Jolly good old Christmas spirit

 A strong image of the beginning of the holiday season – marked by rain, fallen flowers and lots of mushanjes. If its December – its time to prepare for Christmas.
Part of that for me is making Christmas pudding. Steamed puddings are not part of my cultural heritage but it’s a tradition I have happily absorbed. I started to make Christmas puddings a few years ago – when, out of necessity, shortages gave birth to much innovation. Previously I had happily bought puddings prepacked in plastic bowls – locally produced in the ‘good old days’, and later on South African imports. All these needed was the judicious placement of silver coins (remember those!?) for New Year good luck, and to steam for an hour on Christmas day, being careful to keep enough water in the steamer so as not to melt the plastic. It did happen on one distracted occasion. Disaster!
Rich fruit puddings come from a winter celebration, and are packed with fat (traditionally beef suet) and carbohydrates (flour, breadcrumbs, lots of sugar) and dried fruit and spices for warmth and celebration. Not the same need for that kind of sustenance in our summer but it is one of the ultimate celebration foods and there would be a total outcry in our family without it.
According to Wikipedia ‘The plum pudding’s association with Christmas goes back to medieval England with the Roman Catholic Church’s decree that the “pudding should be made on the 25th Sunday after Trinity, that it be prepared       with 13 ingredients to represent Christ and the 12 apostles, and that every family member stir it in turn from east to west to honour the Magi and their supposed journey in that direction”.
Putting silver coins in the pudding was an indication of good luck and wealth for the person who found it. There are similar European traditions featuring hidden good luck charms in cakes and it is charming to bring this blessing of abundance to family and friends in this season.
So this weekend I made the pudding – and I am now confident enough to vary the ingredients. I leave out the suet for example and substitute what fruit I have.
I started the night before by soaking half a kilo of dried fruit – in this case figs and dates in some left over orange liqueur – but brandy or rum is more authentic, and tea works for non alcohol users. Next morning boiled that up with butter and mixed it into the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, ground almonds, spices and breadcrumbs.  Added eggs and baking powder, moulded it into a glass bowl and steamed it for four hours in my biggest pot. Not so complicated.
Wrapped in tin foil, it can rest in my cupboard till Christmas day when it will need another hour’s steaming. A concession to the heat will be to serve it with ice cream instead of rich brandy butter.
In an ongoing spirit of innovation I also tried making jam from a local shrub dripping with kei apples on my boundary fence. Spiky dovyalis caffra was planted as a thorny barrier but every couple of years it explodes with tart yellow fruit – much of which ferments in the drainage ditch. Not this year! Now golden jam sits in the store cupboard alongside the maturing pudding – feels secure and satisfying.
Abundant fruit and sticky sweetness is the taste of celebration, a reminder of childhood holidays and time to wind down the year and get ready for Christmas.
– g.jeke@yahoo.com