![]() The ideal, and traditional, storage space is a basement or cellar. The pudding needs to be wrapped very tightly and stored in a cool place that is fairly dry but with enough humidity to keep the pudding from drying out. Three elements are key to a lengthy storage time: The alcohol and sugar content (preservatives) and proper storage. It is very difficult to over-steam a pudding so if you’re uncertain, just keep steaming until your pudding is a rich, dark color. If you want that traditional dark brown color, steam it for closer to 8 hours. The longer you steam the pudding the darker it will become, more closely resembling the pictures of traditional plum pudding you’ve seen. There’s really no right or wrong to this but if you are using suet, which is traditional and what we recommend for the best texture, you’ll need to steam it for at least 4 hours, preferably longer as it takes suet a long time to break down (longer than butter) and to create the air pockets that gives desserts like this their characteristically soft texture. You’ll see different recipes recommending different times – anything from 3 hours to 8 hours. ![]() You can omit the brandy if you prefer but the pudding will need to be stored in the fridge (wrapped extremely well to prevent drying out) and consumed within a week. The brandy serves as a preservative for prolonging the shelf life of the pudding and also draws out more flavor from the ingredients as the pudding matures. ![]() Once cooked and cooled down, the puddings would be carefully wrapped and stored in the basement until ready for serving on Christmas. A popular tradition was to add a silver coin (six pence) to the pudding batter and whoever found the coin in their serving would have good luck. This was day the pudding ingredients would be assembled and the whole family would be involved “stirring up” the ingredients and then steam the pudding in pudding basins. In the UK, Christmas pudding was traditionally prepared on what is known as “Stir-up Sunday” (“stir-up” being a reference from the Book of Common Prayer), the last Sunday before Advent (typically the last Sunday in November, or 5 weeks before Christmas). So generally the longer the pudding matures, the more flavorful it will be. The brandy acts as both a preservative and draws out more flavor from the other ingredients. How Far in Advance Should I Make Christmas Pudding?Īs with other Christmas goodies that are meant to be made in advance in order to allow their flavors to develop (e.g., Stollen, Printen, Springerle, Speculoos, etc), Christmas pudding was traditionally made several weeks before Christmas. it is more commonly called Figgy Pudding whereas in the UK and Ireland it is more commonly known as Christmas Pudding (or simply “pud”), or Plum Pudding.Īs with many traditional Christmas desserts, plum pudding incorporates symbolism reflective of Christ such as the holly (representing the crown of thorns), and setting the pudding on fire (representing the passion of Christ). It wasn’t until 1845 when it first came to be called “Christmas Pudding” in Eliza Acton’s bestselling cookbook, Modern Cookery for Private Families.Īnd so we have three names that are still used in different regions of the English-speaking world. Where does the term “ plum” pudding come from? Plums were what the pre-Victorians called raisins, and dried fruits in general, and the name stuck. It later evolved into incorporating ground meat and grains and then later still evolved into a steamed pudding that was made with raisins. It was more of a wet, sticky, thick porridge consisting of boiled figs, water, wine, ground almonds, raisins and honey. With respect to the different names, the short answer is that figgy pudding can be considered a much earlier precursor of plum pudding and they’ve both come to be referred to as Christmas pudding.įiggy pudding dates back to the 14th century and was a much different dish than what we refer to as figgy pudding today. If you’re familiar with the figgy pudding Christmas carol, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, you may have asked yourself at some point, “what is a figgy pudding anyway?”Īll three of these names refer to a traditional English steamed cake-like dessert comprised of breadcrumbs, flour, suet, sugar, eggs, brandy, lemon zest, candied citrus peel, spices, and dried fruits (specifically raisins, currants, and golden raisins). ![]() A household favorite for centuries, no traditional Christmas is complete without a Christmas Pudding! A thoroughly authentic Christmas Pudding recipe, also known as Plum Pudding or Figgy Pudding! It’s the perfect make-ahead dessert as the flavors only get better over time.
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