Stir up Sunday - The Christmas Pudding
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Lotte Duncan explains the curious history of the great Christmas pud and gives us her own easy-to-follow recipe...
Who would have thought that this solid, fruit-packed, spicy pudding started its life as a fragrant pottage. Like so many British dishes, it has evolved over the centuries from a simple peasant's meal to a revered celebration dish.
History
A pottage was a soup prepared with cheap cuts of meat, grains, breadcrumbs and vegetables. Over Yuletide it was eaten with the addition of expensive spices, such as cinnamon and nutmeg - these gave it its celebratory touch. The liquid content was reduced over the years and in the early seventeenth century, it was boiled in a muslin cloth and began to look like the spherical pudding we see on our Christmas cards today. Over the next couple of centuries the meat disappeared altogether and the only remaining token of meat left in the pudding now is the suet.
Stir up Sunday
The Sunday before advent is known as 'Stir up Sunday'. Advent is the month before Christmas and the time of preparation prior to the birth of Christ. We now associate this Sunday as the time to make your Christmas pudding because the prayer that is said on this particular day begins with the line 'Stir up we beseech thee' (the real essence of this prayer is the organisation and preparation for the coming of Christ). Stir up Sunday is now our reminder to hurry home and make the Christmas pudding. It needs to be made on this day, so it has a month to mature.
Why get ahead?
Christmas pudding really does benefit from this maturing. The flavour of the spices mellow and deepen, the fruits plump up and soften, and if you are like me and enjoy feeding the pudding with copious amounts of rum, you'll find that it does indeed taste superb. A pudding that has been allowed to mature for a whole year is even better - so make two now and have one ready for 2007!
Make a wish
When you have gathered all your ingredients, and as you are creating this delicious concoction, get each member of your family to take a turn at stirring the mixture. As they do, they can each make a wish. This is an old tradition and one I do every year with my daughter. Another tradition is to place an old sixpence in the pudding. Nowadays I use a pound (big enough to find and small enough not to be a nuisance) and I also wrap it in a piece of greaseproof paper. This is the best way to ensure you don't choke Auntie Doris.
There are various customs surrounding the sixpence and other trinkets that are combined into the pudding: if you do find the coin you are going to die rich, a thimble indicates that you may never be married and if you discover a ring, prepare yourself, you will be married within the year. No cheating now, only one ring per pudding!
Lotte's recipe
Lotte Duncan's Christmas Pudding is a light, fruity treat, with heaps of delicious rum and unusual dried fruits. The recipe is easy to follow and all ingredients are readily available - so there really is no excuse!
Once cooked, don't forget to re-wrap it in some fresh greaseproof paper and foil. Store it in a dark cool place. When you come to devour the pudding on Christmas day, it will be utterly delicious.
History
A pottage was a soup prepared with cheap cuts of meat, grains, breadcrumbs and vegetables. Over Yuletide it was eaten with the addition of expensive spices, such as cinnamon and nutmeg - these gave it its celebratory touch. The liquid content was reduced over the years and in the early seventeenth century, it was boiled in a muslin cloth and began to look like the spherical pudding we see on our Christmas cards today. Over the next couple of centuries the meat disappeared altogether and the only remaining token of meat left in the pudding now is the suet.
Stir up Sunday
The Sunday before advent is known as 'Stir up Sunday'. Advent is the month before Christmas and the time of preparation prior to the birth of Christ. We now associate this Sunday as the time to make your Christmas pudding because the prayer that is said on this particular day begins with the line 'Stir up we beseech thee' (the real essence of this prayer is the organisation and preparation for the coming of Christ). Stir up Sunday is now our reminder to hurry home and make the Christmas pudding. It needs to be made on this day, so it has a month to mature.
Why get ahead?
Christmas pudding really does benefit from this maturing. The flavour of the spices mellow and deepen, the fruits plump up and soften, and if you are like me and enjoy feeding the pudding with copious amounts of rum, you'll find that it does indeed taste superb. A pudding that has been allowed to mature for a whole year is even better - so make two now and have one ready for 2007!
Make a wish
When you have gathered all your ingredients, and as you are creating this delicious concoction, get each member of your family to take a turn at stirring the mixture. As they do, they can each make a wish. This is an old tradition and one I do every year with my daughter. Another tradition is to place an old sixpence in the pudding. Nowadays I use a pound (big enough to find and small enough not to be a nuisance) and I also wrap it in a piece of greaseproof paper. This is the best way to ensure you don't choke Auntie Doris.
There are various customs surrounding the sixpence and other trinkets that are combined into the pudding: if you do find the coin you are going to die rich, a thimble indicates that you may never be married and if you discover a ring, prepare yourself, you will be married within the year. No cheating now, only one ring per pudding!
Lotte's recipe
Lotte Duncan's Christmas Pudding is a light, fruity treat, with heaps of delicious rum and unusual dried fruits. The recipe is easy to follow and all ingredients are readily available - so there really is no excuse!
Once cooked, don't forget to re-wrap it in some fresh greaseproof paper and foil. Store it in a dark cool place. When you come to devour the pudding on Christmas day, it will be utterly delicious.
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