Christmas pudding is a traditional dish for Christmas parties. It keeps well for a month or two in the refrigerator. Before serving, however, make sure the pudding’s spirit is hot. To do this, use a long-handled metal ladle and heat it over a gas flame. It’s important to regularly feed the pudding if it’s going to stay fresh.
How Long does Christmas Pudding Last in the Fridge?
Our chart shows that while packaged dry pudding will continue to be good for months after its “best by” date, the prepared pudding will only keep for a week in the refrigerator. See our chart for additional information. Pudding’s shelf life might vary depending on the type, packaging, storing technique, and thickening agent used.
Since many years ago, pudding—a sweet milk-based dessert—has been a favorite dish. Pudding is commonly made with milk, sugar, and thickening agents such as tapioca, eggs, gelatin, cornstarch, or rice in a baked oven or on the stove. However, Kraft is the source of pudding for the majority of customers in North America.
Similar to Jell-O, it is available as pre-packaged ready-made, cook-to-prepare, or instant. Pudding is available in ordinary, sugar-free, reduced-fat, and non-fat varieties in all forms.
Making Christmas Pudding
There are a few tips for making Christmas pudding that will make it last as long as possible in the fridge. One way is to wrap it in clingfilm, which will prevent it from drying out. Once wrapped, you can place it in the refrigerator for up to five days. You can also freeze it in a ziplock freezer bag.
It is important not to overcook the pudding. It should have a dark, rich color. You can either steam it or use the microwave to reheat it. You may want to serve it with whipped cream, English custard, or lemon sauce. For extra flavor, you can add brandy butter to the pudding.
Christmas pudding has a long history. It first originated in the 14th century as a thick porridge made of boiled figs, water, ground almonds, and raisins. It later evolved into the popular steamed pudding. In the 1840s, it was renamed Christmas pudding and became one of the most popular desserts.
Storing it in the Fridge
Storing Christmas pudding in the fridge can make it last longer. When it’s not in use, wrap it in plastic or foil and store it in the refrigerator until Christmas. If you can’t wait that long, you can freeze it. Just remember to label the bags with the date and the contents. You’ll need one freezer bag per portion. Alternatively, you can buy frozen Christmas pudding portion packs and freeze them. Then, reheat them when they’re ready to serve.
The traditional ingredient for this dessert is rum or brandy, but you can also substitute sherry. Use a non-metal bowl or container to store it, as metal can change the flavor of your dessert. Another tradition is to place a lucky coin in the center of the pudding before cooking. This is supposed to bring good luck, but make sure you sterilize the coin first by soaking it in vodka or boiling water. If you’re storing a large batch of pudding, buy a hemmed dishcloth.
If you’re using a glass tin, you’ll want to ensure that it’s completely covered with parchment paper. You’ll want to snap on the lid tightly to keep out air. You can also wrap the bowls in clingfilm two to three layers thick. This helps seal the pudding tightly and prevents the lid from popping off.
Can I Make an Alcohol-Free Christmas Pudding?
Traditional Christmas pudding recipes call for alcohol, but if you’d rather make a sober pudding, you could substitute fruit juice (apple, apricot, peach, grape, or cherry, for instance) or even spiced tea for the alcoholic beverage. But instead of modifying a traditional recipe, look for an alcohol-free Christmas pudding recipe.
Can I Make Mini Puddings?
Of course! Small steamers, china bowls, mugs, soup mugs, ramekins, soufflé dishes, teacups (but not fine bone china), and pretty much anything else that can withstand the heat of boiling water and be covered tightly with foil or a pudding cloth can be used to make individual steamed Christmas puddings. Alternatively, you can make tiny boiled puddings in cloth, but keep in mind that it’s challenging to make really small puddings because the cloth ends up being too much for the pudding.
Don’t expect your mini puddings to look as rich and dark as their larger relatives because an hour of steaming or boiling is the bare minimum cooking time required to darken the ingredients.
What can I Use Instead of a Pudding Steamer?
To steam your pudding, you can use mixing bowls made of stainless steel or china, but make sure they will fit in your boiler. They must also have some sort of lip or rim to keep the pudding’s covering in place, whether it be made of foil or cloth. There are metal steamers available in various sizes with clip-on lids. Although they’re quite good, these don’t seem to start showing up in stores until it’s almost Christmas.
Why did My Pudding go Moldy Last Year?
In the days preceding Christmas, Christmas puddings were customarily hung in cloth to mature. However, rather than during the sweltering Australian summer, these were prepared and consumed during the chilly European winter. We advise wrapping the cooled pudding in plastic wrap and placing it in a freezer bag or other airtight container to prevent the growth of mold.
How do I Reheat a Boiled Christmas Pudding?
If the pudding is frozen, it should defrost in the fridge for three days. Twelve hours before reheating, take it out of the fridge. Wrap the pudding in a dry, unfloured cloth and tie it. Boil, covered, for two hours in a big boiler that is about 75 percent full of boiling water. Before removing the cloth and letting the hot pudding stand for at least 20 minutes, hang it for 10 minutes.
After removing the cloth, let the pudding come to room temperature before wrapping it in plastic wrap and placing it in an airtight container or freezer bag. Boiling Christmas puddings can be frozen for up to a year or kept in the refrigerator for three months.
Can I Reheat a Christmas Pudding in the Microwave?
Yes. Contrary to popular belief, if you reheat your Christmas pudding in the microwave, an angel will not lose its wings. A whole, large pudding can be reheated by placing it in a microwave-safe plastic bag and heating it on MEDIUM (50%) for roughly 15 minutes. A single serving can be heated up in the microwave by wrapping it in plastic wrap made for the device and heating it on HIGH (100%) for 30 to 60 seconds. These times should only be used as a general guide; always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
How to Tell if Pudding is Bad, Rotten, or Spoiled?
It will be possible to avoid foodborne illness by using good cleanliness and food safety practices.
Your senses are typically the most accurate tools to determine whether your packaged pudding has gone bad and expired, despite not being a flawless test. When pockets of watery liquid are visible (indicating that the liquid has separated from the other components) and the sweet flavor has been replaced with a bitter, biting flavor, the prepared pudding should be avoided. If you notice dark mold or brilliant bacterial stains on its surface, it has gone rotten. If the dry pudding mix has been kept dry, has been properly stored, and is still within the use-by date, it is still fine.
Naturally, eating ruined food poses certain health hazards, so always remember to use good food hygiene and consume your food before its expiration date!
Can Christmas Pudding be Made in a Slow Cooker?
You can make your Christmas pudding in a slow cooker if the traditional steaming method seems too difficult. This is a quick, secure, and efficient method of preparing your pudding.
As you normally would, prepare your Christmas pudding according to the recipe, adding your homemade filling to a greased pudding bowl before sealing the top tightly with a pleated piece of baking paper and foil. Fill the bottom of your slow cooker with a few inches of boiling water. Christmas pudding mixture should be placed in the slow cooker, turned to high, and cooked for 8 to 9 hours.
As Juliet notes: “I always find on the big day itself I struggle to offer up a hob ring for my pudding to steam for hours.” Juliet also suggests using this technique to reheat your Christmas pudding. My slow cooker has saved my life ever since I got it because I can heat the pudding in it while it’s off to the side in the utility room.
Reference: Older New Zealand Women Doing the Work of Christmas: A Recipe for Identity Formation
Is Christmas Pudding the Same as Fruit Cake?
Due to the spices used, Christmas pudding and cake (opens in new tab) are very similar and are a staple of the holiday season for many people. The two sweet meals are prepared differently, though, which is the main distinction. Christmas cake is usually decorated with marzipan and/or royal icing and baked in an oven. To make the cake a truly unique centerpiece for your holiday table, we have a ton of fun Christmas cake ideas(opens in a new tab). Our exquisite Christmas present cake is shown in the image above. (new tab opens)
Christmas pudding, on the other hand, is traditionally steamed and only adorned with a sprig of holly. Some people also enjoy using fresh berries and red currants.
Christmas pudding may contain a combination of grated fresh fruit and dried fruit that has been soaked in alcohol or tea, in contrast to Christmas cake, which typically only contains dried fruit. Similar to how Christmas pudding is prepared in advance, Christmas cake can be infused with alcohol. This necessitates delaying the cake’s icing and marzipan finishing, though.
Conclusion
It was first known as frumenty before being renamed pudding in the 14th century in England of the United Kingdom. Other names for it include plum pudding and pud.
All you need to know is that this pudding has tremendous health advantages, so you can enjoy it by yourself or with your family. We hope you can store your Christmas pudding longer than you anticipated using the aforementioned advice.
