C is for Pudding
@owlwings (43910)
Cambridge, England
December 2, 2015 3:43am CST
The Christmas Pudding is a traditional British dessert which is generally served only at Christmas. It is made from large quantities of dried fruit and nuts - currants, raisins, sultanas, cherries, prunes, mixed candied citrus peel and others - mixed with flour, egg, suet and spices and boiled for several hours. The result is a very rich, dark cake-like confection which is usually served with cream, brandy butter or rum butter to end the Christmas meal.
There are several ceremonies associated with the making and serving of the Christmas pudding.
First of all, it was traditionally made some time before Christmas on a day known as ‘Stir Up Sunday’ (the last Sunday before Advent when the Collect for the day was “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”). Everyone in the household was supposed to take turns at stirring the mixture and, whilst doing so, make a wish for the New Year. Sometimes a number of silver coins were added to the mixture at this point but they were often added later. Those that found a coin in their serving were supposed to enjoy good fortune in the year ahead.
The serving of the pudding on Christmas day is also attended to with some ceremony. A sprig of holly (preferably with berries) is stuck in the top and brandy poured over and lit, whereupon the flaming pudding is carried into the darkened room to much applause.
My mother’s recipe for Christmas pudding was very good and much lighter than most mixtures. It was said to have come from a relation of my grandmother who was a cook at the court of George I (though I think that a little license was taken here because it probably came from a 19th Century periodical). One of the ingredients which one doesn’t see in most recipes was grated carrot. My mother also used to keep a store of silver threepenny pieces for use in the pudding, since real silver coins had gone out of circulation long before.
Do you have different traditional desserts at Christmas or do you have specific rituals associated with the Christmas pudding?
21 people like this
25 responses
@LadyDuck (471459)
• Switzerland
2 Dec 15
I was born in Milan (Italy), our traditional Christmas cake is the Panettone, that is sold all around the world, but it does not taste like the one made by good pastry shops in my native city. I made in at home one Christmas, a lot of trouble for a not so perfect Panettone.
3 people like this
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
2 Dec 15
I don'treally like the chritmas pudding ...but when I lived in germany for a couple of years...I got a taste for stollen cake.... mmmm yum....
2 people like this
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
2 Dec 15
@pgntwo I didn't know that...., about the three varieties, I like the marzipan one too.... but I did know about the mini stollens from lidl.... very nice... and m&s have some mini ones too which are reasonably priced ... abd yummy too.... 
2 people like this
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
2 Dec 15
@sueznewz2 Trust M&S! Must explore their mince pies this year, they usually get good ratings in the Christmas food magazines and Sunday supplements.
2 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16762)
• China
2 Dec 15
I feel as if I were participating .The Christmas Pudding seems to be the last and best item on Stir Up Sunday which is not just a dish but a cultural heritage ,happily,it is still kept alive there .
2 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
2 Dec 15
I had a Scottish friend who made one of these for my mother, she always wanted one. I don't think I got any of it, but I know she enjoyed it.
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
2 Dec 15
The Scots have a not dissimilar thing called a Black Bun, which is really more of a cake baked in a pastry case and is eaten cold. It's traditionally eaten at Hogmanay (Trust the Scots to be different!)
Traditional Scottish Recipes - Black Bun
4 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
2 Dec 15
@owlwings The one she made looked just the one in your photo.
2 people like this
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
3 Dec 15
It is years and years since I tasted Christmas pudding and you are making me remember old times back in England. I remember thupenny bits in them too 
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136541)
• India
2 Dec 15
Probably the British left behind this culture for us to emulate as I have prepared this a couple of times. but have not followed the recipe to the tee. I have written a post on this
I found this chunky piece among the goodies that my niece had brought for us from australia.i But this cake tasted different. Looking at the packing later I...
1 person likes this
@rebelann (112876)
• El Paso, Texas
7 Dec 15
Wow, that sounds so interesting.
Dad was stationed in Germany for 3 years in the late 1950s and we all got hooked on things like lebkuchen(my favorite), marzipan and of course stolle. Those can be so hard to find these days and as for making my own forget about it 
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
7 Dec 15
I have never tried making Lebkuchen but I did once make Stollen. It wasn't difficult - rather like making a calzone, only with marzipan as the filling - but I do find that the shop-bought ones are better put together than mine was. Practice, practice!
1 person likes this
@rebelann (112876)
• El Paso, Texas
7 Dec 15
Wow, I admire anyone that bakes @owlwings I'll bet eventually you'll turn out a wonderful lebkuchen.
I once tried ..... really stressing tried here ..... to bake cakes from the box of course, that talented I am not, and although they weren't bad per say they still were not what I wanted, I mean who can go wrong with a boxed cake mix right?
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137259)
• United States
4 Dec 15
Owl? We don't have anything like a Christmas cake or pudding. We don't really have any rituals that go with Christmas, either.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
5 Dec 15
When you say 'we', do you mean your family in particular or Americans in general? I think that many American families have traditions which derive from the cultures that they brought with them when their ancestors emigrated there (I'm assuming, I suppose, that there are no truly Native American Christmas traditions, since Christmas itself was imported).
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
2 Dec 15
I have always wondered what that was, curious to try at some point
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
6 Dec 15
That was fascinating. Thanks you for sharing this. I don't believe I've ever tasted Christmas Pudding. I would like to but not the stuff from the store, i want the real deal. Maybe I'll find a recipe and make it myself... maybe not, I do have a Brit friend and i"ll ask if they make it for Christmas. (and beg for a taste). My husband is Greek so Baklava is part of our Christmas and my family, American with English descent always had pies. Pecan, pumpkin and a fruit pie. I do pies too.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
7 Dec 15
There are very many recipes for Christmas Pudding online, each varying a little in their ingredients. My mother's Christmas pudding was lighter in colour than most and included grated carrot and chopped or grated apple. I'm sure that she made it with suet (many recipes try to substitute the suet with margarine or butter but both of these are really too oily). You can use vegetable suet but beef suet is best.
1 person likes this
@Dragonairy1 (1722)
• Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
2 Dec 15
I have chrisimas pudding, but we buy one and don't have any traditions with it.
@deeptiverma (28)
• Canton, Michigan
3 Dec 15
I love pudding a lot. Especially the vanilla flavor. I usually make it at home from the ready made mix. Turns out very tasty.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
3 Dec 15
It sounds as though you are thinking of a different kind of pudding - something I would either call custard or blancmange.
