We were asked to revisit the somewhat puzzling phrase the proof is in the pudding, and we are happy to dish on the old proverb. (来源：英语学习门户 http://www.EnglishCN.com)

The last time we tackled this problem, we had reminded our questioner that the original, full phrase was the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We had also noted that the early senses of pudding referred to blood sausage and sausage stuffing for roast meat, not to the soft, spongy, baked, or steamed dish we Americans associate with pudding.

Today we talk about the proof intended in the proof of the pudding. Proof is an old word indeed; its Latin ancestor meant "to test; prove." Plenty of proof senses are either archaic (such as "the quality or state of having been tested or tried") or obsolete ("experience; outcome; result; witness; attempt"). But the sense of proof talked about in regard to the pudding is still active today. To proof a dough is to bring it to the proper lightness; to proof a piece of writing is to read and mark corrections in it; and to proof a pudding is to apply a test to it—say, a taste test—in order to determine if it is of standard or satisfactory quality.