***Christmas Pudding - Warning***

[Mad Cook]

I've just remembered that when I posted the recipe I forgot to say that it isn't a good idea to do the re-heating on the day in the microwave oven.

In the 1980s there had been a number of fires caused by Christmas puddings in m/waves and a cookery programme (Yorkshire Television's "Farmhouse Kitchen") showed a demonstration, performed under the supervision of the fire brigade, of how dangerous this can be. A family sized (to serve 4-5 people) pudding in its basin was in the m/wave for about 5 minutes and it burst into flames setting fire to the oven which sort of exploded - it blew the door off! It was quite spectacular, to put it mildly!

Safe to re-heat in the pressure cooker though. Stand the basin in water in the PC and follow the instructions for your model.

 

[Harry Cobean]

that's odd because tesco & marks & spencers etc all give microwave heating instructions on their puddings
Tesco Finest Christmas Pudding 454G - Groceries - Tesco Groceries

 

[GotGarlic]

Technology has improved a lot since the '80s.

 

[Harry Cobean]

Technology has improved a lot since the '80s.

so it would seem gg!

 

[Aunt Bea]

I'm thinking it may have more to do with how much brandy the old girls pour onto the pudding in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Talk about seven Lords a leaping!

 

[Harry Cobean]

I'm thinking it may have more to do with how much brandy the old girls pour onto the pudding in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Talk about seven Lords a leaping!

well aunty,if you look at the tesco list of ingredients brandy soaked cherries,cider & courvoisier brandy are about 5th on the list of ingredients which means their pud is pretty well loaded with alcohol.i've eaten their pud's & they ARE LOADED!!.infact theirs & marks & spencers are that good imho,it's one of those foodstuffs that i really can't see the point in making your own

 

[Harry Cobean]

oh yeah,it's got port & sherry too!! like i said aunty....LOADED!!

 

[Mad Cook]

I'm thinking it may have more to do with how much brandy the old girls pour onto the pudding in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Talk about seven Lords a leaping!

Well, yes.

The fireman in charge of the experiment said it was a combination of the alcohol and the sugar, of which there is a lot,overheating. Not only the actual sugar but the naturally occurring sugar in the dried fruit.

 

[Mad Cook]

well aunty,if you look at the tesco list of ingredients brandy soaked cherries,cider & courvoisier brandy are about 5th on the list of ingredients which means their pud is pretty well loaded with alcohol.i've eaten their pud's & they ARE LOADED!!.infact theirs & marks & spencers are that good imho,it's one of those foodstuffs that i really can't see the point in making your own

I can. I enjoy it. It's the first step towards Christmas. I make my own mincemeat, mince pies and Christmas cake, and I make Stollen, too and my own stuffings and sauces for the main course. I know I could buy them in Tesco, etc., but why should I? I don't do cooking traditions so that I can spend the rest of the year moaning about the amount of work involved. I do it because I really enjoy doing it and enjoy eating the proceeds. There is a harmless secret smugness to having a cupboard full of homemade goodies waiting for The Day and a pleasurable satisfaction in feeding something made with love to the important people in your life.

 

[Rocket_J_Dawg]

I can. I enjoy it. It's the first step towards Christmas. I make my own mincemeat, mince pies and Christmas cake, and I make Stollen, too and my own stuffings and sauces for the main course. I know I could buy them in Tesco, etc., but why should I? I don't do cooking traditions so that I can spend the rest of the year moaning about the amount of work involved. I do it because I really enjoy doing it and enjoy eating the proceeds. There is a harmless secret smugness to having a cupboard full of homemade goodies waiting for The Day and a pleasurable satisfaction in feeding something made with love to the important people in your life.

Did I hear Stollen???

Address please.......

 

[Harry Cobean]

I can. I enjoy it. It's the first step towards Christmas. I make my own mincemeat, mince pies and Christmas cake, and I make Stollen, too and my own stuffings and sauces for the main course. I know I could buy them in Tesco, etc., but why should I? I don't do cooking traditions so that I can spend the rest of the year moaning about the amount of work involved. I do it because I really enjoy doing it and enjoy eating the proceeds. There is a harmless secret smugness to having a cupboard full of homemade goodies waiting for The Day and a pleasurable satisfaction in feeding something made with love to the important people in your life.

precisely.so now you know why i like to to make my plates look pretty & photograph them.still doesn't explain the outdated(1980's) advice about not to microwave.a lot of the puddings sold these days are loaded with booze,sugar & dried fruit. they are all microwaveable.how's your's different?

 

[Gravy Queen]

I use the microwave too to reheat Christmas pud . Am lucky enough to receive home made pud it really does taste good .

 

[Addie]

I can. I enjoy it. It's the first step towards Christmas. I make my own mincemeat, mince pies and Christmas cake, and I make Stollen, too and my own stuffings and sauces for the main course. I know I could buy them in Tesco, etc., but why should I? I don't do cooking traditions so that I can spend the rest of the year moaning about the amount of work involved. I do it because I really enjoy doing it and enjoy eating the proceeds. There is a harmless secret smugness to having a cupboard full of homemade goodies waiting for The Day and a pleasurable satisfaction in feeding something made with love to the important people in your life.

I can understand that. I make a dark chocolate wreath cake at Christmas. My daughter and my youngest son Poo set up a schedule so that I alter each year so they can get the cake. And for Thanksgiving I make a pumpkin cheesecake. I have always done all the baking for the different households. Once the last kid was gone, they still wanted to come home for the holidays. Absolutely not! It is time for them to create their own traditions. I will make the desserts for them, but will not cook a big meal. I enjoy seeing them eat the sweets I made for them. It give me an inner sense of satisfaction. I also bake for the church fair. We have a big party here at Christmas. I make the wreath cake for that also. Then I get to sit back and watch the people I care about enjoy my efforts and labor. I do this because I want to.

Funny, I may get tired vacuuming, but not when I am baking.

 

[menumaker]

Don't try it if you have made Heston's though, as I have for the last couple of years, with an orange in the middle.I Ipressure cook mine on the day for re-heating

 

[Harry Cobean]

I use the microwave too to reheat Christmas pud . Am lucky enough to receive home made pud it really does taste good .

the queen has spoken....all hale the queen...glad you agree hunny bunz!!

Don't try it if you have made Heston's though, as I have for the last couple of years, with an orange in the middle.I Ipressure cook mine on the day for re-heating

sounds like the problem is that you're using an orange mm.the original is a candied clementine & the waitrose instructions include microwave heating
Ocado: Heston from Waitrose Hidden Clementine Christmas Pudding (Product Information)

 

[Mad Cook]

Don't try it if you have made Heston's though, as I have for the last couple of years, with an orange in the middle.I Ipressure cook mine on the day for re-heating

That sounds like a cross between Christmas pudding and Sussex pond pudding (although that has a lemon not an orange in the middle).

Might try it next year for a change to see how it goes.

 

[Mad Cook]

Did I hear Stollen???

Address please.......

Actually I won't be making another. On a whim the other day I bought a Tesco's Finest Stollen and when a surprise visitor turned up today and I had no home-made cake I cut the Tesco's Stollen. It pains me greatly to say that not only was it gorgeous it was (shock, horror) BETTER THAN MINE!!!

I hate to have to say that anything at Tesco is even passable but credit where it's due......

 

[Mad Cook]

Funny, I may get tired vacuuming, but not when I am baking.

I'm the same. When the going gets tough the tough get baking.

 

[Gravy Queen]

Why what's wrong with Tesco ?

 

[menumaker]

I should have said that I do actually make a Candied orange a few days before and it is so delicious that it really isn't any trouble to steam it on the day. Yes, MC it is a bit like a Sussex pond pudding in that sense and HOW GOOD IS THAT??
I don't have a problem with microwaving, just a matter of what works best on the day I suppose. We don't always have our pudding on Christmas day.I always make a trifle with our raspberries, saved from the summer especially for as it's lighter and that's popular after our big dinner. Sometimes we have our Christmas pudding on Boxing day or even New Years day. Just depends on who's around etc. and what we are doing,as in partying, walking, playing in the snow or relaxing by the fire.
What is everyone's sauce of choice to accompany said pudding by the way? Ours is Cointreau flavored whipped cream and Rum butter with the mince pie(s) Bring on Christmas!!