President Ulysses S. Grant's Favorite Way To Liven Up Rice Pudding

America's 18th president, Ulysses S. Grant, didn't grow up in opulence in his hometown of Georgetown, Ohio, where his family operated a tannery. Grant spent most of his time raising horses on his father's farmland. He enrolled in the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1839 and had an impressive military career before winning the presidency in 1869. Grant hired an army cook to be his chef at the White House, likely because he'd spent the entirety of his career eating meals prepared by such cooks. His wife, Julia, however, quickly replaced him with an Italian chef whom she saw better fit to cook the opulent feasts that she and her husband would soon host in the nation's capital. Despite the multi-course meals she would plan, President Grant never stopped requesting rice pudding for dessert, a rather simple but comforting dish that Grant especially loved when it was flavored with lemon zest. This citrus treat also turns yogurt into a gourmet treat. 

In her book "The Olivia Letters," journalist Emily Edson Briggs wrote of the rice pudding that was served at one of President Grant's state dinners, "It is such a pudding as would make our grandmothers clap their hands with joy," although it's unclear whether this particular rice pudding contained lemon zest. At its core, rice pudding is a creamy, rich dessert made by boiling rice with water or milk and sweetening it with sugar. You can even make it with leftover rice. It can be flavored in many different ways; popular recipes often include spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, vanilla, and dried fruit like raisins. But the base recipe is extremely versatile, and lemon zest is a great way to lift and brighten the flavors of the pudding. 

President Ulysses S. Grant and Mrs. Grant's Italian chef, Valentino Melah, considered rice pudding to be much too simple for his culinary talents, but because the president was such a fan of the dessert and requested it often, he experimented with flavors. We don't know for certain, but it's possible that the lemon zest addition came from him. A recipe provided from the USA Rice Federation for "President Grant's Rice Pudding" specifies serving a lemon-scented rice pudding with a lemon sauce (via Cooks Recipes). The citrus fruit is a wonderful ingredient for such a rich dessert because the sharpness of the lemon is a nice foil to the creaminess of the pudding. 

There are several different ways you can add the essence of lemon to rice pudding. Adding lemon zest to the liquid you're boiling your rice in will impart the lemon oil throughout the pudding. Alternatively, you can stir the zest and a little lemon juice into the dessert a few minutes before serving. Garnishing with candied lemon peel would give the dish some chewy texture and a little extra sweetness. If you are working with a standard rice pudding recipe, you could always add a dollop of lemon curd or a drizzle of limoncello on top, along with some lemon zest for presentation. Just remember to flip your microplane upside down to zest your lemons the right way.