Christmas pudding: A plum delightful tradition

By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
Of the many Christmas tradi­tions, few are as endearing as getting together and preparing a family recipe.
For Chris Wulf and daughter, Nancy Pannell, the smells of nana’s plum pudding fill Pan­nell’s kitchen during the holiday season. The treat has been a Christmas staple for generations. “My mother helped Grandma, I helped Mother, now I help Nancy,” Wulf said.
“It’s the partnership,” she said. “We’ve done it for 40 years and never missed a year.”
With a dash of this and a pinch of that, the recipe came with Wulf’s maternal family when they moved from England and settled in Salt Lake City.
In England, plum pudding was an important part of the Christ­mas celebration. It contained dried fruit and spices, mostly dried plums, or prunes — which have been replaced by raisins — nuts, and raw beef or mutton fat (suet).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 pudding, 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, deco­rated with a sprig of holly, doused in brandy, and set aflame, the plum pudding is cer­emoniously brought to the table. Many 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 quartern of brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck on top.”
When it came to ordering pud­ding ingredients, Wulf said her grandmother was a “feisty little thing.” She would tell the grocer exactly what she wanted.
“That meant that the suet was not to come from anywhere but the beef kidneys,” Wulf said.
These days it’s difficult to acquire suet, so Wulf and Pan­nell have adapted the recipe to include butter, which is mixed in with the bread crumbs. They also add dates, pecans, candied cherries and a bit of brandy, all of which is meticulously hand stirred.
It’s carefully ladled into well­greased tin cans, covered with foil and securely tied with string
See PLUM PUDDING, 2L Plum pudding: A family tradition

FROM 1L
before being submerged into a long, hot steam bath. Wulf said that the pudding also may be made in a mold and put in a water bath in the oven.
Every year, mother and daugh­ter meet in Pannell’s kitchen as part of the holiday tradition to make pudding and to remember the family and friends who have come and gone through the years. “We’ve lost a lot of pudding eaters over the years,” Wulf said.
NANA’S PLUM PUDDING
1 cup dark molasses (if very thick, soften for a few seconds in the microwave)
½ tsp. baking soda Fruit mixture:
2 cups bread crumbs processed in Cuisinart with ¾ cup cold butter
2 cups golden raisins
1½ cups chopped dates
1½ cups candied fruit
8 ounces candied red cherries
8 ounces candied green cherries
1 cup broken pecans or walnuts
½ cup flour Dry ingredients:
1½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder Moist ingredients:
¼ to ½ cup brandy, rum or whiskey
¾ cup whole milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix molasses and baking soda and set aside until fluffy and light colored.
Measure bread crumbs, can­died fruit, dates, nuts and ½ cup flour into a large bowl. Toss to combine. Measure and mix together 1½ cups flour, sugar, spices and baking powder. Add to bread crumb mixture and mix well by hand. Add brandy, rum or whiskey, along with molasses mixture to dry ingredients. Mix well. Set aside.
In small bowl, beat together whole milk, eggs and 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 well­greased aluminum cans. Fill cans two-thirds to three-quarters full. Leave room for pudding to puff up when steamed.
Top cans with heavy duty foil tied with double string so the cans are airtight. Trim foil evenly so as not to touch water bath.
Steam in oven in water bath or use an electric roaster. Water should be one-third to one-half of the way up on the can.
To steam: Set temperature at 350° and steam for three hours. Lower temperature to 250° and steam for 1½ hours. Add more water if necessary during steaming time to avoid scorching the bottoms of the puddings. Re-move. Cool. Store in refrigerator or freeze. It will keep for 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 a sharp knife around the edges of the can and carefully unmold pudding onto plate. Slice and top with sauce.
Makes about 10 soup cans of pudding
WHIPPED CREAM SAUCE
Whip 1 cup cream almost to butter; fold carefully, the follow­ing ingredients one at a time to keep cream as stiff as possible.
1 beaten egg
1 tbsp. melted butter
Powdered sugar to taste
½ tsp. vanilla.
Refrigerate until serving time.
BRANDY OR RUM SAUCE
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup water
½ tsp. lemon juice