Talk:Trifle

High Church
I am English (and therefore speak English) and have had many trifles (including one half an hour ago) but I cannot understand the sentence about "High Church". Could it be phrased better? At the moment I'm guessing what it might mean...could it be made clear?81.174.133.150 22:07, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

We couldn't agree more - what does " High Church " mean in this context? s

I have failed to find any reference to "High Church" connected to trifles so I am going to remove the reference. I'd be very interested if somebody could find such a reference. Arwhalley (talk) 17:50, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

British?
Why specifically British? Trifle is enjoyed in a lot of different places, I know here in New Zealand and in Australia it is certainly considered quite commonplace as a dessert, and a simple search on-line reveals that it's far from unknown in the U.S. and Canada. Number36 04:39, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
 * This site has some interesting info in regards to this too, including the different names like 'Tipsy cake', also this site Seems the quote from American Oliver Wendell Holmes might be appropriate for inclusion too.Number36 04:40, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Maybe because all the places you mention are former British colonies??? Jonto 23:12, 14 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Well that's silly, and not really a reason either, they aren't Britain, so not British, and the dessert is much a part of their culture as it is of Britain's. Therefore there's no reason to describe it as a specifically British dessert. Number36 02:15, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * The majority of settlers in those countries were originally of British origin, and therefore it's a dessert of British origin, therefore is a British dessert. If I go to a Chinese restaurant in the UK and eat some food from an ancient Chinese recipe that happens to be ate all over the world, does that make the food any less Chinese?? Jonto

Your 'therefore' doesn't follow at all. It's origins don't relate to it's present status but to it's original status. My family's origins are British but my family isn't British now, because it spread beyond and become endemic in places other than Britain. Chinese food is a false comparison because of the relatively recent introduction of Chinese food in the western world compared to the influence of British culture which happened as these countries formed and was always as much a part of their shared cultures as it was Britain's. Also the strongly shared cultural identification that Chinese culture has at present. Come back in a few hundred years and see if a person of Chinese descent thinks of them-self as Chinese as little as a person of British descent in America today would think of themselves as British, then see if 'Chinese food' is still Chinese food, or just 'food'. I mean, by the same token, would we say that pies are an Egyptian food or Sausages are Sumerian? Calling it a British dessert suggests it is peculiar to those isles which is far from the truth, it is endemic in a number of different countries in the present day. Number36 05:25, 30 July 2007 (UTC)


 * There are two options:


 * Find a reference that explicitly states that trifle is a British dessert, and cite it in the article, as required by WP:V
 * Just call trifle a dessert and remove any references to it being British


 * We can't extrapolate from various sources, as this violates WP:NOR


 * Ben 09:43, 30 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree with the above but would add that it should state that trifle is exclusively a British dessert, which is what describing it as a British dessert implies. (but it shouldn't 'cos it ain't ;) )Number36 22:30, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Zuppa Inglese
Having just read the page on this (which in my opinion is pretty much describing a slightly different way to make a trifle), and having seen a few sites that talk about it as a variant type of Trifle (as opposed to the English kind) including the first of those two sites I link to above, rather than a similar but different kind of dessert. I'd forward that they should be merged, but perhaps there is some bigger difference that I'm not seeing? Anybody actually familiar with this first-hand who can comment?Number36 05:01, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Why Trifle? Or, what's in a name?
Enjoying a trifle last weekend and wondered as a group, why do they call it a trifle? Is it to do with "tri" or "three" layers? Must be more to it!71.59.124.234 02:41, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Think I just found something that responds: http://www.themediadrome.com/content/articles/food_articles/trifle.htm. Excellent history!! "The first trifles were very much like fools (an old confection of pureed fruit mixed with cream), indeed the two terms were used almost interchangeably for many years. The very first known recipe, for example, bears almost no resemblance to what we now call a trifle. It was in The Good Huswife's Jewell, written by Thomas Dawson and published in 1596..." and "The word "trifle" comes from the Old French "trufle," and literally means something whimsical or of little consequence. It should be quick to make..." . What a wonderful historical reference under That Charming Confection: Trifle by Helen Stringer 71.59.124.234 02:51, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Klop Family?
This was recently added by an anonymous user;

''The original trifle comes from Utrecht in The Netherlands where it has been the traditional local desert for centuries. It was first brought to England by the family Klop, a family of ill repute forced to flee the country.''

Sounds more than a little dodgy to me, is a major claim about the desserts origins, and couldn't confirm anything from a quick look on google.Number36 02:01, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

How old?
This article needs a history section if sources could be found. How old is trifle? Does it pre-date modern refrigeration? - Fayenatic (talk) 14:54, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Louisiana?
I'm intrigued by the categorisation of trifle as "Louisiana cuisine". A quick Google search seems to suggest that the English brought trifle to Louisiana where it is popular. The same could be said of Australia, New Zealand, etc. If there are no objections I will remove that categorisation. El T (talk) 12:53, 14 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Now removed. El T (talk) 06:50, 21 December 2008 (UTC)

Seasponge?
Seriously, where did that come from? I've never heard of trifle containing seasponge... It does usually contain sponge cake, however. A Google search revealed that this article was the only place referring to the bizarre ingredient, and I have therefore updated the article accordingly. --Beeurd (talk) 20:59, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

Second Image
I've removed the second picture of a trifle added back in December since it didn't seem to add or show anything not already shown with the first picture, and cluttered up the text by the inclusion of too many images.Number36 (talk) 20:26, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Book & sites could be used for refs
The book, Trifle by Helen Saberi and Alan Davidson would no doubt be an invaluble resource for the page if someone has a copy.


 * I think i've got a copy LOL! somewhere, I'll see if I can dig it out. Rohanuk (talk) 22:56, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

This link, is very relevent also, and refers to the book above, it deals with the evolution of the trifle, the etymology of the name, and it's relation to two other desserts.

There's also this site which also has some very good info on its history. Got a couple of things out the two links, but don't have a lot of time to go through them and write stuff into the article at the moment, so I'll include them here if someone else wants to use them.Number36 (talk) 21:51, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Traditional Trifle
err, I'm just some random person, but why does it say traditional trifles do not contain jelly, when about 4 lines above that is a sentence describing that trifle recipes have been recorded with jelly since the mid 1700's? The source is just an online recipe entitled "traditional trifle". Seems like removing that line would be logical, so I went ahead and did it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.136.117.131 (talk) 06:01, 4 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Historical trifle contained no gelatin, but modern trifles now conditionally contain gelatin. The Jade Knight (talk) 07:53, 19 April 2019 (UTC)

Mrs Beeton image
While it's a nice illustration from Mrs Beeton, that shows jellies from jelly moulds, not trifle.90.218.34.198 (talk) 09:36, 18 July 2013 (UTC

Punschtorte?
I'm sorry to tell, but our german Punschtorte is really something completely different and has nothing in common with trifle. It is a layer cake from bisquit, punch, marmelade and a thin sugar-frosting with a typical cobweb-pattern on the top. A little bit old-fashioned, but some like it on New Year's Eve (so I do).
 * I second this. Punschtorte is a cake, which can't be said for trifle. The recipe in the link doesn't describe a Punschtorte - it describes the filling of a Punschtorte, which would normally be filled between two slices of sponge cake. Therefore I'm going to remove that sentence. --Suhusa2 (talk) 21:12, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

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Alcohol
Does the article at present give too much weight to the dish having alcohol in it? The lede section says; "commonly soaked in sherry or another fortified wine", which, while that's certainly not uncommon of course, as a type of trifle, it's just as common to see trifles with no alcohol at all.219.88.68.195 (talk) 06:02, 25 January 2022 (UTC)