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Welcome to Fascinating Facts and Eductional Trivia

A Hartson Dowd Column

November 18, 2007

Christmas Plum Pudding

A sweet and heavy dessert still rules Irish holiday tables, no matter what low-cal food fads come and go

History of Plum Pudding

Why is Plum Pudding called Plum Pudding when there are no plums in it? In the 17th century, plums referred to raisins or other fruits. Plumb is another spelling of plum. Prune is actually derived from the same word as plum - the Latin word was pruna, which changed in the Germanic languages into pluma. But the terms were quite confused in the 16th and 17th centuries and people talked about growing prunes in their garden.

(1)  Definition of "plum" in the Oxford English Dictionary
A dried grape or raisin as used for puddings, cakes, etc.  This use probably arose from the substitution of raisins for dried plums or prunes as an ingredient in plum-broth, porridge, etc., with retention of  the name 'plum' for the substituted article."  The OED then goes on to list occurrences of this use in literature.  Samuel Johnson defined a "plum" as "raisin; grape dried in the sun."

(2)  Some information from A Gourmet?s Guide by John Ayto
"Dried plums, or prunes, were popular in pies in medieval times, but gradually in the sixteenth and seventeenth century they began to be replaced by raisins. The dishes made with them, however, retained the term plum, and to this day the plum pudding, plum cake, plum duff etc. remind us of their former ingredients." And yes, the raisins were sometimes called plums in the 19th century, but only when they were in a plum pudding or plum cake ...

Plum pudding is a steamed or boiled pudding frequently served at holiday times. Plum pudding has never contained plums. The name Christmas pudding is first recorded in 1858 in a novel by Anthony Trollope.

By mid-October the shops and supermarkets have it on their shelves. By early November, those who prefer the homemade have mixed and stirred, put it through its first boiling and set it aside to mature. When Christmas Day finally arrives, almost every Irish household will feast on plum pudding. It is the quintessential Christmas dessert. Luscious, heavy, fruit and fat laden, and moistened with whipped cream or brandy butter, it’s truly heart-stopping stuff.

This gob of goodness is a curious tradition in several ways. Its ongoing popularity is odd, considering Ireland’s recent tendency to quickly adopt newer low-calorie food trends. Somehow, plum pudding has fought off the competition. Personally, I feel that a Christmas without pudding would be like a boiled egg without salt – sadly deficient. It can be challenging to get through such a rich finale after a traditional Christmas dinner of turkey and ham, stuffing, Brussels Sprouts, roast potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce. But for Christmas feasting, it seems, we’re happy to abandon the sensible for the comforts of the familiar.

Foreign Influence
Plum pudding for Christmas is, in fact, something we borrowed from England. Its presence on Irish plates is a reminder that our food traditions are a fusion of the home-grown and the foreign (it’s only one of many English traditions we Irish have embraced).

It was only during the Victorian revival of Christmas in the 19th century that plum pudding was first called “Christmas pudding.” So closely allied is the dish with the holiday that even Christmas dinners served on the western front during World War One included plates of pudding, set aflame with brandy. During the Christmas Truce of 1914, English plum puddings were exchanged with the German troops for sausages, sauerkraut and chocolate.

The dish had very humble beginnings. It originated as a pottage of porridge of cereals, flavoured with scraps of meat or fish, thickened with bread crumbs and bound together with eggs, fruit and spices. During the Tudor and Stuart periods, dried plums or prunes were added to the mix, which became known as “plum pottage” or “plum porridge.”

Folklorist Kevin Danaher points out that until relatively recent times, a version of this early plum porridge was still prepared each Christmas Eve in parts of County Wexford, and served as “cutlin pudding.” By the late 17th century, the plum porridge had left the iron pot, and was packed into animal stomachs and set to boil in cauldrons over the open fire, rendering a dish similar to our modern day plum pudding. This preparation demanded a lot of hard work, from stoning the fruit to scrapping the suet from the beef kidneys and cleaning the animal stomach for boiling. When the pudding cloth became more commonplace, accommodating a more bulky mixture, it had to be made watertight by wetting and buttering it thickly, before bundling the mixture into the center to make the characteristic globe-shaped pudding. Irish folk memory recalls that puddings made in cloths demanded a ten-hour first boiling, which took the woman of the house from her bed throughout the night to replenish the boiled-off water.

Stir-Up Sunday
Traditionally, the preparation of this food was imbued with a great deal of religious symbolism. “Stir-up Sunday,” the Sunday before Advent Sunday, was when the ingredients were mixed. Entire families assembled around the bowl to take turns stirring from east to west, in commemoration of the journey of the Magi. In addition, many Christmas pudding recipes called for exactly thirteen ingredients, in honour of Christ and the twelve apostles. Images of the Crucifixion were also incorporated into the presentation and serving of the pudding. A flaming halo of brandy came to represent Christ’s passion, while the holly stuck on top symbolized the crown of thorns.

Plum pudding certainly is not designed for swift cooking. But it is often made at home, with the woman of the house putting herself back into the traditional role of kitchen keeper, if only temporarily. With its disregard for modern diet trends, maybe it’s a bit of a renegade dish today. Partake with pleasure!

Answer - Stir up Sunday is the last Sunday before Advent. In 2007, the first Sunday of Advent is December 2nd. Therefore, Stir-up Sunday is November 25th.

Christmas Plum Pudding Recipe

Plum pudding is often made in November. Once the ingredients are mixed, they receive an initial boiling and are then stored for the flavours to develop and mellow. Prepared in this fashion, puddings remain good until Easter. Serve warm with lots of whipped cream or brandy butter (a mixture of butter, confectioner’s sugar and brandy).

Ingredients:
One 2 ? - 3 pint pudding bowl
8 oz./225g butter (or suet)
8 oz./225g dark brown sugar
7 oz./200g plain flour, sieved
12 oz./250g currants
8 oz./225g raisins
6 oz./175g sultanas
1 oz./25g chopped almonds or nuts of your choice
1 oz./25g glace cherries
6 oz./175g fresh bread crumbs
Grated rind and juice of 1 orange
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1 lemon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon mixed spice rind
2 large eggs
Generous measure of stout
Generous measure of whiskey

1) Melt the butter and add in the rest of the ingredients, mixing well until all are incorporated.

2) Place the mixture in a greased pudding bowl and secure with greaseproof paper and aluminums foil.

3) Steam in a steamer with a tight-fitting lid for 5-6 hours. Check the water level frequently and as it subsides replenish with boiling water.

4) Cool and re-cover with fresh greaseproof paper and aluminums foil.

5) On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day replace the coverings and steam for 2-3 hours.

OR

Grandma O'Doud's (Irish) Plum Pudding Recipe

This recipe comes my  great-great grandmother. I adapted this recipe to modern standards

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup milk*
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup molasses
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour  plus 2 tablespoons
1 1/2 cups raisins, finely chopped
1 cup dates, chopped
1/2 cup nuts, chopped
3 tablespoons candied orange or lemon citron, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped apples
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Boiling Water
Nutmeg Sauce

* 1/2 cup fruit juice and/or 1 cup brandy may be substituted for the milk if desired.

Grease two 2-pound coffee cans, two 2-quart pudding molds, or two 2-quart oven-proof deep dishes.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, milk, eggs, molasses, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and flour; add raisins, dates, nuts, candied orange or lemon citron, apples, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Fill each greased pan 1/2 full of batter. Cover tops of pans with lids or 2 layers of aluminums foil. In a large pot or roaster, place molds on trivets or a rack and add boiling water 2/3 up the side of the mold; bring rapidly to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot or roaster, and boil gently 4 to 4 1/2 hours (add more boiling water as necessary) or until fork comes out clean when put into center of pudding.

Remove from heat and cool. Store in refrigerator, covered, until time to serve. NOTE: These also freeze well.

To serve, steam for 1 hour before serving to heat thoroughly. Unmold and serve hot with Nutmeg Sauce.

Yields two puddings.

Nutmeg Sauce

 2/3 cup sugar*
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add boiling water and cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes until ingredients are well blended.

* Brown sugar may be substituted for the sugar if desired.  

During the Puritan reign in England, plum pudding was outlawed as "sinfully rich."

Traditionally in England, small silver charms were baked in the plum pudding. A silver coin would bring wealth in the coming year; a tiny wishbone, good luck; a silver thimble, thrift; an anchor, safe harbour.

By Victorian times, only the silver coin remained. In England these tiny charms can still be bought by families who make their own puddings.

It is also traditional for every one who lives in the household to simultaneously hold onto the wooden spoon, help stir the batter for the pudding, and make a wish.

Quote from The Gourmets Guide
"Nowadays served only at Christmas, and so called exclusively Christmas pudding, this was formerly a common year-round pudding (albeit not always as rich as the festive version); indeed, in 1748 Pehr Kalm, a Swedish visitor to England, noted that "the art of cooking as practised by Englishmen does not extend much beyond roast beef and plum pudding". And in 1814, one of the traditional English delicacies introduced to the French by Antoine Beauvilliers in his L?art du cuisiner was plomb-poutingue."

HS Dowd

hsdowd@telus.net