This is Tammy Proctor, and this season on Eating the Past, we have
already seen that defining dumplings is hard. We’ve featured fried,
frittered, baked, stuffed, boiled, and you name it – kinds of foods.
One of the overlaps seems to be with doughnuts – like dumplings,
they are made of dough and often stuffed, they can be made with
cheap ingredients and they certainly count as comfort food. So today
I want to feature a doughnut-like food that in Australia is called a
dumpling—the golden syrup dumpling.
Despite their name – golden syrup dumplings – which are based around a
product exported throughout the British empire, golden syrup, these
little delicacies may have actually come to Australia with Chinese
laborers.
They look a lot like doughnuts, but two things place them
more squarely in the dumpling category – they are steamed and they are
stuffed with things like red bean paste.
These steamed, stuffed morsels are then drenched in syrup, making them
resemble a number of Chinese sweetened dumplings or buns. Since many
Chinese laborers traveled to Australia in the 19th and 20th centuries to find
work, either directly from China, or from other British empire communities
such as Malaya and Singapore, the dumpling’s origin is probably tied to this
migration. Such sweet buns and dumplings also were sold in Chinatowns in
the United States and Canada, for instance.
So this Chinese dumpling got mixed up in Australia with a British
commercial product, golden syrup. although earlier versions of this
treacle syrup showed up in various parts of the British world in the
early 19th century, it was a Scottish company that really popularized it
for the masses.
Created by two chemists who worked in the sugar industry, the syrup was
first sold in its unique can (still used today) in 1885 by Lyle’s, a sugar refining
business on the outskirts of Glasgow. The syrup became popular quickly, and it
spread throughout the various imperial markets.
The company proved adept at marketing, helping to spur sales, and one of its
publicity triumphs was the inclusion of the Golden syrup in the Scott expedition
to the Antarctic in 1910.
Despite that ill-fated expedition’s failure, the syrup became associated with
adventure and hardiness. When the remains of the golden syrup supplies
that Scott took with him were discovered in 1956, the syrup was still
edible and secure in its tins.
Back to Australia. golden syrup dumplings have remained a nostalgic
favorite in that country, partly because they are associated with
camping and van life – outdoor adventure. sometimes called by an
earlier name, cocky’s joy, Australians eat Lyle’s and a local version
called CSR. Regardless of which is preferred, the syrup is a key ingredient
in the dumpling recipe.
So how to make them – make the dough as you would a biscuit dough, with
butter rubbed into flour and baking powder and salt, then add egg and
milk until you have a dough. Roll it and shape it into balls or other shapes, then
simmer in the syrup for ten minutes or until cooked. Cover
with cream and eat. Note to listeners – these are very sweet, so beware.
Like many of the dumplings we’ve discussed these sweet dough balls have
been around the world. They are the food of immigrants, of empire, of
adventure, of work, and of family life—dumplings seem to serve those
functions in so many of the stories we’ve told this season.
So, grab your tent, get your ingredients, and make some golden syrup
dumplings on your next family camping trip.
Next week more on the history of dumplings.
