Mon 24 Dec 2007
Fruitcakes and Christmas Pudding
Monday, Dec 24th, 2007 at 11:55 amCategories: Food; Christmas
Posted by Administrator
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A brief history of a much-maligned dish:
Pudding is an ancient British food, originating way back in the medieval period as plum pottage. It joined with mince pies to warm the heart and stomach in manorial halls flecked with candlelight in which diners sat in hierarchical order stretching away from the high table. The taste for sweet dried fruits mixed with meat and wine and exuding the heady waft of spices began with the Norman invasion of Britain; it was part of a flourishing in the culinary arts across Europe that marked a sophistication in the kitchen unseen since the Romans.
Because fruits were considered dangerous raw, they were almost always cooked and strained into pulps. Dried fruits, especially currants, came back with the spices discovered by Crusaders in the East and were soon mixed with meat in pottages and pies. For feasts and celebrations, cooks stewed beef with imported dried plums and broth, wine, onions, herbs and spices.
As with every aspect of medieval life, religion soon reshaped what was on the table: for the many fasts and Lent, the British developed meatless versions of pudding, including “figgey,” made with figs and bread boiled in wine, raisins and pine nuts and highly spiced.
- Kate Colquhoun @ New York Times: link.
Wikipedia: fruitcake.
