The Christmas season was heralded in, when my Nana came in the door with the huge big porcelain hexagonal shaped bowl underneath her arm. I knew then, it was job on! The unusual thing about this bowl was that it had beautiful pagoda pictures on it and it looked nothing like Christmas, but was only used once a year for the Christmas pudding.
Now that was really exciting in itself except it meant that I had to pick all the stalks out of the fruit. When I was a child dried fruit was sold loose without being washed. It had to be soaked and cleaned and all the stalks removed.
I hated that job with a passion. But as I was a good girl I went along with it!
What seemed like millions of raisins and sultanas later they were ready for washing.
Sorry about that rant and moaning but I have to say the end product was delicious. Nothing was measured just thrown in and mixed! Two puddings one for us and one for Nana.
They were turned out into a cloth and boiled for hours on the gas hob, with all the windows open and then hung up before being boiled again for a short while on Christmas Eve before removing the cloth.
I love Christmas pudding and all kinds of fruitcake. I shouldn’t really when you consider the toil and the torture of cleaning those stalks!! But it always tasted terrific! Served hot with custard - oh yummy.
I make Christmas puddings every year too except thankfully the fruit is washed stalks removed and dried already. They’re gluten free ones though, as we have two coeliacs in the house. But I’ve kept up the tradition for 47 years.
The beautiful bowl which was stunning, seemed enormous back then, to a little child! I have no idea where it went to. It has stayed in my memory for all these years and it brings back so much joy.
I adored my Nana and she me. So maybe that’s why it was a job I did well. Just for her!
She was such an advocate of childrens wellbeing. A forward thinking woman, way before her time and a big supporter of tradition.
Well here’s to another pudding filled Christmas !