Stir-up Sunday – an excellent plum pudding
Tomorrow is Stir-up Sunday which, according to tradition, is the day when plum puddings should be prepared in readiness for Christmas. In the Book of Common Prayer, the Collect for the last Sunday before Advent reads ‘Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded’. Folklore suggests that these rousing words found their way into the kitchen on ‘Stir-up Sunday’. The pudding batter, with plenty of fruit, was prepared and stirred from east to west in homage of the journey of the Three Wise Men from the east to Bethlehem.
But as food historian Regula Ysewijn explains, no-one really knows exactly when plum puddings became inextricably linked to Christmas. There is a suggestion that George I requested one as part of his Christmas feast in 1714, but there is no written evidence to support this claim. They were certainly eaten with beef on special occasions throughout the Georgian period and earlier, but it was the Victorians with their love of Christmas festivities who made plum puddings the centre of the Christmas feast. Victorian ladies reading the special edition of the London Illustrated News in 1867 were informed that ‘a plum-pudding is the triumph of housewifely art’.
‘O mammas! whatever you teach or cause to be taught to your daughters, let them at least learn how to make a pudding!’
Illustrated London News Christmas supplement, 21 December 1867
Emily’s recipe book includes two recipes for plum pudding, both handed down to her by female relatives – her grandmother, Elizabeth, Lady Martin and her aunt Martha, Lady Miller. These are therefore Georgian-era recipes, one with eggs and one without. Over the course of Emily’s lifetime, Victorian Christmas traditions became well established – I like to think that Lady Miller’s excellent plum pudding was served with a flourish, and a sprig of holly on top, at the Blaauw family’s Christmas table!
An excellent Plum Pudding / Lady Miller
1 lb of Beef suet when skinned & shred fine – a lb of raisins stoned, a 1/4 lb of Currants - 1/2 a lb of Flour – a 1/4 lb of sugar – a little nutmeg – a little Salt, 4 spoonsfull of cream & 4 of Brandy 4 eggs – Boil it 5 hours
Plumb Pudding / My gd’mother’s
Half a lb of raisins, 1/2 lb suet, 1/2 lb Flour – Grated ginger & salt, a wineglass of white wine, 4 spoonsfull of treacle, instead of eggs it must be boiled 6 hours
Post Christmas addendum! We sampled Lady Miller’s plum pudding, made by my mum following the recipe faithfully, alongside a quality purchased one. Though both were very good, only one was excellent – Lady Miller’s! It won the taste-test hands down and was pronounced absolutely delicious.
A Victorian lady proudly serves a plum pudding (Illustrated London News, 21 Dec. 1867)