If there’s Figgy pudding, it must be Christmas!
Just ask Tiny Tim, the endearing child in Charles Dickens’ 1843 Christmas Classic, A Christmas Carol. Or consider the carolers as they sing for piggy pudding in a favorite yuletide song, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”.
Figgy pudding goes way back in English and American history.
In the land of England, as early as the 14th and 15th century, the concoction of chopped figs, raisins, almonds, ginger, bread crumbs, and wine, along with a pomegranate topping, was simply a dessert.
However, in mid-17th century England figgy pudding intertwined itself with Christmas, embraced a whole new era, and acquired another name, Christmas Pudding.
The dessert likely did some travelling also in the 1600’s. It is not far-fetched to think that figgy pudding—its recipes that is—set sail on the Mayflower tucked in the minds of the settlers. Thereafter, with the passing of decades, and the arrival of more English migrants, the tradition of figgy pudding at Christmas likely blossomed this side of the pond.
This is great news for writers. For stories set in post-13th century England and early American periods, and onward into the 21st century, figgy pudding can trickle across the pages of a Christmas story. Adding homey details to the setting, enhancing the plot, or revealing personality in characters can bring another layer of depth to a story.
A flaming figgy pudding might be the cook’s claim to fame in the decked halls of a 17th century English manor, or in a contemporary New York high-rise following a skating party in Central Park.
Quiet celebrations might be found in rustic villages where fruits and nuts might have been foraged from the woods. Or a resourceful youngster from the poor side of town might scavenge the ingredients for the family’s Christmas pudding.
Figgy pudding can also show the dilemma of the “haves and have nots”. The ingredients are affordable for the rich. The poor might spend the year putting aside coins for the purchases.
A writer might also explore the aspect of making the pudding. Surprisingly, figgy pudding isn’t really pudding. Not in the 14th century and not now. In its early life the thickness was more soup-like. The fixings were boiled in a bag, sometimes twice. In recent decades, the pudding might be described as more cake-like, being poured into molds or bundt pans and slow-baked in an oven.
The fixings themselves can be introduced in the story, whether in a kitchen scene or on a shopping excursion. Figgy pudding has maintained many of the same elements over the centuries. In its early years, chopped figs were popular. By the 17th century, raisins and currants became the fruits of choice, along with suet. Contemporary recipes reveal a return to figs.
Ginger was the spice of choice in early versions of figgy pudding. With the passing of time, nutmeg, cloves and allspice became popular, along with candied orange peel or brown sugar instead of honey.
The use of alcohol has remained consistent—wine or brandy, or none.
Whew! What a big pot of figgy pudding trivia. And if that’s enough to brainstorm, key word searches for Oliver Cromwell, King George I (the “pudding king”), “Stir-up Sunday”, or coins in the figgy pudding, should whip up more fun and intrigue to add to the mix.
Because if it’s Christmas, there’s figgy pudding.
Jeannine Brummett lives in South Carolina with her husband of nineteen years, Don, who shares his three adult sons and three grandchildren with her. Reading is big on her list of things to do, but she also thrives on TV crime dramas, NBA basketball, and marvels at the critters and fowl life that live at the pond behind their house. She loves to sing praise songs, attend Bible Study, and help at a local food pantry.
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