It took until last year for me to attempt to make my own Christmas pudding.
To be honest, I was intimidated by the idea of complicated cooking and hours-long steaming ― but having adjusted this slow cooker Sainsbury’s recipe to be booze-free, I was impressed by how easy and tasty it is.
If you’re planning to embark on your own festive food journey this year, you might be wondering when the best time to get going is.
Well, it turns out there’s good news ― there is a specific date on which the puds are traditionally made, and you’ve got plenty of time left until it arrives.
When should I make the pudding?
The traditional date is called “stir-up Sunday” and takes place on the last Sunday before Advent.
That means it’ll happen on 24 November this year.
Per BBC Good Food, it’s “a centuries-old annual tradition” ― English Heritage says it was inspired by the Collect in the Book of Common Prayer.
“Stir up, we beseech thee, oh Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen,” the entry read.
The family-wide activity saw cooks stir ingredients from East to West to honour the journey of the Magi, and it was meant to bring the household luck.
Christmas pudding is chock-full of preservatives like sugar and booze, so they can be left to mature for as long as two years.
The Spruce writes that the dessert needs at least four to five weeks to mature to taste at its best ― that’s about right for the stir-up Sunday date.
It used to come with a song, too
Per British Food History, children would sing a song as they stirred up the ingredients.
It went as follows: “Stir up, we beseech thee / The Pudding in the pot, / And when we get home, / We’ll eat it all hot!”
The historic recipe they mentioned included prunes, suet (animal fat), currants, brandy, rum and almond extract.
You can let the mixture sit overnight before putting the pudding onto its first boil.
Then, you mature it for up to two years in a cool, dry, dark place and put it onto its second boil when you want to eat it.
You don’t need to sing the song to make the most out of the dessert ― but do remember to let your pudding rest for four to five weeks at least.