Christmas plum pudding Ingredients: wheat flour - 1 cup, crackers - 2.5 cups, lard - 120 g, egg - 3 pcs., carrots - 1 pc., brown sugar - 1/2 cup, apple - 1 pc., almonds peeled chopped - 1/2 cup, canned ginger in syrup - 60 g, almonds

Plum pudding with cinnamon Ingredients: plums - 500 g, sugar - 200 g, juice and zest - 2 lemons, red gelatin - 6 sheets, plum brandy - 4 tbsp. spoons, ground cinnamon - 1 pinch, vanilla sugar - 2 sachets, almonds - 100 g, cream - 1/2 cup. Remove the pits from the plums, pour 1/4 liter

For some reason, this book also contains a recipe for British Christmas pudding. Moreover, his image is even on the cover. Let's see the recipe.

Thanks for the photo Lena silverina1

One gets the impression that all the residents there are fussing so much, and even as one prepares dried fruits in a special way. I wonder if all readers will understand what region we are talking about? In general, the phrase "foggy Albion" in the UK itself is very rare, and outside it is used mainly in an ironic sense.

Not a single Briton from whom I looked at pudding recipes soaked dried fruit for him for any number of weeks. They can sometimes be cut and poured with alcohol and / or citrus juice for only 6-12 hours (at night, for example). Either just put all the ingredients in one bowl or just before boiling the pudding, or mix and leave them overnight, but the latter is now rare. I don’t know where Russian-speaking culinary specialists got such a fashion for soaking dried fruits in alcohol for a long time. Moreover, they do this for all baking recipes, where it is necessary and where it is not necessary. For Christmas pudding, it's useless. Not a single old recipe has such a remark and, I repeat once again, I have never seen this in modern recipes that I came across, incl. from professional chefs.

I already told in the last part how they prepared raisins for pudding: it was necessary to get seeds from each raisin. The main and often the only dried fruits in these pastries were raisins and currants. They could only be cut after preparation, but not insisted, because different types of alcohol were added to the pudding, incl. beer, and for children they prepared without it at all. In addition, puddings could cook large, there could also be a lot of dried fruits. In Chervonnaya's recipe, by the way, there is not a word about slicing dried fruits before soaking, and 150 ml of alcohol is very little in order to soak more than 3 glasses of whole dried fruits for 2 weeks. It does not say what to do with them all these 2 weeks: shake, do not shake, or just look every day as if they were jewels in a box. And, for example, it’s not clear to me why dried fruits are measured in glasses, because we buy them in stores, shops and markets by weight. It's the same with honey: the same spoon filled with different types of honey can have different weights.

Nowadays, you can really take any dried fruits for the preparation of such a pudding, incl. and prunes. Now it depends mostly on personal preference. Prunes in modern recipes are used, incl. and because it is gradually forgotten why this pudding is called properly "plum". I talked about the essence of the name in the previous parts of the article. However, it is believed that raisins or currants in the pudding should be mandatory. In Britain, as far as I know, there is no problem with the ingredients for making pudding. Various mixes of dried fruits are also sold, so you can buy them at any time (not to mention the fact that all stores are filled with such ready-made puddings before Christmas).

The obligatory butter in the recipe is also strange, because beef kidney fat is considered traditional. In modern recipes, of course, it can be replaced with both oil and vegetarian fat. I would also use butter if I made such a pudding, but if we talk about traditions, non-vegetarian British people prefer it vanity. As you can see, there are no remarks about this.

Honey. He has never been in such a pudding and never is. Molasses, molasses, in very rare cases - "golden syrup" in modern recipes. Honey is clearly prescribed as a substitute for such ingredients, but is also prescribed without explanation. Moreover, maskovado sugar is indicated in the recipe, it a priori contains a high content of molasses (not to mention the fact that this sugar alone in the list of ingredients confuses the Russian-speaking population; it can also be replaced with another type of sugar). Molasses and honey are not interchangeable in color and taste, i.e. properties are only partially similar. In general, if you figure it out like this, 2 tea (?) Spoons of honey will not make a special weather.

The cooking technology is described, to put it mildly, strange. Even for fruitcake, this is not always used. If you take butter, then you just need to soften it, there is absolutely no need to beat it to splendor (?) And even with sugar, it's not a biscuit or a cookie. You can only beat the eggs together with some liquid included in the recipe. And nothing needs to be mixed in several steps.

The British do not take a steam bath at all: they put everything in one bowl and knead it right in it with a large spoon, sometimes they don’t even beat the eggs separately. It is believed that, on the contrary, the mixture should have a sloppy consistency, this is the point, but it should not be very dry: if there is not enough liquid, it is added.

Before cooking, the mixture is packed in a special way. From this recipe it is not at all clear how to do this. The end of the recipe generally takes less than a quarter of a page, but on the whole page - a shabby door and someone's mailbox, and next to the finished pudding - an already boring coil and key, wandering in this book from page to page.

A bowl of pudding is usually placed on a stand inside a large saucepan, it is filled with water approximately to the middle and everything is steamed for several hours (or a water bath is made from two saucepans). Water must not only be monitored, but boiled water should be added as needed. Ready time depends on the size of the pudding. Very small puddings with a volume of 200 ml, for example, are recommended to be cooked for 2-3 hours.

The recipe does not explain the next point: what to do with the pudding if it is not supposed to be served right away? If it is served immediately, but not set on fire, then there is no need to simply water it with alcohol (especially if it and the children will eat it). The author in the photo has it generally watered, as I understand it, with caramel, but not a word about that either. How to store it and how to serve it after storage - ? Why was it necessary to include such a recipe in this book, with a fictitious cooking technology that takes up several pages, but does not really explain anything? A rhetorical question. One consolation is that there may be few Russian-speaking culinary specialists (or none at all) who, after reading this book, will want to steam an unknown pudding in their kitchen for 5 hours.

I picked up a recipe that also contains dried apricots (dried apricots), prunes, mascovado and butter. See what the British do with them (in this case, dried fruits are soaked overnight only; only eggs are beaten separately). This is a video recipe from Waitrose (a British supermarket chain that also produces goods under its own brand; a supplier of goods for the royal court). The proportions of the ingredients and the description of the cooking technology can be read on the official website (you can "hammer" the text into the online translator; I checked, the essence of such a translation can be understood). The video itself is 4 minutes long, but I hope it clears things up a lot. In the next part of the article, I will say a few words about the storage of the finished pudding.

There is another inaccuracy in Russian-language adaptations of plum pudding recipes. Rather, it is even a gross culinary mistake, from my point of view.

One of the main ingredients of British plum pudding is called "current"(pronounced "karent"). In all Russian-language online recipes for British pudding that I have looked at during this time, it is translated as "currant" (even in the article from "Around the World", where an interview with the British chef is printed). Except for one recipe, which is now forgotten, abandoned. Once, many years ago, I also studied it, after which I decided not to cook such a pudding in my kitchen. I knew that fat can be replaced with butter, because I talked with Russian-speaking residents of the UK, but neither this dish, nor the fruit cake, which they also told me about, interested me so much that I devoted a lot of my time to them.

LJ, 2009. Perhaps someone also remembers it: an introductory word, and a step-by-step recipe with many photos. This is how the classic British Christmas pudding is prepared with animal fat. Fat is simply crushed (scrolled through a meat grinder).

Dear Russian-speaking chefs, "currant" in British recipes - both old and modern - is not currant! There is no frozen, much less fresh currant in such a winter form of pudding. "Currant" is currant, a special kind of raisin. "If it's impossible to understand, then you just need to remember it" (c) It is from this position that you can calculate how seriously the Russian-speaking culinary specialist worked with a foreign recipe and where he got it.

If the English recipe refers to currants, then its name is indicated in full: white currant, red currant, black currant.

Advertisement for Greek cinnamon from a contemporary British food magazine; just the winter edition.

Cinnamon appeared on English markets in the 15th century under the trade name "Reysyns de Corauntz". In the 15th century it was called "raisins of Corinth" ("raisins from Corinth"). When by the 17th century the center of trade in Greece moved to the Ionian Islands (Zakynthos; Zante), this raisin was called Zante currant. So it is called to this day (or rather, this is one of the names), but in all culinary literature the abbreviated name current is accepted. For more information, see the article in English on Wikipedia:.

Let's take a look at the British Cooking Bible. In Mrs Beaton's 1861 book currant is indeed sometimes called simply "currant", but in this case you need to look at the context: where this word is mentioned, we are talking about summer recipes and summer-berry fruits. And it is always specified what color currants to take for specific recipes. Exception - current jelly, currant jam (jelly).

In general, it is better to study this entire book, because Beaton has separate explanations about currant, incl. about Christmas pudding.

It definitely talks about a special grape and even gives its drawing. What I have underlined translates as follows: "We can't make plum pudding without cinnamon."

Some modern Britons don't like to put cinnamon in pudding because it seems to them that she is bitter in it. To be honest, I don’t really like cinnamon as an ingredient either (I don’t know why), so if I meet it somewhere in recipes, I replace it with another raisin or look at the circumstances - completely delete it or replace it with some other dried fruit taste.

I can say one thing: I personally feel the difference between currant and other types of raisins, but it also differs from currants, because grapes are still a completely different plant.

We recall the words of Mrs. Beaton about how, without cinnamon, it is impossible to make plum pudding. This means that this ingredient is used as part of an important tradition. They say that it gives the pudding a special aroma and taste, so there is always a lot of cinnamon in old recipes.

Of course, this raisin can be replaced with currants, this is a personal matter for everyone - just like anchovies can be replaced with herring or even tuna - but these are unequal replacements. With other ingredients, another dish is already obtained, with a different taste and aroma, therefore it is incorrect to apply all traditional descriptions to it.

Currants in the form of berries in British plum (Christmas) pudding I have never seen - not then, not now. Think for yourself: who, when and where dries currants in such quantities? Frozen ingredients are out of the question: they are nowhere near present in a traditional pudding (except perhaps animal fat, which is kept refrigerated).

Russia once invented its own replacement for this type of raisin. When its supply decreased after the October Revolution, the population began to use dried berry berries. It is this plant that is now called "cinnamon" (or "korynka") in some post-Soviet regions. Despite the fact that we also have special seedless grape varieties, which have the word "cinnamon" in their names.

I know the taste of irgi very well, incl. in the form of homemade tinctures, I like this plant since childhood, but I don’t really agree that this taste is similar to raisin-cinnamon (especially since the texture is not the same, not “raisin”). Well, the Russian people know better. Maybe similar. However, in the famous old Russian cookbooks "cinnamon" is definitely a raisin.

Cookbook of Sophia Tolstoy, modern edition. Photo labirint.ru

By the way, in the same old Russian-language books from different authors and compilers there are single recipes for both "flaming pudding" and "plum (plum) pudding" - this is what it is, British plum pudding. Recipes and even such dishes themselves were a curiosity in Russia. Often they were also translated (taken from foreign books or other publications), but sometimes they got it from English-speaking servants or some kind of comrades. As you can see, we have known about this tradition for a long time, but we didn’t even think to get used to it, and then we completely forgot about it.

M. Khmelevskaya. "Economic cook". 1903 (?)

Other inaccuracies of Russian-speaking culinary specialists relate to the storage, serving and so-called standing of the finished pudding. They are visible if we look at them through the prism of British traditions proper, but those who carefully study all the references that I give have probably already understood a lot themselves.

And a small quote: again from Dickens and just on the topic of traditions. This is how the British dinner on one of the pre-Christmas and at the same time pre-wedding days is described.

"Tackleton brought a leg of lamb and, to everyone's surprise, another cake (but a little extravagance is not a problem when it comes to our bride: after all, we don't get married every day), and in addition to these delicacies there was a veal and ham pate and" other food," as Mrs. Peerybingle put it, namely, nuts, oranges, cakes, and the like. When the treat was placed on the table, including Caleb's own share, a huge wooden bowl with steaming potatoes (Caleb was taken a solemn promise never serve no other food), Tackleton took his future mother-in-law to a place of honor. * decoration of a highly solemn feast, the stately old woman put on a cap, which was supposed to inspire awe in frivolous youth. In addition, she had gloves on her hands. Even if you die, keep up appearances! Charles Dickens. "Christmas stories. Cricket behind the hearth"). I talked about the film adaptation of this work in an article.

Pudding is a cult English dish. It has many traditions and stories associated with it.
Plum pudding was a symbol of the power of the empire, "on which the sun never sets" among the Victorians.

When preparing the pudding, the wishes of all family members should be taken into account. Everyone who will eat the pudding must take part in mixing the dough. The dough must be stirred from east to west and make a wish at the same time ..

Plum Pudding Ingredients

Making Plum Pudding

Peel and grate carrots and apples.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl

Lubricate several molds with grease and fill them with dough so that a quarter of the volume remains unoccupied.

Cover the molds carefully with waxed paper or foil. Put in a water bath, so that the water only reaches half of the mold.

Steam over moderate heat for 5-10 hours depending on the size of the pudding. The dough should rise and firm up.

The pudding can be stored for 2-3 months in a cool, dry place, covered with foil or paper.

Bon appetit!

History of plum pudding

Plum pudding was first made in the 18th century. Reviews about him were different. But the English liked it. It is eaten traditionally, at Christmas, and cooked a few weeks earlier so that the pudding has time to ripen. There are many interesting beliefs associated with pudding. Various objects are hidden in it, symbolizing something for the finder. The ring - for the wedding, the button - for the continuation of a bachelor's life, the bird's bone - for good luck and travel.

And the one who was lucky enough to find a dry bean or peas in it, either became the “king” or “queen” for the evening, or ... the next day he paid off the bill for everyone.

The French diplomat De Soligny wrote in the 1820s that "there seems to be no table in this country at Christmas, from royal to peasant, where there is no roast beef and plum pudding."

The popularity of plum pudding is explained quite simply - the prices for dried fruits were unusually low, which made the pudding a truly "all-British" treat. In addition, the pudding is very easy to prepare, and it keeps for a long time. And in Mrs Beeton's famous English cookbook, there were seven recipes for a festive pudding for every pocket - from "Incomparable" (at a price of seven shillings and sixpence) to the simplest at a price of one shilling.