How Plum Pudding Came About

Many traditional Christmas puddings are served topped with a sprig of holly.

Old English puddings contained a mixture of ingredients such as vegetables, meats and starches that were assembled and boiled together. The Christmas pudding grew out of this culinary tradition.

15th Century

Plum puddings originated during the 15th century and were not originally associated with Christmas. The food timeline explains that plum pudding originally contained root vegetables, dried fruits and red meat. Since there were no pudding cloths, the concoction was boiled in water and served at the beginning of the meal.

17th Century

Plum pudding became associated with Christmas around the 1670s. By this time it had lost most of the root vegetables, although a carrot was still occasionally thrown in, and the heavy beef and mutton were replaced with white meat. This also lost popularity and was omitted, replaced by animal fat called suet. Prunes and raisins were popular ingredients.

21st Century

According to the English Tea Store website, most puddings contain nuts, dried or fresh fruit and suet. The pudding is steamed or boiled in a bag or basin. It is very dark in color after it has been cooked and is usually saturated in alcohol. Plum pudding is eaten with a variety of sauces, custards and creams.

References

• The Food Timeline: Christmas Pudding History