With only a matter of weeks until the big day, you may be starting to think about those early preparations and if you are a traditionalist then you’ll want to get your Christmas Pudding underway this month.
Stir Up Sunday is a tradition that has been carried out for centuries and passed onto us by the Victorians. It typically falls on the Sunday before Advent which happens to be Sunday 20th November this year.
The idea of stir up Sunday was that after attending church, families should gather together in the kitchen and prepare the Christmas pudding. Each family member would take a turn at stirring the pudding mixture from East to West, the direction that the wise men travelled. The mix would include thirteen ingredients representing Jesus and his twelve disciples. Once thoroughly mixed the pudding would be steamed and then wrapped in cloth to be hung from the ceiling ready for Christmas day. All that was required was a reheat and the pudding would be served after the traditional Christmas dinner.
Many have continued with the tradition of putting coins in or under the pudding on Christmas day, this may have been a sixpence or a 20 pence piece for more modern day families. This Pagan idea is said to bring good luck for anyone who receives a coin in their pudding.
Decorating the pudding with a sprig of holly is said to represent the crown of thorns that Jesus Christ wore. Whilst this looks very festive, be careful of those poisonous red berries.
Flaming the pudding with Brandy puts on a magnificent display and has been said to represent the love and power of Jesus.
A classic and traditional pudding is lightly spiced and packed full of fruit which has been soaked in brandy and orange liqueur. This provides a plump and juicy mixture that can be combined with the dry ingredients and once mixed together can be steamed in a pan or in the oven. The steamed pudding will keep for up to a year and is delicious served with custard or cream. Whilst you need a fair few ingredients, the method for this pudding is generally very simple. You can find a great recipe here for a Traditional Christmas Pudding.
We know fruit puddings aren’t for everyone, especially the younger members of the family and if you look around you’ll find some fantastic alternative options out there. How about a fun Maltesers covered pudding. Bake a regular sponge in an oven proof pudding bowl and decorate it with buttercream, cover it in Maltesers and then drizzle over some melted white chocolate to look like custard.
If you are looking for a new pudding basin or maybe a wooden spoon so that you can stir up your Christmas pudding, take a look at our Christmas Cooking Shop. We have everything you need to create delicious desserts, eye-catching bakes and super tasty Christmas dinners.
Sources:
https://www.dexam.co.uk/blog/stir-up-sunday/
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/stir-sunday
