Christmas Pudding

British steamed dark fruit pudding with cloves, mixed spice, suet, stout and brandy: set alight at the table

Origin: England & Wales

From the journey of Cloves.

The British Christmas pudding (dark, dense, fragrant, set alight with brandy at the table in a blue halo of flame, brought in in darkness with a sprig of holly burning on top) is one of the most theatrical acts in the British culinary calendar, and one of the oldest. Its ancestor is the medieval plum pottage: a thick, spiced broth of meat, dried fruit, breadcrumbs, and wine that was eaten on the Sundays before Christmas as a ritual fasting preparation. The meat fell out of the recipe gradually from the seventeenth century onwards as the dish evolved into the suet-and-fruit pudding we know today, finally receiving its canonical form in Victorian England when Mrs Beeton codified the recipe in her Book of Household Management in 1861. Cloves are among the oldest and most persistent spices in the British Christmas pudding tradition, part of the 'mixed spice' blend that also includes cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Their presence is a direct record of the Dutch VOC's democratisation of Maluku spices in the early seventeenth century: before 1600, cloves in a British household would have been a serious luxury; by 1700, they were an annual Christmas staple. The British 'pudding spice' tradition also includes the practice of Stir-up Sunday (the last Sunday before Advent, when traditionally the whole household takes a turn stirring the pudding mixture in the east-to-west direction of the Wise Men's journey, and each stirs in a wish. The cloves, invisible in the dark fruit mixture, do their work quietly) their warmth and depth the bass note under the brighter ginger and cinnamon, anchoring the spice blend to something ancient and aromatic.

Ingredients

Dried Fruit

225 g currants
225 g sultanas
100 g raisins
100 g dried cranberries or dried cherries
100 g mixed peel
1 apple, peeled and grated
200 ml stout (Guinness or similar)
4 tbsp brandy or dark rum, plus extra to feed the pudding

Pudding

175 g beef or vegetarian suet, grated or packaged
175 g dark muscovado sugar
100 g self-raising flour
175 g fresh white breadcrumbs
3 large eggs, beaten

Spices

1 tsp ground mixed spice
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
1 zest of lemon and zest of orange

To Serve

brandy butter or crème anglaise, to serve
3–4 tbsp brandy, to flame at the table

Method

Combine all the dried fruit, grated apple, stout, and brandy in a large bowl. Stir well, cover, and leave to soak overnight (or for at least 12 hours). The fruit should absorb most of the liquid and swell considerably.
Add the suet, sugar, flour, breadcrumbs, beaten eggs, all the spices, and the lemon and orange zest to the soaked fruit. Mix thoroughly: the batter will be very stiff. This is the moment for the Stir-up Sunday ritual: ask each household member to stir and make a wish.
Butter a 1.2-litre pudding basin generously. Pack the mixture in tightly, pressing out any air pockets. The basin should be full to within 2 cm of the top. Cover with a double layer of pleated baking parchment (the pleat allows for expansion) secured with string, then a layer of pleated foil on top, also tied.
Place the basin on a trivet or upturned saucer in a large pot. Pour boiling water to come halfway up the side of the basin. Cover the pot tightly and steam over a gentle simmer for 6 hours, checking the water level every hour and topping up with boiling water as needed. The pudding is done when a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely in the basin. Feed with 2 tablespoons of brandy poured over the top through small holes made with a skewer. Re-cover and store in a cool, dark place for at least 4 weeks before eating (it will keep for up to a year). Feed with more brandy every 2–3 weeks.
On Christmas Day: steam the pudding again for 2 hours to reheat. To serve: warm 3–4 tablespoons of brandy in a small ladle, ignite it, pour over the unmoulded pudding and bring to the table burning, with a sprig of holly in the centre. Serve with brandy butter.

Notes

Christmas pudding improves dramatically with age, a pudding made in October and eaten in December is a different creature from one made the same week. The cloves and mixed spice meld into an aromatic complexity that only time produces. Vegetarian suet (shredded vegetable fat) is widely available and produces an indistinguishable result in this recipe. The pudding can be made in a slow cooker on its first cook, 8–10 hours on low, eliminating the need to monitor the water level.

The Gastrographer

Name: Christmas Pudding
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 6 h
Total time: 8 h
Yield: 10
Cuisine: England & Wales
Ingredients: 225 g currants; 225 g sultanas; 100 g raisins; 100 g dried cranberries or dried cherries; 100 g mixed peel; 1 apple, peeled and grated; 200 ml stout (Guinness or similar); 4 tbsp brandy or dark rum, plus extra to feed the pudding; 175 g beef or vegetarian suet, grated or packaged; 175 g dark muscovado sugar; 100 g self-raising flour; 175 g fresh white breadcrumbs; 3 large eggs, beaten; 1 tsp ground mixed spice; ½ tsp ground cloves; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg; ½ tsp ground ginger; 1 zest of lemon and zest of orange; brandy butter or crème anglaise, to serve; 3–4 tbsp brandy, to flame at the table

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control