I have a very short story for you today – I am sure you will understand, it is the busy season after all. I give you an idea from a letter to the Editor of The Times, December 24, 1890 . It is a reminder that times have been hard in the past, that a little creativity in the face of economic hardship is always possible, and that, sadly, prices have risen somewhat in the last century or so.
A Cheap Christmas Pudding.
Now that eggs are 2d. each, and sultana raisins 1s. a pound, a really cheap Christmas pudding would be a positive boon to many. The following recipe will not be found in any cookery book, as it is the result of some experiments I made with dates a few weeks ago. Dates are now retailed at 2d. a pound, and enable us to make a rich, nourishing, and wholesome pudding, sufficient for six persons, at a cost of 4d.
Take a quarter of a pound each of suet, flour, and brown sugar (Porto Rico), one pound of dates, and a quarter of a grated nutmeg. Chop the suet finely, stone and cut up the dates, mix all the ingredients well together, moistening with as little water as possible; boil the whole in a buttered basin for four hours.
A.G.Payne.
Quotation for the Day …
A lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together
Garrison Keillor.
2 comments:
Actually, it doesn't sound far off from a recipe I used once. Not much booze, though. But that is the expensive part.
I think it sounds pretty good - a bit like a sticky toffee pudding, if it was served with a caramel sauce.
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