Flour of England, Fruit of Spain (Riddle) Lyrics
Flour from England, fruit from Spain, a shower of rain and a bag tied with string. Put them together and you get something good to eat.
Flour of England, Fruit of Spain (Riddle)
Flour of England, fruit of Spain,
Met together in a shower of rain;
Put in a bag tied round with a string;
If you'll tell me this riddle,
I'll give you a ring.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/flour-of-england-fruit-of-spain/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken riddle
- Best for ages
- 5 to 10 years
What Does Flour of England, Fruit of Spain (Riddle) Mean?
The answer is a plum pudding. English flour is mixed with dried fruit such as raisins, which were often imported from Spain, then water is added (the shower of rain) and the mixture is tied in a cloth bag and boiled. In old recipes, "plums" usually meant raisins.
History and Origin
The Real Mother Goose (1916) prints the riddle with its answer as the title: "A Plum Pudding". Puddings boiled in cloth bags were everyday food in English homes for centuries, and the riddle-maker promises a ring to anyone who can solve it.
Learning Activities
- Guess first: read the riddle and let your child guess.
- Ingredient map: find England and Spain on a map and talk about where food comes from.
- Raisin test: soak raisins in water and watch them swell, like in a pudding.