Subject: RECIPE: Christmas pudding
From: morris@diablo (Kathy Morris)
Date: 19 Dec 86 02:45:58 GMT
Newsgroups: mod.recipes

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This old recipe originally used pounds, ounces, cups, teaspoons and
tablespoons .  I translated it into metric, after a fashion, so I could make
it in Australia.  Then I had to translate it back when I got to the U.S.,
though it now uses pounds instead of just cups, so it's not in ``American''
either.

.RH MOD.RECIPES-SOURCE XMAS-PUDDING D "10 Feb 86" 1986
.RZ "NANA MOON'S CHRISTMAS PUDDING" "Old-fashioned Christmas boiled pudding"
This recipe was first written down by my great-grandmother.
It's an old-fashioned boiled pudding, and was always a special
part of Christmas in my family.  Nana Moon's family came
from Sofala, the site of the 1851 gold rush in New South Wales, Australia,
where they raised sheep (before the gold rush).  It's probably based on
an English recipe.
.PP
This recipe differs from others I've seen in that it uses no
spices\(emjust dried fruit and brandy.  Perhaps spices were
too difficult to get\(emit tastes great anyway.
.IH "Makes two puddings"
.IG "3 cups" "flour" "300 g"
(unbleached)
.IG "\(12 lb" "suet" "200 g"
(see note below)
.IG "1 cup" "brown sugar" "200 g"
.IG "1 cup" "bread crumbs" "120 g"
.IG "\(34 lb" "raisins" "350 g"
.IG "\(34 lb" "sultanas" "350 g"
(or golden raisins)
.IG "\(14 lb" "currants" "100 g"
.IG "1 cup" "brandy" "250 ml"
(or orange juice, or a mixture of both)
.IG "1 Tbsp" "golden (cane) syrup" "15 ml"
.IG "5" "eggs"
.IG "\(12 tsp" "baking soda" "2.5 ml"
.IG "1 Tbsp" "milk" "15 ml"
.PH
.SK 1
Combine the suet, flour, sugar, breadcrumbs, fruit and brandy.
.SK 2
Cover, and allow to stand overnight.
.SK 3
Add the syrup and beaten eggs.
.SK 4
Dissolve the baking soda in the milk, and add to mixture.
Stir until everything's combined.  (The mixture will be fairly thick.
My mother used to get help at this stage by telling us that if
we stirred it three times and made a wish, the wish would come true.
This only works with Christmas puddings.)
.SK 5
Place in two 
.AB "1 \(12 quart" "1.5 l"
pudding basins, cover with paper and several layers
of aluminium foil, and steam for 4 hours.
.SK 6
When you're going to eat it, steam it for a further 2 hours.
Serve by turning it out of the bowl, and pouring flaming brandy over it
(see below).
Serve with brandy butter (hard brandy sauce).
.NX
This pudding needs time to age between when you cook it 
and Christmas.  My mother generally makes it about a month before.
Keep it in the refrigerator until the day you will be eating it.
.PP
Each pudding will serve about 8-10 people.  If you halve the recipe,
use 3 eggs.
You can also add cherries, figs, almonds, and so on when you're
adding the fruit.
.PP
The suet can be replaced with some other form of shortening.
The packaged suet we used to be able to get in Australia was only
about 35% suet, the rest was cornflour (cornstarch).  Avoid that
at all costs.  For a few years, we bought suet from the butcher and
grated it ourselves (ok, we used a blender), but no one should have
to do that (at least, not during an Australian summer).
.PP
If you decide to go for authenticity and use a pudding bag, here's
how:
.PP
Get a large piece of calico (it must have a tight weave), and boil
it for a few minutes. Rub flour into the inner surface.
Place \(12 the mixture on it, and bring the corners together, leaving
room for the mixture to rise.
Tie with string.  
Cook by immersing in boiling water\(emwhen you add extra water, it must be
already boiling, or the pudding will get soggy.
The pudding will be rounder, and have a better
crust than one steamed in a pudding bowl.  A good crust means
that the brandy won't soak in when you light it, so it'll burn
for longer.  
Age the pudding by hanging it in a cool, dry place.
The problem with using a pudding bag is that it tends to
grow mold if the climate is too humid.
.PP
To light the pudding, heat about
.AB "\(14 cup" "75 ml"
of brandy in a saucepan.
Light it, then pour over the pudding and carry it to the table.
.SH RATING
.I Difficulty:
moderate.
.I Time:
1 day waiting, 30 minutes preparation, 4 hours cooking, 1 month aging.
.I Precision:
approximate measurement OK.
.WR
Kathy Morris
Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif., USA
sun!navajo!morris	[email-masked]