Jon flexing on us with not just one but TWO pineapples

Can we all take a moment to appreciate that Jon's whisk is a bundle of twigs tied together?

My late grandmother would make one of these for the entire family every Christmas here in Australia, it was huge. In her recipe the pudding was cooked for nearly a full day if I remember, in early November then hung still in it's clothe in a cool dark place until Christmas Day when it would get a quick 1 hour or so reboil. It was so rich with brandy and fruit and so dense that it was a meal in itself. Doused in fresh home made custard with more brandy drizzled over the cake, divine.

Love this Jon. Consider soaking the raisins in the brandy. I lived with a lady who was born at the end of the 1800s who taught me how to cook. She also ran at a bakery in a hotel. She always told me to either soak the dried raisins in liquor or in water with baking soda.

A beautiful cannonball! You are a master of the pudding, sir.

We still eat it in Ireland. We had my mums last one for Christmas dinner, two months after she passed. It was a wonderful addition never again to be repeated.

One of the earliest scientific models of the atom was the “plum pudding model,” where the electrons were flecked throughout the atom like raisons in the plum pudding.

My grandmother made plum pudding when I was a child. I HATED it. Then I became an adult and made it on a whim. I LOVED it. If done correctly, with hard sauce (powdered sugar, butter and rum), it tastes fantastic. All those lost years. Lol

Here in the UK these were and still are made three to six months prior to Christmas and stored in a cool place wrapped in cloth so that they mature and the flavours deepen. Many people would baste the pudding weekly with brandy or rum to keep it moist and to add to the intensity of flavour when finally boiled or steamed again on Christmas Day.

Not one, but _two_ pineapples!? Flaunting the wealth!

Still the most common dessert on British Christmas tables, although usually now called Christmas pudding. that brandy punch really reminds one it is Christmas

How can I possibly thank the YT algorithm enough for pointing me here? What a wonderful channel! I'm a bit of an early American history geek, as well as an avid cook, so this couldn't be more up my alley!

Mrs. Crocombe would approve.

I just realized, this guy looks like the friendly version of Gordon Ramsay.

My family has made Plum Pudding since I was a child, but I've never met anyone else who has ever had one. It's made in a special metal canister and baked in the oven. I have inherited the canister, but haven't made my own yet. This year I will.

In Scotland we call this pudding “Clootie Dumpling”. It is, or was, served as an alternative to, or in addition to, Birthday Cake at parties, with small coins or charms. The left overs are spectacularly good fried and served as part of the traditional Scottish Fried Breakfast. Yes. Even though it is, nowadays, thought of as a dessert, it works really well with eggs, bacon, sausage… now where did I put my cloot? (BTW “Cloot” is the Lowland Scots word for “Cloth”.) thank you for demystifying the Plum Pudding, but I still prefer to think of it as a clootie dumpling!

It’s been over 200 years since my family has moved to Canada from the UK and we still make it every Christmas. Just gave my kids the recipe yesterday along with other family recipes.

I now understand the context for "boiled in his own pudding and buried with a stick of holly in his heart"

I still make the pudding every year in a cloth (I use calico) I do boil mine for 5 hours about 2 months before Christmas ( first I soak the dried fruit in Brandy at least a week before combining all other ingredients. Once boiled for 5 hours it is hung up until Christmas Day, which is boiled an extra 1 hour. Served with brandy sauce, custard and an assortment of creams. Takes ages but well worth the time. It’s now become a family tradition and I love doing it.

As a student of physics, you inevitably learn about the plum pudding model of the atom. J.J. Thompson proposed this model in 1904, and used to it explain the structure of the atom as a positively charged pudding with negatively charged electrons dispersed throughout. Its nice to finally know what the heck an actual plum pudding is!

He said “a finely woven cloth” and I was like “oh so like cheese cloth.” “NOT CHEESE CLOTH”

Even the poorest of the poor. This speaks to the importance of food and food culture. Our rituals mean so much to us.

Made this on Christmas Day and it was DELICIOUS! My parents, who have disdained the very idea of plum pudding all their lives, asked for seconds and are still having it for dessert three nights later! My only modifications were to add 5 Tbsps brown sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. I found the batter a little bitter before adding the sugar, and the salt kicked everything up a notch! I felt just like Mrs. Cratchit! Thank you, John, and Merry Christmas to all!

With half the ingredients, it only takes about 50 minutes in a pressure cooker. The suet can be substituted with diced, frozen butter, if you have to.

"Hello, welcome to Krogers, how can I help you" "Yes, can you please point me to the Suet and Currant aisles please?"

"so we don't NEED a whole half a nutmeg..... but.... Could you go wrong?" I think we all know how much nutmeg went into this pudding.

Plum pudding. That's been a German delicacy in our family every Christmas for ages and still is. My mom has amazing recipes even handed down from great grandparents from back in the day.

I watched this Christmas 2020, and resolved I would make it Christmas 2021. I’m happy to report that I had the opportunity to make it today and it was terrific! I made a small change and added dried cranberries instead of currents for some extra festive kick. Thanks for everything you do to open the door to these old recipes and the history behind them! Merry Christmas!!

Don’t have five hours? -Use ye olde insta-pot.

"By plums they mean currants, and by currants they mean tiny raisins..."

From A Christmas Carol "If I could work my will, every idiot who goes around with Merry Christmas on his lips, should be boiled in his own pudding, and buried with a stake of Holly through his heart." Ebenezer Scrooge. My favorite Christmas story about a true change of heart. This was a great video by the way. Some of the diet during the Victorian times was so interesting. I think they often cooked a goose too, instead of a Turkey.

Still VERY common here in Australia. You can buy them in every supermarket, and certain charities sell them as fundraisers. We also are very much into Christmas cakes which are similar, but baked several months in advance, and allowed to ‘mature’, and often iced with a marzipan icing. I buy them cheap after Christmas, and inject brandy through their plastic wrapping, taping over the holes, then store them to give the following Christmas. Very tasty.

The only pudding you intentionally set on fire

Pretty much the recipe my family has used for a few generations. I took over making the pudding after my Grandmother died in the 1980's, and it got to the stage where I could eyeball the ingredients. My Grandmother taught me well.

Thank you sincerely, for sharing this! I have never actually seen plum pudding, only heard of it in Christmas songs, and I loved the process of watching you create it! I appreciate the history, and your comments are educational, as well. Stay well!

Very interesting! I never knew what Plumb Pudding was. Incidentally A Christmas Carol is my favorite story. Merry Christmas to everyone at James Townsend and God bless us, everyone!

1:58 - "I picked out the one from the London Art of Cookery by Farley because it's the simplest and it's got some good instructions*" * and also because it has nutmeg

It sounds as though the plum pudding was as important to Christmas as the pumpkin pie is to thanksgiving. To celebrate without it would be unthinkable.

Prolly been said a billion times before and if so, my apologies. A trick for the suet: freeze it hard, then you can chip it off and chop it and get the consistency you want/need. My family's recipe uses molasses and the pudding ends up darker but yeah: very special desert and one for everyone. TOTALLY worth the effort. Cheers and a wonderful season to all.

I still make one every year off my grannys recipe. Either a bowl pudding or a cloutie pudding.( Steamed in a cloth). I prefer the bowl as it has been in use for almost 100 years.

This is incredibly popular still in Ireland, my mom makes around a dozen each year and it is by far my favourite part of Christmas. Her recipe has been passed down for generations and has lots of whiskey and stout in it, Delicious!

I have strong reason to believe that this is where fruitcakes come from

I used to make this often about 50 to 60 years ago. I made it in a double boiler steaming it. You made my mouth water watching this. I made a lemon, butter, brown sugar, water and cornstarch sauce to pour over. This was great on Christmas cake as well.

Now I understand why I've heard the analogy of old fashion models of atomic nuclei being 'raisins in plum pudding', and thinking - wth are raisins doing in plum pudding? Makes more sense now.

I have made the Scottish analog of this, a Clootie Dumpling. The cloth was dusted with flour after being dunked in the boiling water to begin making a skin, and then the dumpling was slightly dried on a hearth (or in an oven for the modern world) to firm up the skin. It is a truly delicious treat. If you eat the pudding a day later, try slicing it thin and frying it with butter to make crispy edges, then serve with sweet cream.

“This seems like a lot, doesn’t it? Yep, we’re going to put ‘em all in there-boop!” 😆

It's interesting to compare this recipe to the Christmas pudding on the English Heritage channel. They use no milk. The dry ingredients include breadcrumbs, not just flour. They use whole eggs, not the combo of yolks & whites. They add a fresh apple diced.

My mom used to put sixpences and/or threpenny bits in ours, that was the only way we could be coaxed into having any other than plenty of the rum sauce to go with it.

Interestingly, the name 'currants' for small, black raisins has a medieval origin - in 14th-century cookbooks they are described as 'raysyns of courance' or 'courrantes', which meant 'from Corinth' - a city in Greece from which they were imported. Later the word turned into 'currants'.

In many parts of Canada it is still a thing. I wouldn't have Christmas without it. We have always made two and put one aside for my grandfather's birthday in Feb.

Really enjoying the music, the topic, and learning about Charles Dickens, my favorite author. Thank you for doing this wonderful Christmas segment

Love how your Plum Pudding has two holly leaves in its head, just like the one in 'Through the Looking Glass'

My grandmother from Scotland, on a visit, made this for us when I was a little, I remember her making it and it being absolutely delicious with just butter. I also remembered the suet as she stressed how important that ingredient was. Funny because that's been over 40 years ago and I've always wanted to make it but never remembered what she called it. Now I know, thanks.

Look at John there flexing his wealth with his 2 pineapples

Thank you so much for your channel . In this sick and twisted world it’s great to have excellent shows like yours. God bless and merry Christmas!

This is what is known in Scotland as a 'Clootie Dumpling'. 'Clootie' is Scots for the cloth which holds and moulds this while its being cooked. My mother used to make this when I was growing up in Glasgow. My wife has made it to my mother's recipe a couple of times but not recently. To be fair I might find it a little on the rich side nowadays, but back then? Delicious and so filling!

When I was a kid we'd always have flaming plum pudding for the start of Christmas dessert. My great grandfather would always light it and everyone would cheer and clap cuz reasons. Good memories.

Woah, just one minute - "used to be popular" - we STILL eat this at Christmas in England all the time. Come to London and you will find stacks of these for sale. It's traditional and its time the colonies had them reintroduced. Hard.

Merry Christmas! What a beautiful presentation & tribute to the history of this pudding. Thank you. 🎄🌟🎄

We call it Christmas pudding now. It is my favourite Christmas food. It is common to fry the leftovers the next day. Serve with cream or brandy butter.

My (Irish) grandma would make puddings in early January. With the addition of booze & brown sugar, they were perfectly fine once stored & tasted great months later. In fact, we ate her last one nearly 2 years after her death!

Missed a few steps that my grandmother did, she was born in the late 1800’s we still to this day make them her way every year, died fruits are soaked in brandy for a week, less flour is used and fresh breadcrumbs are added. Lots more glacé cherries are used red green and yellow. Treacle and bicarb soda are used to give the pudding lightness and a richer taste. Pudding calico is boiled for a couple of minutes and placed on a clean tea towel and rung out it is then covered in flour and the flour is rubbed vigorously into the cloth and the excess shaken off. The cloth is then place over a bowl and the mix added to give it the shape. After boiling for 2. hours it is then hung in a cool and dark place to dry a bit and then store in a fridge or freeze for the next special occasion. If you hang the pudding to dry with as much cloth as he used, you will find that mold will grow and the pudding will spoil.

"Is the pudding singing in the copper Peter?"

Merry Christmas, I'm glad this came up again. You have great a tough year but remember there is always Christmas pudding and the people you love and who love you. I'm going to make this and surprise my family this year with a traditional Christmas pudding.

Queen Victoria sent a plum pudding to each of her relatives across Europe every Christmas.

"WAS popular"??? "WAS a christmas desert"??? We still have this in England at christmas!

I absolutely love your cooking videos; watching them is like time travel for me. We have all of the supplies to make your flip (we also love your store!); and although I don't like raisins cooked in dishes, I will definitely try your plum pudding, as well--it looks marvelous. Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful techniques. Wishing you and your family a very happy holiday season.

You are new to me and I love all the research. I really think it's valuable to understand the accurate history.

I'm surprised Christmas pudding is seen as so old-fashioned in the US. Here in England my family eat it every Christmas, usually with brandy butter. The one you made looks like a St. Stephen's pudding which is a slightly less rich variant than the standard one. After that we have Christmas cake and then wish we hadn't had two puddings in a row.

Merry Christmas to the Townsends and everyone who reads this

We still have it here in Newfoundland Canada. My mom serves it with some hard brandy icing

Wowzerz, I just came across your channel and I have to tell you...it's beautiful! I absolutely love how well you explain everything, share info in the beginning, and your kitchen is fantastic! Tyfs this with us!

The pineapple made its way to England in the 17th century and by the 18th century, being seen with one was an instant indicator of wealth - a single pineapple could cost the equivalent of $8,000 today.

My grandfather used to make these and hang them in an shed beside his grapevines during winter. Every so often he’d sprinkle them with brandy. We kids were never allowed to have any but we’d always manage to get our hands on some of the bourbon balls he’d make.

Love to watch Jon in the kitchen! Plum pudding sounds wonderful, and I love the historical notes that Jon brings to it. Thank you for sharing with us!

I currently have mine boiling. High hopes it turns out! I was able to get Suet from a local butcher shop. They looked at me weirdly when I came in until I explained what it was for. They seemed genuinely intrigued afterward, haha 😂 Merry Christmas! Edit- the pudding was marvelous!!! Will definitely be making this a yearly tradition!

My grandma used to make plum pudding for Thanksgiving and Christmas, she passed in 1995, miss her and her pudding's, Love you granny!

A hungry turtle approved this beautiful video.

We have boiled pudding every year! So good. My mother used to wrap them and boil them until one day she decided she couldn’t be bothered and decided to just steam it. Works well and still tastes great except that you lose that skin that develops from the flour and fabric.

I saw the soul of the pudding leave after it was unwrapped.

"A pound of raisins, stoned" So the California raisins?! xD

Thank you for sharing with us I’ve never seen it made so this is my first time and it looks like it’s wonderful I appreciate it thank you very much and a merry Christmas

I made this today for Christmas!! What a different dessert! The whole family had a great time waiting for it to boil and lighting the brandy at the end! Thank you.

When I was a young boy, Christmas dinner was always followed by carrot pudding. A cup each of grated potato and carrots, a cup each of raisins, currents and flower. Some baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, milk and vanillia. And a single egg. This year I'll be making it in a pudding bowl. The bowl is a ceramic bowl that is placed inside a pot of boiling water.

Nutmeg is like Lebowski's rug, man. It ties the whole recipe together...

Thanks so much for not only making this but sharing the history of it. it looks wonderous !!

looks great, something special for Christmas, thank you, have blessed holiday days.

That’s suet pudding to my family. We’ve had it every Christmas since before I was born. It’s the best thing EVER!

I'm a frenchie living at the North of France, it's been decades that each years my mother cooks it, and I just love it.

Finally Someone Let Us Know What The Heck This Dessert Is All About Thanks Man 👍🏾 Happy Holidays Everyone.🎉🎁

Sounds amazing. Thanks for the video!

Thank you, Mother use to make this every year when we were young, and made a hard sauce, the house smelled wonderful when it was done. Merry Xmas to Y'all

Is this the famous “figgy pudding” from that one Christmas song?

This was so fascinating and interesting. Thank you for the historical timeline and context!

UK emigrants to Switzerland here: We still eat these at Christmas.

Here in the UK even today - Christmas is just not Christmas without the pud.

Amazing content! I really appreciate your videos

I truly enjoyed watching this episode

Something about this guy is just endearing and adorable. Maybe I have a thing about guys that can cook. He's just cute to me, then when he put the currants in he said "boop" and I was in love. I know his outfit is probably supposed to be some kind of serious cooking uniform, but it just looks like he is some kind of adorable cooking elf, making plum pudding at the holiday season. So cute.

Watching this show demonstrates how hard people worked, so we can never not be grateful after watching. Wow plum pudding, this is exciting!