CHRISTMAS PUDDING

If you needed an emblem for a typically British Christmas, the plum pudding would probably be it. Love it or hate it, this currant-freckled sphere — better known as Christmas pudding, and often adorned with holly — is an instantly recognisable festive icon.

The British have a sentimental attachment to this dessert. A dark, sticky mass of dried fruit, suet, breadcrumbs and spices, it’s a proper rib sticker; Christmas just wouldn’t seem right without its solid, reassuring presence on the table.

Perhaps one of the reasons the dish remains so popular — despite many professing not to like it — is the fact we have such a longstanding relationship with it. Plum pudding can trace its origins back to at least the Middle Ages, when it had a less sturdy consistency. There’s a recipe in (believed to date from the late 14th century, it’s the oldest known English language cookery book) for something called ‘fygey’. This thick, porridge-like mixture contains ground almonds, wine, figs, raisins, ginger and honey, and while the end result looks fairly unappetising to the modern eye, it does