In the 17th century (1666), the durian fruit was compared to blanc-mangé by Alexandre de Rhodes: The brightly coloured whitedishes were one of the most common of the early entremets: edibles that were intended to entertain and delight through a gaudy appearance as much as through flavour. In 14th-century France, parti-colouring (the use of two bright contrasting colours on the same plate) was especially popular and was described by Guillaume Tirel (also known as Taillevent), one of the primary authors of the later editions of Le Viandier. On festive occasions and among the upper classes, whitedishes were often rendered more festive by various colouring agents: the reddish-golden yellow of saffron green with various herbs or sandalwood for russet. Spices were often used in recipes of the later Middle Ages since they were considered highly prestigious.

It was also often flavoured with spices like saffron or cinnamon and the chicken could be exchanged for various types of fowl, like quail or partridge. Almond milk and fish were used as substitutes for the other animal products on fast days and Lent. The basic ingredients were milk or almond milk, sugar, and shredded chicken (usually capon) or fish, often combined with rosewater and rice flour, and mixed into a bland stew. It is mentioned in the prologue to Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and in an early 15th-century cookbook written by the chefs of Richard II. It occurs in countless variations from recipe collections from all over Europe and was one of the few truly international dishes of medieval and early modern Europe. The 'whitedish' (from the original Old French term blanc manger) was an upper-class dish common to most of Europe during the Middle Ages and early modern period.

The Danish work may be a translation of a German cookbook, which is believed to have been based on a Latin or Romance vernacular manuscript from the 12th century or even earlier. The oldest recipe found so far for blancmange is from a copy of the oldest extant Danish cookbook, written by Henrik Harpestræng, who died in 1244, which dates it to the early 13th century at the latest. Additionally, related or similar dishes have existed in other areas of Europe under different names, such as the 13th-century Danish hwit moos ('white mush'), and the Anglo-Norman blanc desirree ('white Syrian dish') Dutch calijs (from Latin colare, 'to strain') was known in English as cullis and in French as coulis, and was based on cooked and then strained poultry. Variants of the dish appear in numerous European cultures with closely related names including biancomangiare in Italy and manjar blanco in Spain. Recently, it has been shown that there have been similar Arab dishes from that period. The origins of the blancmange have long been believed to lie in the introduction of rice and almonds in early medieval Europe by Arab traders.

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Tavuk göğsü is a sweet contemporary Turkish pudding made with shredded chicken, similar to the medieval European dish. The historical blancmange originated at some time during the Middle Ages and usually consisted of capon or chicken, milk or almond milk, rice, and sugar and was considered to be ideal for the sick. Some similar desserts are French chef Marie-Antoine Carême's Bavarian cream, Italian panna cotta, the Middle Eastern muhallebi, Chinese almond tofu, Hawai'ian haupia and Puerto Rican tembleque. Although traditionally white (the literal English translation of the name is 'white eating'), blancmanges are frequently given alternative colours. It is usually set in a mould and served cold. Blancmange ( / b l ə ˈ m ɒ n ʒ/, from French: blanc-manger ) is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream and sugar thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured with almonds.

Junkit pudding