Christmas Pudding Disaster

Being a somewhat old-fashioned type of person I enjoy making a Christmas pudding in the traditional way, by boiling it in a cloth.

I am not such a traditionalist that I use lard instead of butter, and I do leave out the candied peel, which I dislike…but ‘my’ Christmas puddings are usually tasty and well received  by family members.

Last year Christmas was spent away from family, so there was no need for me to make a pudding.

This year we’ll be together and it’s my ‘job’ to make it.

A couple of weeks ago, I shopped for all the dried fruit, spices and other ingredients and made a lovely pudding.

After being boiled for four hours, it was later strung up in the shower recess of the spare bathroom -  as we no longer have a pantry in which to hang it.

Keeping in mind that we have moved from the cooler climes of Victoria (Australia) to the sub-tropics of Queensland (Australia) -  the summer climate is somewhat different – and arrives earlier.

Anyhow, the bathroom smelled lovely, with the wafting smells of fruity spices permeating the air as we passed by.

Every day or so I ‘painted’ the pudding with brandy and all was well.

Then we had a spell of extremely hot and humid days.

One day I went to anoint my hanging pudding with brandy and found to my dismay that mould had begun to grow on the cloth.

Hoping against hope that the mould was only on the outside of the cloth I hastily took down the pudding, and unwrapped it (a difficult task when it's not freshly boiled).

Alas! There, on the pudding itself, was the most colourful, furry and rapidly spreading mould I have ever seen.

(What a shame I was so quick to banish it to the compost bin and neglected to take a photograph – it was spectacular!)

 

Suffice to say, after searching the Internet and discovering that it’s best to wrap a pudding and place it in the crisper part of the fridge if you live in tropical climes, I was up early on the next hot morning and made another Christmas pudding.

After boiling it, I left it to dry and then (as instructed) wrapped it in a tea-towel and placed it in the fridge.

And there it stays.

It has left its hiding place only to have a small amount of brandy applied and to have its picture taken. (see above).

The only thing I need to add to this story is the fact that after discovering the mouldy pudding and yet still having the anointing brandy at the ready, not to add to the waste, I hastily consumed the brandy.