Traditional Christmas Pudding Just like Nana Used To Make

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As a child, I never really liked Christmas Pudding. But I loooooved finding the coins in the pudding. My brothers or I never choked on a coin hidden in the pudding, which is very surprising.

Stir-up Sunday

The name traditionally given to the day on which Christmas puddings are made in England is Stir-up Sunday. The last Sunday before Advent is considered the final day on which you can make the Christmas fruit cakes and puddings as they require time to be aged before being served.

Coins For Good Luck

Putting a silver coin in the pudding is an age-old custom . A single silver coin was traditionally put into the pudding mix and each member of the family would stir the mix. Once the pudding is cooked and served, it is said to bring luck to the person who finds the coin in their serve. In the UK the coin traditionally used was a silver ‘six pence’. The closest coin to that now is a five pence piece.

With the change over to decimal currency in 1966, Australians were worried about poisoning their families . The Copper and Brass Information Centre (who knew there was such a thing), were forced to put out a statement saying that the new 5c and 10c coins were safe to be put into the pudding AFTER it was cooked. However, they could not be baked into the pudding due to their high copper and nickle content. They were also concerned about the size of the coins as they were larger than the traditional shilling. The Copper & Brass Information Centre suggested the use of pre-decimal currency in puddings. They also suggested that coins should be boiled before being used for the safety of all concerned. Can you imagine just how many hands have touched those coins – of course you’d boil them first.

You can buy pudding packs of sixpence, shillings and tuppence from coin dealers which can be used in puddings. My mum always put one 5c piece into everyone’s serve of pudding just before serving. She always warned us to chew carefully so we didn’t choke on the coin if we were “lucky” enough to find one.

You can buy Christmas Pudding coins here.

Other objects traditionally hidden in Christmas Pudding include a tiny wishbone for good luck, a silver thimble for thrift, a ring for marriage or an anchor for safe harbour. 

Plum Pudding

Plum Pudding is the traditional name for Christmas Pudding. However, you don’t actually use plums in the pudding. The name Plum Pudding has its origins in the pre-Victorian use of the word “plums” as a term for raisins.

Cooking The Pudding In Cloth

Christmas Pudding is traditionally made in pudding cloths. Big square pieces of calico would get dipped in hot water, then rubbed with flour to make them waterproof. Pudding mix would go into the middle and the you’d pull the corners of the cloths up around the mixture and tie some string tightly around the top, to make sure no water would get into the mixture.

Once tied up tightly the pudding would go into the boiling copper and would be cooked for hours. Nanas all over the country would hang the pudding in shady, covered places to dry and cure.

If you are going to use pudding cloths you will need to buy some unbleached calico from a fabric shop such as Spotlight or Lindcraft. You will need about 60cm square for an average size pudding. You will need to soak the calico in cold water for several hours then boil for about 20 minutes, then take it out and wring excess water out. Lay flat on the bench and rub flour well into the cloth. This stops the water getting through and makes the calico water-proof.

You can use the cloth year after year. Just soak the cloth overnight, scrape off any flour or pudding left on it and throw it in the washing machine. Before you use it again make sure there are no holes, otherwise water will soak through.

Times Are-a-Changin’

This year I have finally invested in a Pudding Bowl and have cooked this year’s pudding in the slow cooker – times are-a-changin’. This is the pudding bowl I bought. It was the perfect size for the pudding mixture and also the perfect size for the slow cooker. AND, it was very affordable.

Here are some tips for making your Christmas Pudding:

You can save some money by buying a dried fruit mixture. It can be expensive buying several different types of dried fruit so this recipe is versatile.

It doesn’t take too much active time to put this pudding together. However, you have to allow plenty of time for the mixture to rest and to boil, then to rest again. Start making it at least 3 weeks before Christmas to allow plenty of time for the flavours to develop but you can make it a few months before – the longer the better.