The History of Christmas Pudding
December 9, 2011
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Sacramento
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The History of Christmas Pudding
It may have it roots in way to preserve excess meats for consumption during the winter, but the traditional English Christmas pudding has long since surpassed its utilitarian roots for its role as the festive end to an English Christmas dinner. Look for a cooking school in California that will teach the techniques to make this ancient but delicious Christmas treat.
Also known as plum pudding, Christmas pudding is a mixture of dried fruits, suet, molasses, and strong alcohols that is traditionally served on Christmas day. Even though the culinary arts techniques used to make it date back to Roman times, Christmas pudding’s common history dates back to the early 1700s and King George I, who requested it as part of his first Christmas feast as king of England. Since then, it has been a popular English Christmas treat.
Preparing the Pudding
Traditionally, Christmas pudding is prepared five weeks before Christmas on the Sunday before Advent. Thanks to the high alcohol and fruit content, the pudding is easily preserved the five weeks until Christmas. The children of the household often took turns stirring the pudding for luck. It was also common to place some of these trinkets and charms inside the pudding:
- Silver coins – for wealth
- Wishbones – for luch
- Rings – for marriage
- And others …
Whoever found the charms got to keep them as gifts. Today, however, the trinkets are often avoided as choking hazards.
After being thoroughly mixed, the pudding was wrapped in cheesecloth and boiled or steamed for several hours. And while boiling is the most favorable techniques in the culinary arts, it was a preparation method available to just about everyone in Georgian England.
The pudding was then put up in a cool, dry place until Christmas day.
Serving the Pudding
Once retrieved from its 5-week storage, the pudding must be steamed or boiled again. Once it is cooked through, the pudding is often prepared with a sprig of holly on top. The pudding is traditionally served flamed by dousing it in brandy and lighting it on fire. The effect is best when the lights are turned down to see the flames. Slices of the pudding are served with one of many condiments, including custard, powdered sugar, rum butter, or lemon cream among others.
Staying Power
Not only has the tradition of Christmas pudding lasted for over four centuries, the pudding itself has incredible staying power. It was very common to make several puddings at once to eat not only at Christmas but Easter and other holy days. And you thought fruitcake had a long shelf life!
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Sacramento. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Sacramento offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in Sacramento, California. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Sacramento for more information.
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