Category: dessertPrice: 93p (a month after Christmas), between $6 and $45 (depending on size) in the US Ingredients: sultanas, demerara sugar, cider, breadcrumbs, hydrogenated vegetable oil, currants, brandy, glace cherries, raisins, single cream, candied citrus peel, sherry, wheat flour, almonds, water, orange juice concentrate, rum, walnuts, molasses, ground bitter almonds, salt, mixed spice, orange oil Christmas pudding is the dark greasy-looking pudding that is usually served for Christmas dessert in all British households. My husband and I had cheesecake, but then I found this Christmas pudding in the grocery store on the extreme discount table, since Christmas was a month ago. But the expiration date was March of 2007, so it's definately still good. The traditional recipes call for large amounts of dried fruit and suet. But the modern ones use vegetable shortening instead. And it is microwavable. 
The first thought I had when I opened the microwave was, "booze and dried fruit". It was a very strong boozy smell, with undertones of dried fruit. Before I started eating it, I described the look of it as, "Like greasy poo." It is dark brown and not too appetizing to American eyes.It didn't taste as boozy as it smelled. The flavor was dominated by sultanas (which to me, taste like raisins). It was extremely sweet, but the usual way of serving Christmas pudding is with whipped cream or custard, which would have cut the sweetness quite a bit. I don't generally like the raisin-dominated British desserts, but this one wasn't too bad. It was moist and flavorful. Underneath the strong raisin flavor, I could still taste citrus undertones, and the almonds were a nice addition. I wouldn't want to eat this often because I still don't think of raisins as a proper dessert. But I might buy one for Christmas next year. Once a year would be okay. If you want to try Christmas pudding, they sell some good ones at English Tea Store. They also have other British Christmas stuff like mince pies and Christmas Crackers.
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Alana Muir © 2006