Reheat Christmas Puddings | Blue Flame Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Reheat Christmas Puddings | Blue Flame Kitchen? ›

Reheating Christmas Puddings

Reheating your pudding

To reheat your pudding, remove all wrapping, and then use one of the following methods: Wrap in foil and reheat in the oven for one hour or until hot at 150°C. Wrap tightly in foil, place on a trivet in a saucepan over simmering water and steam gently for 45 minutes to one hour or until hot.

The flaming brandy is said to represent the passion of Christ. Christmas puddings were traditionally boiled in a “pudding cloth”, although today are usually steamed in a bowl. Presented on the table with a sprig of holly, they are then doused in brandy and set alight.

Steaming is definitely the best. Microwaved puddings are frequently ruined. They tend to overheat and get tough & sticky. Steaming lightens the pudding and after taking so much care to make your own pudding it's such a shame to not steam it.

It is possible to reheat individual slices of pudding in a microwave, either leftovers or on the pudding's first outing. This would be particularly useful if you have a small number of people and a large pudding.

When the pudding is steamed, cut the string around the bowl. Gently ease away the paper and foil. Before storing the pudding ready for re-steaming, recover with a fresh sheet of foil and paper as before. Tie a handle around it for ease of removing.

Douse the pudding

Pour the lit brandy over the top of your Christmas pudding – the flames will transfer and – voilà! – a spectacularly festive flaming pud.

The pudding should be stirred from east to west, in honour of the Magi (Wise Men) who came from the east to visit the baby Jesus. It's also a good excuse to enjoy a wee dram or a cup of festive mulled wine! On Christmas Day the pudding has its own ritual.

Most Christmas puddings are made with suet (shredded beef fat) and this tends to take longer to melt than butter, so the pudding needs a long cooking time to make sure that the fat has melted and combined properly with the other ingredients.

By the mid-1600s, plum pudding was sufficiently associated with Christmas that when Oliver Cromwell came to power in 1647 he had it banned, along with Yule logs, carol-singing and nativity scenes. To Cromwell and his Puritan associates, such merry-making smacked of Druidic paganism and Roman Catholic idolatry.

What is the superstition about Christmas pudding? ›

Superstitions say that Christmas pudding must be prepared with 13 ingredients, which are said to represent Jesus and his twelve disciples. It is also said that the mixture should be stirred in turn from east to west, by each family member, to honour the disciples' journey.

The traditional Christmas pudding is therefore by no means a low fat product. Further, the 14% fat from the suet is pure saturated fat, which has been recognized as a contributor to the suffering of high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. The traditional recipe provided also contains a high sugar content.

Reheating Christmas Puddings

Wrap in foil and reheat at 300ºF (150ºC) for an hour or until hot. To reheat on the stovetop, remove wrappings and place the pudding in the original mould. Cover tightly. Set pudding mould on a trivet in a large saucepan and steam 3/4 - 1 hour or until hot.

The pudding basin itself should be tightly covered. The pan or steamer attachment should be covered with a lid as this creates the steamy enviroment in which the pudding cooks, as well as trying to limit the evaporation of water from the pan and the condensation that will build up in the kitchen.

The short answer is absolutely!

Some Christmas puddings, made with dried fruit in the traditional way, are fine to be eaten as much as two years after they were made.

To reheat, pre heat the cooker on high for 20 mins and heat for about 6 hours on low or 4 hours on high, pouring boiling water to come up about halfway up the side of the pudding bowl. To be honest, it won't hurt if it's on a little longer than this, the pudding won't burn.

Tie the foil onto the basin with string; wrap it twice to keep it tight. Use the remaining string to create a handle over the top of the pudding. Trim off the excess foil and parchment then tuck it underneath to create a watertight seal.

To do this, microwave the pudding on full for 4 minutes, stand for 3 minutes, microwave on low for 7 minutes and then stand for 5 minutes before unmoulding and serving the pudding. If the pudding is wrapped, remove any foil and pierce a small steam hole in the clingfilm (plastic wrap).