the ranks of 'average' guys that I happened to know.......the words that would stop all other conscious thought in my head and race across the forefront of my brain like neon lights on a dark restaurant....... the words that so many women want to hear from a man and never will.............The Sentence that sealed his Doom----Er----I mean----brought him 26 years of unbelievable happiness in marriage to me--That incredible combination of syllables and consonants, of verbiage so beautiful that all other men ceased to exist for me.

"I don't like to watch sports on T.V."

That was it. The Pudding Skin.

Red

> When I was first getting to really know Mr. Red in the winter of 1982 as we both rented bedrooms in a friend's home

Thank you, Red! I feel normal now!! You mean it isn't just me who fell in love with a roommate?

Interesting things happen when two utter strangers, of which only one has a Y chromosome, share a bite-sized studio apartment, don't they?

It starts with the little things. Like, we'll decide split the cost of consumables like paper towels or trash bags. I'll buy it this time, you the next. We each bought our own food, so we'd each have our own gallon bottle of skim milk, two 2-liter soft drink bottles (both diet Coke) and so on. Given the meager space in the small fridge and seeing that we both are drinking the same thing, why not trade off on that too so there's only one set of large bottles taking up space? So we did. At some point, we stopped each having our own bar of soap in the bathroom sink. And then in the shower too. (speaking of which, what is all that stuff women keep in the shower? I understand shampoo and conditioner, but am clueless as to what "exfoliating face creme" or "energizing astringent" is. Her skin was soft and smooth though, so whatever it did seemed to work).

I'd call from the grocery store to ask if we were running low on anything. "Yeah, bananas and green tea". "And could you rent a good DVD to watch tonight?". It just sneaks up on you, as slowly, subtly, your lives become intertwined.

And then she said IT. The Fateful Words that, as it turned out, weren't even intended for me. She was chatting with one of her girlfriends within my earshot, and said something regarding me that she thought insignificant, but that I found deeply affecting and which immediately and immutably put me over the top. (and I won't be divulging those particular words here since they'd be meaningless out of context, and providing the necessary context would take a long story that can't be made short. Yeah I know, it's getting too long already...)

Why, why, why did I fritter away years of my life in a fruitless, increasingly unsustainable (and expensive) long-distance relationship? I always knew there'd be someone out there for me who didn't require a suitcase to visit. Sooner or later I'd meet her at a local bar, or at the gym, or at a nightclub. But living in my own apartment? This couldn't be happening. But it was.

It was absurd. I remember the first time we went out together - several hours just taking in the nightlife. Then, as it got late, we walked to her car and she looked at me. "Your place or mine?"

What's the point of going out at all? It's like, we're already there. I haven't left, but I'm already where I want to go.

But are paths were divergent, and it had to end. Her lease expired, and she moved out, as had long been planned, far from me. This is not a breakup, I told myself. It only feels like one.

I am so OT...

Pudding.

The only pudding I was aware of is sold alongside the yogurt in individual plastic serving cups, ready to eat. Really, people used to have to cook this stuff? Trying harder to remember, I do sort of recall old cafeterias that served pudding in glass dishes, kind of like a wine glass but wider and lower, and that stuff did have a crust or skin on it. I thought that meant it had been sitting out too long.

Anyway, I've never really liked pudding, neither the thick skin nor the soft stuff underneath. I guess that accounts for why I'm happily single...

I had forgotten all about this thread ! WOW lynn that sounds like my DH and I together now almost 38 years.

Red what a great story ! You had me racing ahead to confirm what I was sure he was going to say ! Love it.

Now Lee...I can't believe you let her go or she you. I was not ready fo that ending AT ALL. Happily single...I am glad for you but I wonder....c

You wonder what?

Oh nothing major....I am always a "what might have been person" so I was just making up a story in my head . Not to worry I believe you are happy. I never try to second guess others only myself :) Thank for your story . I found it very touching. c

Eeewww, the skin on pudding makes me retch, I'm almost phobic about it. Reminds me of stodgy school dinners! I've been married 14yrs and I don't know if DH likes the skin or not...Is that bad? Now I'm going to have to ask him - lol.

Karen...ask and post his answer....inquiring minds and all that...:)c

Apparently he hates it! At least I haven't been depriving him for 14yrs :)

Karen lucky you....isn't it funny the things we don't know. I think I know my DH after 37+ years and then I will hear him come out with some thing that I am like " whoa I didn't know you thought that...". I am glad you weren't depriving him of this thrilling treat...I love the stuff :)

I hate the skin and would put plastic wrap right on top of the pudding as it cooled to avoid the skin. My husband couldn't understand why I would do that as he likes the skin. I never realized that was the secret to our almost 25 years of marriage!

Oh, I forgot to mention this. Does anyone remember the Seinfeld episode where George tries to separate pudding skins from the pudding to create "pudding skin singles"?

Here is a link that might be useful: Seinfeld pudding skin episdoe info

terriks I didn't watch that show but that is funny...I would buy those ! Yep the pudding test continues to work... CONGRATS on 25 years !! c