Yesterday I shared a Christmas pudding recipe from Mrs Beeton published in 1861 – in contrast here are a couple of recipes from eighty years later in the wartime recipe book – ‘Cookery for To-day and To-morrow”
Plum Pudding (1)
- 4 oz flour
- 12 oz breadcrumbs
- 4 oz castor sugar
- baking powder
- 4 oz carrot
- 4 oz apple
- 4 oz currants
- 12 oz suet or margarine, melted
- lemon rind and juice
- 2 oz blanched
- almonds, chopped
- 3 eggs
- sherry
- milk
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 6 oz candied peel
- 8 oz raisins
- 8 oz sultanas
- mix all the ingredients except eggs
- stir in the beaten eggs
- add sufficient milk to make the mixture moist
- add a wineglass of brandy or sherry
- put into 2 well-greased basins
- cover and boil for at least 4 hours
Plum Pudding (2)
- 1 lb flour
- ½ oz cinnamon
- ½ oz spice
- 4 oz fat
- 8 oz currants
- 8 oz raisins
- 8 oz sultanas
- 4 oz carrots
- 4 oz apple
- 4 oz potato
- 4 oz golden syrup
- ¼ pint stout or beer
- mix flour, spice, cinnamon
- rub in fat
- add the rest of the ingredients
- mix well and leave for ½ hour to soak
- put into well-greased basins and boil for 4-6 hours
The differences between the two recipes are fairly obvious – no doubt the second one takes regard of rationing, and uses potato as a moist filler, and stout or beer instead of brandy/sherry!
Lois Elsden 