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Dessert

Cristmas Plum Pudding

A steamed pudding made with raisins, currants, suet, bread crumbs, sugar, lemon peel, spices, and eggs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Goff, May Perrin, [from old catalog] ed · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Lemon and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,154 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Cristmas Plum Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the mixture

  1. Combine one pound raisins, one pound currants, one pound beef suet chopped fine, one pound bread crumbs, one pound brown sugar, two ounces lemon, orange, and citron peel, candied peel, half a nutmeg grated, half a teaspoon ground ginger, one teaspoon mixed spice, and half a teaspoon salt.

  2. Beat eight eggs, separating yolks and whites; whisk whites to a froth with the back of a knife.

  3. Add the beaten eggs to the dry mixture, mixing until thick; if not moist enough, add one or two more eggs.

Shape and boil

  1. Grease a mold or bowl, fill with mixture, grease a plate and place over the top, wrong side up.

  2. Dip a pudding cloth into boiling water, dredge it with flour, and tie securely.

  3. Place the wrapped pudding in a large pot of boiling water, moving it about for a minute; keep covered with water, keeping a kettle boiling nearby to replenish.

  4. Boil for six hours on the first day; when ready to eat, boil for two more hours.

  5. Before untying the cloth, plunge the pudding into cold water to prevent sticking.

Serve

  1. Cover with finely powdered sugar before serving, and serve with sauce.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

908Calories
46 gProtein
22 gFat
128 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Goff, May Perrin, [from old catalog] ed. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Lemon + gingertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,154 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,180 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).

  3. Raisin + gingertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,242 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Beef + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  5. Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,481 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Beef suet
Adds richness and moisture, and melts during boiling to keep the pudding tender.
Eggs
Bind the dry ingredients together and give the pudding its set structure.
Bread crumbs
Absorb moisture and add body, giving the pudding a soft, cake-like crumb.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and a deep molasses flavour that complements the spices.
Raisins
Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout the pudding.
Currants
Add tart, fruity flavour and chewy texture throughout the pudding.

The step that matters

Boiling the wrapped pudding. The pudding must stay fully submerged and the water must keep boiling, because uneven or low heat leaves the centre dense and wet. Topping up with boiling water keeps the temperature steady over the long cook.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, beef, bread, sugar, lemon, ginger, egg):

  1. Orangefits better
  2. Figfits better
  3. Limefits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, beef, bread, sugar, lemon, ginger, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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