Start baking now to make your Christmas pudding ready for Christmas day.
Christmas puddings are a traditional thing to eat at the end of the Christmas day meal typically in the UK. Some people buy them and they often come as part of Christmas hampers but a lot of people like the tradition of making one themselves. Making a pudding can be almost a family tradition and is a great chance for the family to get together and do something fun.
Originally the Christmas pudding was not actually a desert but it was filled with meat such as rabbit, partridge and pheasant. This meat was readily available during the Middle Ages when the pudding started to appear. The pudding was filled with a mixture of spices that are still used today. As the pudding evolved more fruit was added to the mixture. Apples and raisins were typical but as more fruit arrived from Europe and beyond fruits such as oranges and lemons were added to the fruit mixture.
The spices that are used in the pudding have become well know as giving the distinctive Christmas smell. Spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon and others were originally used to hide the taste of the rancid meat used in the pudding but as the desert has evolved into a desert the spices have remained. When the perfumed aroma begins to fill the house you know Christmas is truly here.
If you are making your own pudding then it is best if you can start weeks in advance. The pudding needs to have a lot of time spent making it from the marinating of the dried fruit to the maturing of the pudding before the big day there is lots to do. It begins with marinating the dried fruit in alcohol usually brandy or rum. The fruit can be as exotic as you want from cranberries, raisins, and sultanas to dried mango and pineapple if you like. Soaking the fruit at least overnight makes sure that the final pudding will stay moist and have little pockets of flavour in.
After soaking the fruit, it is mixed with flour, suet, sugar, spices, eggs and any other ingredients your recipe calls for. Some recipes use crated apples or carrot to bulk up the mixture and some add treacle or syrup to give colour and sweetness. Once the mix has been formed then you can add more liquid by adding more brandy or stout if you want a richer colour.
After all the ingredients are combined in a bowl then you have to get all the family involved to stir the mix. As you stir the mix clockwise you have to make a Christmas wish so Santa will bring all the presents you have asked for. Making sure the mixture is well stirred you can then add a sixpence to the batter. Once the pudding is cooked and being eaten the person who has the sixpence in their portion is set to become a rich person as the wealth will be coming to them soon. Either that or they will be making a trip to the dentist in the New Year!
In order to cook the pudding it needs to be steamed for anything up to 8 hours depending on the size of the pudding. Some people bake it in a water bath in the oven and it can also be cooked in the microwave, however steaming makes sure that it stays moist. Since it is done for 8 hours you have to make sure to top up the water levels. After cooking leave the pudding to mature in a dark spot for anything up to a year to get the best flavour. If needed add extra brandy to the pudding during this time to keep it moist and then steam for 2 hours on Christmas day ready for eating.
As the pudding goes to the table then make sure to decorate with some Christmas plants like a sprig of holly and then it is tradition to pour over a splash of brandy and set it alight to flambe the pudding. Serve with cream custard or brandy butter and enjoy all your hard work.
Interflora have flowers delivered across the UK and abroad so why not have a look at their website and the hampers to find some gifts for the holiday season.
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