Expert guide to the secret to the perfect Christmas pudding recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is normally hidden in a Christmas pudding? ›

It was common practice to include small silver coins in the pudding mixture, which could be kept by the person whose serving included them. The usual choice was a silver threepence or a sixpence.

The essentials for the best puddings

Use a mixture of flour and breadcrumbs, not just flour. Though in older times the choice was more to do with economy, breadcrumbs give the pudding a much lighter texture. And again, use just enough flour to hold the mixture gently together.

For the pudding, the most likely cause of mould is moisture.

Most Christmas puddings are made with suet (shredded beef fat) and this tends to take longer to melt than butter, so the pudding needs a long cooking time to make sure that the fat has melted and combined properly with the other ingredients.

After the first 5 hours of steaming the puddings may not look that dark but do not worry as the colour deepens on the second steaming.

Christmas Pudding (also known as plum pudding or figgy pudding) is a dish as famous as it is misunderstood. In America, Christmas Pudding (also known as plum pudding or figgy pudding) is a dish as famous as it is misunderstood.

Christmas pudding is traditionally soaked with alcohol, preferably brandy, for flavour maturation. However, many people prefer rum and whisky spirit with high alcohol content.

If you or someone in your family is a vegetarian and doesn't want to eat suet, look for a recipe that uses butter or margarine instead, such as this recipe for individual Christmas puddings.

Why do you stir Christmas pudding clockwise? Stirring East to West is supposed to signify the way the Three Wise Men travelled to meet Jesus.

So, as long as it's unopened, your pudding will keep for two years after the production date, which you'll find on the outside packaging.

Why shouldn't you reheat Christmas pudding? ›

Steaming is the best way to re-heat a homemade pudding and the only way we recommend re-heating Delia's Christmas pudding. Microwaved puddings are frequently ruined. They tend to overheat and get tough & sticky.

Some Christmas puddings, made with dried fruit in the traditional way, are fine to be eaten as much as two years after they were made. "Bear in mind if the pudding is alcohol-free, of course, it will last a good while with the sugar content, but it will not last as long without alcohol to preserve it," stresses Juliet.

Ideally we would suggest that when the pudding is made it is steamed for 8 hours (the combined time of the first and second steamings) as the steaming is important for the flavour of the pudding. The pudding can then be microwaved to reheat it on Christmas Day.

During the aging process, the many compounds in the pudding begin to break down, releasing new compounds, like aldehydes and esters, which are associated with sweet, fruity flavours and aromas.

While the pudding won't dry out if it's steamed for too long, some of the ingredients inside may be spoiled by being overcooked.

In Sweden, Finland, and Norway

Typically it is made of chilled leftover rice pudding, whipped cream, sugar and vanilla, with or without almonds. By tradition, the person finding a hidden almond in the dessert is expected to get married before the next Christmas.

Although mincemeat no longer actually contains meat (thank god), the word recalls its origins as a meat dish. Back in the days of yore, meat was a fundamental ingredient within Christmas pud. Pudding or 'pottage' would consist of meat broth, spices, dried fruit and breadcrumbs.