The Christmas Pudding

This year I made a Christmas Pudding.  Why is that noteworthy?  Well, I haven't made one in about twenty years.

It is an old family recipe, so I thought I would share a bit about it.

I thought it would be fun to find each version of the recipe.

In the last few years both Grandma's and Mum's recipe books have come to live with me.  That is Grandma's on the left.  She was married in 1927.  Mum's in the middle, from 1962 and my white folder. I was married in the mid 1980s.  I've never really had a hand written recipe book. I like that my recipes are in plastic sleeves and I can wipe down any spills.  I keep saying I'll decorate the cover, but it hasn't happened as yet.

Here is Grandma's recipe, beautifully written out on pages that are now very worn and fragile.

Mum's is also beautifully written out, but not quite as fragile.

Here's mine, typed and tweaked a little to simplify, although the ingredients and method actually are the same.  Most importantly, the necessity for everyone to stir the mix and make a wish has been added into the method.

My latest notes on the back of an envelope are to simplify it further with mixed fruit, convert to metric and to only make a quarter of the mix.  Mum always only made half the recipe and then made that half into two puddings, one for Christmas and one for New Year's Day.

My other amendment was to switch the suet for butter, which I even melted.  It still seemed to work.  These old recipes are rather forgiving.

Quite some years ago I was given my other grandmother, Granny Johnson's, recipe book.  She was married in 1914.

Her Plum Pudding recipe is somewhat shorter, taking it for granted that you know how to prepare a steamed pudding in  a cloth.  The measurements are slightly different, but as I said, these recipes are rather forgiving.  Maybe next year I should have a go at her pudding recipe, as I haven't done so as yet.

We also have a hand written recipe book that was owned by Mick's paternal Grandma.  It doesn't have many entries and was obviously not her main recipe book, as it only dates from the mid 1960s.  There is no reference to any Christmas recipes in it. 

I feel very privileged to be the custodian of these old books.  They are simple things, but give a reflection of how life was through the food that was prepared and the handy hints and recipes for household cleaners and preparations that were used.  I'm sure I will find many of my favourite foods,  as entered in my recipe folder, that have been passed down if I have a good look.