Plum Pudding story from Polly
There are many
traditions surrounding the Christmas season but none so endearing as getting
together and preparing a family recipe.
For Chris Wulf
and daughter, Nancy Pannell, the waft of “nana’s plum pudding” invades the
kitchen early on. It is a holiday
staple, and has been for generations.
“My mother helped
grandma, I helped mother, now I help Nancy, said Chris.
The reason they
love the puddings is in the fun of doing it together.
“It’s the
partnership,” allows Chris. “We’ve done
it for forty years and never missed a year.”
With a dash of
this, and a pinch of that, the recipe came with Chris’ maternal family as they
moved from England and settled in Salt Lake City.
In England, plum
pudding was an important part of the Christmas celebration with a rich history
with many traditions that surround it.
The traditional English delicacy was introduced in the nineteenth century
and first recorded in 1858 by A.
Trollope’s “Doctore Thorne.” It
contained dried fruit and spices,
(mostly dried plums, or prunes which have been replaced by raisins, but the
term “plum has lingered on), nuts, and raw beef or mutton fat (suet). It was made
five weeks before Christmas on “Stir up Sunday” when each member of the family
stirred the pudding and made a wish.
Traditionally, small silver charms were baked in the plum puddings
signifying good luck, safe harbor, wealth, etc.
Today, these tiny charms may still be bought and baked in the steamed
pudding. Covered with a wonderfully rich sauce and triumphantly served
decorated with a sprig of holly, doused in brandy, and set aflame, the plum
pudding is ceremoniously brought to the table where it is met with a rousing
round of applause.
Most Americans are
familiar with the plum pudding traditions as told in many carols and Christmas
stories.
From Charles
Dickens’ “Christmas Carol,” Mrs. Cratchit brought the pudding to the table, “blazing in
half of half a quartem of brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck on
top.”
It is known that
families proudly hold their recipes which cannot be surpassed by any other. So
much so that when it comes to plum pudding preparation, there are no substitutes.
Nana lived with
Chris’ family and when it came to ordering pudding ingredients, she was a
“feisty little thing” according to Chris. She would tell the grocer what she wanted,
amen.
“That meant that
the suet was not to come from anywhere but the beef kidneys,” said Chris.
In recent times,
it has become difficult to acquire suet, so Chris and Nancy have adapted the
recipe to include butter which is mixed in with the breadcrumbs. They also add radiant fruit, dates, pecans,
candied cherries, and a bit of brandy, all of which is meticulously hand
stirred. Once the mixture is deemed
ready, it is carefully ladled into tin cans (well greased), covered with foil
and securely tied with string before being submerged into a long, hot steam
bath. Nancy notes that the pudding also
may be made in a mold and put in a water bath in the oven.
Just the way the
colorful, spicy, batter smells is something special. And, after several hours of heated
anticipation, the resultant piece de resistance is savored by many.
With every year,
mother and daughter, meet in Nancy’s kitchen for another joyous session of
making plum pudding, thusly fulfilling Santa’s list of a present from the past. Carried on in familial fashion, Nana’s plum
pudding has been happily received by generations.
A feeling of
sketches from life flavors the busy afternoon as Chris recalls the family and
friends who have come and gone taking with them the memory of plum pudding.
With a twinge of sadness, she solemnly sighs,
“we’ve lost a lot of pudding eaters over the years.”
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Recipe: Nana’s Plum
Pudding (recipe makes about 10 soup cans of pudding)
Mix and set aside:
1 cup dark molasses (if very thick, soften for a few seconds
in the microwave)
½ teaspoon baking soda
Set aside until fluffy and light colored.
Dry ingredients: Measure into a large bowl.
2 cups bread crumbs processed in Cuisinart with ¾ cup cold
butter
2 cups golden raisins
1 ½ cups chopped dates
1 ½ cups candied fruit
8 oz. candied red cherries
8 oz. candied green cherries
1 cup broken pecans or walnuts
Toss all together with ½ cup flour.
Measure and mix together:
1 ½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
Add to dry ingredients, mixing well by hand.
Measure ¼ - ½ cup brandy, rum, or whiskey, and along
with molasses mixture, pour into dry ingredients.. Mix well.
Set aside.
In small bowl, beat together until frothy: ¾ cup whole milk,
2 eggs, 1 teas. vanilla.
Add to ingredients in large bowl. Mix well, by hand. The dough should be the consistency of muffin
dough. If necessary, add more flour.
Ladle mixture into well greased aluminum cans. Fill cans 2/3 – ¾ full. (leaving room for
pudding to puff up when steamed)
Top cans with heavy duty foil tied with double string so the
cans are air tight. (Trim foil evenly so
as not to touch water bath.)
Steam in oven in water bath or use an electric roaster. Water should be 1/3 – ½ way up on the can.
To steam: Set temperature at 350 and steam for 3 hours. Lower temperature to 250 and steam for 1 ½
hours. Add more water if necessary
during steaming time to avoid scorching the bottoms of the puddings. Remove.
Cool. Store in refrigerator or freeze. ( Will keep up to one year.)
To serve: Steam
pudding in a covered saucepan in about 1 inch of water for 45 minutes. Remove foil from can. Run sharp knife around the edges of the can
and carefully unmold pudding onto plate.
Slice and top with sauce.
Whipped Cream Sauce (serves 8)
Whip 1 cup cream almost to butter; Fold carefully, one at a
time to keep cream as stiff as possible: 1 beaten egg; 1 tablespoon melted
butter; powdered sugar to taste; ½ teaspoon vanilla. Refrigerate until serving time.
Brandy or Rum Sauce
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup water
½ teas. lemon juice
1 teas. vanilla
¼ cup brandy or rum.
Mix all in saucepan.
Stir over medium heat, boil, and cook stirring until desired
thickness. Serve hot.
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