Christmas present and future

摘要

By the time you read this, I will have completed my biennial Christinas pudding session. All the chopping and stirring and steaming will be done, and sitting on the shelf in the porch will be two pudding basins filled with peacefully maturing figgy pudding. This is a ritual I go through every two years; no need for more as my "recipe makes two fine puddings, each enough for one Christmas lunch. The first will be demolished this December, having had a fair few months to ripen, but next winter we shallsettle down to the finest pudding of all, the one that has had a full year and a bit to reach absolute perfection. My recipe is not so dissimilar to any other, but, though I say it myself, it is one of the best. Maybe it's the inclusion of a handful ofdried figs, or perhaps just the balance of ingredients, or the use of breadcrumbs and apple that does it. Who knows? But, like any recipe, the pudding that emerges will only be as good as the ingredients it is made of. Choose your dried fruit carefully - pick out glorious Muscat raisins, and lovely candied peel in whole pieces. Buy fresh packets of ground spices for the occasion to ensure maximum scent, and blanch the almonds yourself.