Traditional English Boiled Xmas Pudding

[tokenuser]

My Christmas pudding experiment has just started ...

4 cups of assorted mixed dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, currents, glace lemon/orange peel as a substitute for mixed peel, and dried cranberries as a nod to living in the south) are currently marinating in 2T of Rum (shoulda been brandy, but I mixed up my recipes - not a worry, rum works well too), and 2T of lemon juice (plus the finely grated peel from said lemon).

I need to str this mix up each day, and next Saturday make the pudding (they take 5 hours to boil ... I could do it on Xmas day, but its much easier just to reheat the damn thing).

[klitzy]

Hmm...Guess what TokenUser? I think Im going to try to make it for my family. Ill tell you how it is.

[tokenuser]

Hmm...Guess what TokenUser? I think Im going to try to make it for my family. Ill tell you how it is.Klitzy ... that is just the prep time for getting the fruit together. After it has been marinating for a week (my mum actually does hers for about a month - I am neither that organised or patient) it is what is known as "fruit mince" and what goes into "mince pies" (another traditional English thing).

Next weekend, I gotta cream brown sugar and eggs with butter and flour, then boil the whole thing in a pudding cloth for 5 hours. I hope the effort is going to be worth it.

[tokenuser]

Nobody will probably care, but the pudding was awesome. Just like my Nan used to make ... and that is saying something. My wife thought it was pretty good too - even with mixed peel, and we educated some American friends on what this "pudding thing" is all about.

Oh yeah - and for lunch we normally bake a ham. This year I did a Beef Wellington ... and it was outstanding.

[ariastar]

Actually I was wondering how it came out. What happens if you go a month instead?

[tokenuser]

Actually I was wondering how it came out. What happens if you go a month instead?You need to top up the alcohol a little, but the dried fruit absorb the booze, and plump up. What this is, is basically a "fruit mince". It wont go off or moldy because a.) the booze, and b.) the fact it is dried fruit.

Ever heard of a "mince pie" or "mince slice"? It is an English thing, and less common than it used to be. It was confusing as a kid in Australia, because - despite speaking English that is closer to English English than American English is to English English - we call "ground beef" "mince" or "minced meat". We also have meat pies that are often made with mince (meat), and not fruit.

[ariastar]

You need to top up the alcohol a little, but the dried fruit absorb the booze, and plump up. What this is, is basically a "fruit mince". It wont go off or moldy because a.) the booze, and b.) the fact it is dried fruit.

Ever heard of a "mince pie" or "mince slice"? It is an English thing, and less common than it used to be. It was confusing as a kid in Australia, because - despite speaking English that is closer to English English than American English is to English English - we call "ground beef" "mince" or "minced meat". We also have meat pies that are often made with mince (meat), and not fruit.

Okay, so now I know what mince meat pie is. Is it topped with potatoes like shepperd's pie?

I know English English as the Queen's English and American English as pathetic. I like Queen's better.

But what is a mince slice?

And with the boiled pudding, what do you boil it in?

[tokenuser]

Okay, so now I know what mince meat pie is. Is it topped with potatoes like shepperd's pie?

I know English English as the Queen's English and American English as pathetic. I like Queen's better.

But what is a mince slice?

And with the boiled pudding, what do you boil it in?OK, piece by piece ...

1. Mince Meat Pie - if its topped with potatoe like a sheperds pie, it is called a potatoe pie. Sometimes served with mushy peas (or "floating" on a thick pea soup - don't knock it until you try it).

Personally, I like a slightly more upmarket pie made with more of a beef stew than minced meat - I like the chunks of beef ... sorta like comparing a chili made with steak with a chili made with mince/ground beef - each has their fans.

A regular meat pie is more like a pot pie. Generally made with two types of pastry, a water crust pastry for the base, and a flaky pastry top. You can hold a good pie in your hand, and eat it on the go. I am really surprised that they aren't popular over here ... but if yo DO want to try them out, I suggest you place an order at the Australian Bakery Cafe (http://www.australianbakery.com/) in Atlanta (yes, they deliver).

2. Queen's English vs American English. Well, I am biased - but generally refer to them as English and American. What really pisses me off was our copy writer at work going through an RFP response I wrote, and "correcting" my English to American, without realising the doc was intended for Canada - where they speak proper English, and know how to spell.

3. Mince Slice - you know that fruit mince we talked about earlier? Think about it sandwiched between two layers of sweet pastry, and cut into pieces about the size of a brownie. Sometime the topped is iced (ie a hardened layer of frosting), or dusted with confectioners sugar. Arnotts have a biscuit (cookie) a lot like a Fig Newton that is filled with a mix similar to a fruit mince (but not as chunky).

4. Boiling a Pudding. You boil it in a pudding cloth silly! Duh. A pudding cloth is basically a 2' square piece of unbleach calico. You get the pudding batter into the center of the cloth, gather it together into a tight ball, and tie it up with string, then suspend it in a large pot of boiling water for 5-6 hours. You could also use a pudding steamer - but then it would be a steamed pudding.

[ariastar]

OK, piece by piece ...

1. Mince Meat Pie - if its topped with potatoe like a sheperds pie, it is called a potatoe pie. Sometimes served with mushy peas (or "floating" on a thick pea soup - don't knock it until you try it).

Personally, I like a slightly more upmarket pie made with more of a beef stew than minced meat - I like the chunks of beef ... sorta like comparing a chili made with steak with a chili made with mince/ground beef - each has their fans.

A regular meat pie is more like a pot pie. Generally made with two types of pastry, a water crust pastry for the base, and a flaky pastry top. You can hold a good pie in your hand, and eat it on the go. I am really surprised that they aren't popular over here ... but if yo DO want to try them out, I suggest you place an order at the Australian Bakery Cafe (http://www.australianbakery.com/) in Atlanta (yes, they deliver).

2. Queen's English vs American English. Well, I am biased - but generally refer to them as English and American. What really pisses me off was our copy writer at work going through an RFP response I wrote, and "correcting" my English to American, without realising the doc was intended for Canada - where they speak proper English, and know how to spell.

3. Mince Slice - you know that fruit mince we talked about earlier? Think about it sandwiched between two layers of sweet pastry, and cut into pieces about the size of a brownie. Sometime the topped is iced (ie a hardened layer of frosting), or dusted with confectioners sugar. Arnotts have a biscuit (cookie) a lot like a Fig Newton that is filled with a mix similar to a fruit mince (but not as chunky).

4. Boiling a Pudding. You boil it in a pudding cloth silly! Duh. A pudding cloth is basically a 2' square piece of unbleach calico. You get the pudding batter into the center of the cloth, gather it together into a tight ball, and tie it up with string, then suspend it in a large pot of boiling water for 5-6 hours. You could also use a pudding steamer - but then it would be a steamed pudding.

Think that Altanta would deliver to San Jose? LOL

I've never boiled pudding, so wouldn't know.

Okay, I thought mince referred primarily to beef. So mince can also be ground fruit? Sorry I'm slow today. Very tired.

[tokenuser]

Think that Altanta would deliver to San Jose? LOL

I've never boiled pudding, so wouldn't know.

Okay, I thought mince referred primarily to beef. So mince can also be ground fruit? Sorry I'm slow today. Very tired.Yes - they ship over night with DHL (I think that was who delivered ours). But there is also a place you can get them in Seattle - The Australian Meat Pie Company (http://www.australianpieco.com/). We got a batch of party pies and sausage rolls sent down when we lived in LA for some friends when they were throwing an Aussie b'day party for their son. They were good, but I think the Atlanta ones were better :)

I think the only experience with pudding most Americans have is more like a custard, and is made by Jello. The English might have pretty bland tastebuds for main courses, but they know cakes and deserts (but the French do much better pastries). Being an Aussie, we get the best of all the world cuisine, but still with a heavy UK bias.

Mince basically means chopping something up so that its really small. Ground beef, chicken, pork, etc., would be referred to as minced meat. Fruit mince is an odd one, since it is basically sultanas, raisins, currants, and mixed peel (orange/lemon), and not realy minced, but might get mashed up a little.

I swear somedays I should have followed my heart and become a chef rather than followed my brain and gone into Computer Science. Nothing wrong with CompSci, and I guess it means I can enjoy cooking as a hobby rather than as a career.