History of the Christmas Pudding

Christmas pudding is a pivotal part of any festive celebration. Whether families have their own recipe passed through generations or opt to buy one readymade, the tradition of the Xmas pud is a strong one.

The strong tradition heralds all the way back to medieval England. According to Andrea Broomfield in her book on food and cooking in Victorian England, the tradition of how to make it stems from the Roman Catholic Church. They decreed that the pudding should be made on the 25th Sunday after Trinity, prepared with precisely 13 ingredients, signifying Christ and his 12 apostles. It is also here where the tradition of the whole family taking a turn to stir the pudding comes from. This was originally done to honour the Three Wise Men or Magi, by stirring and 'turning' the pudding East to West you were meant to aid their journey in that direction.

Often referred to as plum pudding or plum duff the actual contents of the Christmas pudding do vary. Traditionally though the recipe was designed to merge luxury ingredients, most notably the spices and suet. As a result of the long cooking time and the reliance on dark sugars and treacle in many recipes the pudding is very dark in colour. Everything is kept moist with the addition of plenty of alcohol. The choice of tipple depends largely on the preferences of the chef, but can include brandy, mild or stout.

When it comes to the cooking of Christmas pudding the method used to be wrapping it in a pudding cloth and boiling. The modern alternative however favours the basin and some serious steaming. This is the initial stage and then when the day arrives for serving, all that needs to be done is some reheating (steaming again). Once it's hot and ready to go, it is time to present it, flamboyantly of course. A favourite is to douse it in a liquor of choice and light, whoosh, flaming Christmas pud! Accompaniments are varied, but most common are custard, cream, rum or brandy butter and sprinkled caster sugar.

Aside from the ingredients, cooking and serving there are further historical traditions. The entire family having a stir has already been mentioned, but this wasn't the only custom practiced while making a Christmas pudding. Silver coins commonly, but other tokens too, were added to the mix. These other tokens would include a wishbone symbolising good luck, a ring for a wedding or an anchor representing safe harbour. The coins themselves would indicate wealth. As the pudding was shared, whoever received a slice with a token would receive this as an extra Christmas gift and supposedly have its attribute bestowed on them in the coming year.

Hopefully the historic nature of the Christmas pudding will have you enthused and full of ideas for your own recipe this year. Just remember, if you do add tokens to your mixture, do let you fellow festive diners know!