How to Steam a Christmas Pudding

Photo by Matt Riggott on Wikipedia

Let's be brutally honest here. Christmas pudding is not something we would ever willingly order in a restaurant. It sounds nice, looks rather spectacular when flambéed but often tastes like soggy, fatty fruitcake. I'm not a fan of fruitcake or Christmas pudding even when beautifully done but I actually like the simple pudding called My Own Christmas Pudding. It is from my grandmother's notebook and dates back to the early years of the 20th century. If you are not fond of citron and peel, you will be happy to know that there isn't any in it.Nellie's Plum Pudding has no plums in it. It does, however, have a bit of peel and is a larger pudding with a slightly richer taste.

Puddings should be made 4 to 5 weeks before Christmas so they can age. Be sure that everyone in the family has a turn stirring the mixture and makes a wish as they stir. When I was a child, a silver coin was sometimes added to the pudding but I don't know that I'd do that today. Choking on coins would not be very festive and I'm not sure what they are made of anymore, certainly not silver.

Once the puddings are cool, you can wrap them in cheesecloth soaked in brandy (optional) and then in plastic or foil. Keep them in a cool place and if using brandy, refresh the cheesecloth with it every few days.

Herb and Nell Watson Christmas 1898: Grandma's brother and sister-in-law

Original Pudding in the Notebook

• 1 cup chopped raisins
• 1 cup currants
• 1 cup chopped suet

Fill cup with yellow sugar. Pour on enough boiling water to make into thick syrup. Then fill cup with molasses. Pour into bowl and add 3/4 cup buttermilk and a small teaspoon baking soda. Flavour with nutmeg. Stir in sufficient flour. Do not make too stiff. Steam 1-1/2 hours. Serve with sweet sauce or golden syrup.

Nellie's Plum Pudding

Nell Watson joined the family when she married Grandma's brother, Herb. She brought family traditions from her mother's kitchen and shared them with her new sisters-in-law. This is her Christmas plum pudding.

• 3 cups raisins
• 3 cups currants
• 3 cups flour
• 3 cups suet
• 3 cups brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 5 teaspoons peel
• 1 cup sweet milk
• small teaspoon baking soda
• spice to taste

Steam for 3 hours.

Explanation:

Peel was usually a mix of orange and lemon. Sweet milk is just regular milk, not buttermilk or sour milk. It is not sweetened!

There is no substitute for suet. Really. There isn't. It needs to be suet no matter what the claim otherwise.

Click here for full instructions on how to steam a pudding. CMD click (Mac), ALT click (Win).

My Own Christmas Pudding

This recipe is one that has been passed down through the women in my family for several generations and the name of it hasn't changed in all that time. It was made in Scotland in Roxburghshire and in Fife, and then made its way to Canada in the early 1800s. It was a regular pudding and wasn't a Christmas dish particularly, although it was always part of Christmas dinner. It isn't very big so you may want to make more than one. Doubling the recipe results in a very different pudding so it's best to make it in multiples if you need more.

So this is from Mary Hardie Gray 1728, Mary Gray Rutherford 1773, Margaret Rutherford Douglas 1810, Caroline Barrie Douglas 1842, Zillah Watson Douglas 1879, my mother Grace Douglas Lucas 1916, and then to me (50s kid) and to my daughter Elizabeth 1989.

I enjoyed researching the dates because it means this little pudding has been part of our family for nearly 300 years and who knows - perhaps you and I are cousins and this is your family pudding, too!

Explanation:

The cup mentioned was not a measuring cup as we know it today, but one from the cupboard that was used to measure things using ratios. Flour was often added with no measurement given. It was just mixed in until it 'felt right' and for this recipe it will be about a cup or so. A small teaspoon means a level teaspoon. In these old recipes, a teaspoon meant rounded in a curve matching the bottom of the spoon.

All the ingredients are what would be found locally in 1700s Scotland and so there is no peel or other exotic additions. Nutmeg was considered an elegant spice. This is a smaller pudding than Nellie's and will use a lot less flour so add it slowly.

Sweet sauce at our house was just a plain vanilla custard sauce and it was delicious! Golden syrup is just yellow sugar melted with a little water and cooked slowly over low heat to a syrup stage.

It's easy, economical and fun!