“Hallo! A great deal of steam! The pudding was out of the copper. A smell like a washing-day! That was the cloth. A smell like an eating-house and a pastrycook’s next door to each other, with a laundress’s next door to that! That was the pudding! In half a minute Mrs. Cratchit entered-flushed, but smiling proudly-with the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quartern of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top.” – Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol” (1843)

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It’s funny how many parts of the Christmas festivities are all but forgotten today. The Yule Log is just a fond memory, as are sugar plums. I’ve even met people who’ve never roasted a chestnut or eaten a slice of mincemeat pie. We don’t even have goose at Christmas, other dishes having supplanted it at the holiday table.

Most of all are the blank looks I get when talking about Christmas Pudding. Here, we tend of think of pudding as a light whipped dessert, not a boiled cannonball loaded with candied fruit, dates and raisins, and then doused in brandy and set on fire right at the table.

The etymology of the word is derived from the French “pouding,” and basically means any chopped up meat, mixed with meat and grains, and then boiled in an animal’s stomach. If you want an example, think of Haggis. The Christmas Pudding was originally one of these, a recipe for “plum pottage,” appearing in the late 16th century, recorded by lexicographer John Baret.

Right from the beginning, these dishes were loaded with dried fruit and copious quantities of alcohol, which kept the meat from spoiling. The stomach part of the recipe eventually disappeared, replaced by a pudding bag, which would hold the whole thing together during its extended boiling. Most of the meat eventually went, as well, leaving only grated suet as a reminder of its origins.

When Oliver Cromwell deposed the King and took over the country in 1643, the pudding met its demise, along with carol singers, Yule Logs and anything else that smelled of Popery. For 12 long years, the people remembered these festivities with fond remembrance. Any observation of Christmas would be met with severe legal repercussions.

The holiday was restored when Charles II took the crown, and everybody started celebrating with gusto. “Stir-up Sunday” became a tradition in most households, where the whole family would gather together on the last week of November and take a hand in its construction. A lucky sixpence would be concealed within, an eagerly sought-after prize for the diners.

When the Stuart line died out, the Hanoverians, from Germany, ascended to power, beginning with George I. It is recorded that he consumed a huge pudding on Christmas Day of 1715, and thereafter became known as “the Pudding King.”

The Victorians embraced Christmas wholeheartedly, and the Pudding became a centerpiece of the tradition, exemplifying everything they thought of as British. When Dickens sang its praises in “A Christmas Carol,” everyone completely saw its significance.

Of course, things have changed over the years. The pudding bag has now been replaced with a deep bowl, speeding the process up a bit and ensuring a uniform result. But it still needs to be boiled twice; first, to bind everything together, and then the second to heat it up. In between, there is a maturing period, ideally about a month. I realize that it’s a little late to do that, but it should still sit in a cupboard for at least a week, liberally doused with large amounts of brandy.

When served, the dish should be ladled with brandy sauce or hot custard, which lubricates it and makes it easier to eat.

I’m not going to pretend that this is an easy recipe; however, if you want to make a big splash at the holidays, and treat your family to a taste of a Victorian Christmas, this is just the thing.

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CHRISTMAS PUDDING

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup milk

12 dates, pitted and chopped

½ cup raisins

¼ cup dried currants

¼ cup candied mixed fruit peel, chopped

1 orange, zested

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup self-rising flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon.

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Liberally grease a pudding mold.

Combine sugar, butter, milk, dates, raisins, currants, mixed fruit peel, and orange zest in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda.

Sift in the flour, cinnamon and salt. Gently mix until blended. Pour the mixture into the prepared pudding mold.

Cover with two layers of greased wax paper. Place the pudding in a steamer set over a saucepan filled with simmering water. Steam for two hours.

Remove the pudding from the steamer and allow it to cool completely in the mold. Store in a cool, dry place until Christmas day. Microwave or re-steam to reheat. Makes eight servings.

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