"In half a minute, Mrs. Cratchit entered -- flushed, but smiling proudly -- with the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of a half a quartern of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top."
from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Did anyone else ever wonder how poor Mrs Cratchit ever managed to put a plum pudding on the table for Christmas with her limited resources? Certainly anyone who has been out to buy the ingredients themselves would. This is not a quick, or cheap dessert and it is no wonder that making one, rather than buying one, has gone out of fashion.
As a Christmas traditionalist I say hang the cost and the time. A home-made Christmas pudding is an absolute must. I am not a big fan of fruit cake but once a year I gorge myself on this pudding (and the accompanying ice cream and custard).
Christmas pudding is an English christian tradition which harks back as early as the 15th century. At that time the puddings were served before a meal and contained meat (as did the traditional "mince meat" pie). From about the 18th century Christmas or plum puddings were an entirely fruit-laden affair, with suet (beef or mutton fat) as the symbolic remainder of its former self.
Before our time the Sunday before Advent was traditionally the last day a household would make its pudding before Christmas to give it time to hang and mature before the day. This day was called 'stir-up Sunday' and each family member would take turns to stir the pudding and make a wish. At this point silver coins and later charms may have been added to the mix for luck.
I completely missed this deadline.
This year I made the pudding on the second Sunday of Advent, no-one stirred the pudding except me and I didn't have any charms to put in (hint, hint). However, being a modern girl I boiled the pudding in my pasta pot so there was no messy or dangerous lifting of pudding basin from boiling water.
Poor Mrs Cratchit, she was placed in far more danger
"Hallo. A great deal of steam. The pudding was out of the copper. A smell like a washing-day. That was the cloth." from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Hopefully my pasta pot creation will be a suitable substitute. And if not, at least a generous dose of brandy poured on the pudding and a well-lit match will create a spectacular end to the meal.
Do you make a pudding at Christmas? If not, what are your dessert traditions for the holidays?
12 comments:
Looks deeelish!
I make two plum puddings every year and try to have them done by mid November.
Not many people in our family like it, which means I get to work my way through it at my leisure.
I use Nigella's recipe with a few modifications, depending on what fruit I can get.
I really appreciated you sending me the recipe, but I don't know if I can find some of the ingredients here. I will try though just because I have always wondered about plum pudding. We use to have a huge family gathering at our house many years, with many hand made desserts. None of them were a tradition though. Cookie swaps are big here. This year I didn't go to any. We had a death in the family and no one has had time for the usual things.
I am making a pudding for the first time in 20 years. So far I have only soaked the fruit. I am really impressed by your pasta pot idea, I will try that too.
We have a pud that is tradition on my mother's side. It's my nan's sago plum pudding and it's very light and quite ecconomical to make. My mum tried to jazz it up one year with dried apricots and walnuts but has been forbiden to tamper with the recipe ever since. We flame it with hot brandy and serve with with spice sauce, cream and/or icecream. My sister and I adore it for breakfast the next morning so mum makes enough for us each to take home a bit. Actually I think Christmas leftovers are one of the big joys of the post christmas lull. We make it a day or two before Christmas or even on the day.
Watermelon is the only true Christmas day desert. I can not imagine Christmas lunch finishing any other way than sitting out in the backyard eating watermelon slices.
I do love Christmas pud. I do not make my own, I wish I did. I should. I will make it my NYR. Maybe.
I used to make my own in Australia, although there were few takers (husband's family all far too precious to eat dessert of any kind — they're the sort that call sugar 'white death' and are amazed if you have any in the house — get the picture?)
But I do have a tried and true recipe from years ago. Provenance forgotten — probably the Time-Life cookbooks from the 1960s.
I can't get the required dried fruits and mixed peel for my recipe over here (too sweet), so I"m opting instead for that other English celebratory mainstay, a trifle.
Wow that looks amazing!
Plum puddings and fruit cakes are really not my thing, but you make me want to make one anyway!
Doubt I will though. :)
I LOVE making my plum pudding and I do it the old fashioned way, even my recipe is from the 1860's. I always bake two, one for straight out eating and one with three trinkets, a thimble, a ring, and a coin. After dinner we are all given a piece and at the count of three we dig thru it with our dessert spoons like hungary peasants! The ring is a new marriage, a coin money and thimble creative success in the new year. I even use my antique pudding molds!
My mum makes out pudding... yeah, she's great!
thanks janet.
sago plum pudding was like finding treasure when i was a kid.
yes agree,is illegal to tamper with original pudding recipe!ha
love the idea of flaming brandy&spice custard...yummmmmo
love catherine delaney
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