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This weeks featureTo be at its best on December 25, the Christmas pudding has to mature - so it's time to get out the wooden spoon and start stirring. By Graham Sherwood
Always one of the first seasonal products to hit the supermarket shelves, along with cards and crackers, research shows that in the UK each year, 40 million of us will eat a piece of Yuletide pud on Christmas Day. Few of us, however, understand how the Christmas pudding has evolved to become such a favourite. |
A popular pud... |
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Historic ingredients... |
It is originally thought to have been a 14th-century porridge named 'frumenty', made from scraps of boiled beef and old mutton, mixed with raisins, prunes, currants, figs and spices. This soup-like concoction, also known as 'hakin', would have been the basis for a fasting regime for the affluent, intent on purging their bodies in order to make way for the anticipated overindulgence and extravagance of the Yuletide feasting.
Most recipes evolve over time and, by 1595, 'frumenty' had developed into a more sophisticated dish. Thickened by the addition of eggs and breadcrumbs, the fruit now infused with ale or wine, the former porridge-like slop had become transformed into plum pudding. |
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In 1664, Puritanism held sway in much of the country, and the rich ingredients of plum pudding were decried as being 'lewd' and 'unfit for God-fearing people'. For many years its popularity tumbled until its renaissance upon the Christmas dining table of the new king, George I, in 1714. Now with its royal seal of approval, and despite being reviled once again, this time by the temperate Quakers, plum pudding began to grow in popularity once more. By the Victorian era, with the meat content finally removed and the inclusion of ever more varieties of fruit, nuts and spices, the Christmas pudding as we recognise it today was born. |
A seal of approval... |
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Many of the romantic customs and superstitions surrounding the Christmas pudding originate from this time. The most famous, that of hiding charms, favours or coins within the mixture dates from around 1836, marking the demise of Twelfth Night cake, wherein the charms were originally hidden, this being known thereafter merely as Christmas cake. |
Watch your teeth... |
Silver coins, such as the threepenny piece or sixpence, were favourite tokens, the lucky finder being blessed with wealth and happiness for the following year. This practice seems to have died out somewhat in recent years due to the change in metal used for our currency, together with the ever-increasing red tape of our health and safety legislation. |
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Other charms often used were silver rings, thimbles and buttons. Tradition says the finder of the ring would be married within the year, but the thimble or button finders would be destined to be perpetual spinsters or bachelors respectively.
Commercially, Christmas puddings are now big business, with 25 million being consumed at home and a further 15 million sold via catering companies and restaurants at Christmas parties. Though around half of the UK's household will buy a pudding, only one in five will actually make their own. |
But making one's own Christmas pudding has always been associated with the family getting together, and with the religious connotations of Christmas itself. 'Stir up Sunday', always the last Sunday before Advent, is the traditional day that a family unites, all taking turns to stir the pudding mixture before the cooking process begins. This, for those who still take the trouble to make their pudding, is a poignant calendar date with many of today's family members often widely distributed around the country.
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Early family tradition... |
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Ideally 13 ingredients are used, which signify Christ and his twelve disciples, the mixture being stirred clockwise to remember the journey of the three Magi from east to west. When the pudding is served on Christmas day, the flaming with brandy is said to depict the passion, while the traditional sprig of holly used to garnish the pudding is a reminder of the Christ's crown of thorns. The pagans, on the other hand, valued holly as a symbol of good luck, and would often plant it close to their dwellings. |
Anyone for a haircut?... |
The classic cannonball-shaped pudding originates from the 18th century and uses a specially cleaned linen, muslin or cotton cloth dampened with warm water and dusted with flour prior to the ingredients being wrapped inside. This coating formed an impenetrable barrier once the mixture was immersed in the boiling water for cooking. By the middle of the 19th century, industrialisation had brought metal containers for cooking and steaming into vogue, and the dome-shaped pudding basin that is the norm today became the preferred shape for the Christmas pudding. |
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There are many different recipes available, catering for all tastes. Most commercial puddings now avoid the traditional use of beef suet in the process to accommodate the growing vegetarian market, while 'deluxe' varieties have an ever-increasing list of exitic ingredients and alcoholic flavourings.
See ‘Todays Recipe’ for our favourite pudding and remember it needs to be mature for a fuller flovour, so time to get cooking.
Oh by the way, have a lovely Christmas, when it comes... |
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