LEROYPENNYSAVER&NEWS -DECEMBER 13, 2015
FromDungeonToTower
byLynneBelluscio
I made two Jell-O Plum Pud-
dings for the Candlelight tours
this past weekend and shared
themwith the folkswhowent on
the tours. Jell-OPlumPudding is
very interesting and delicious. I
thinkmanypeopleweresurprised
at how good it tastes, especially
withwhipped cream. Imadeone
with lemon Jell-Oas listed in the
recipe.Theotherone Imadewith
orange Jell-O and I think I liked
it better.
Ihavemade this recipeoften for
Christmasandeach time Imake it
a little different. This year Iwent
to my cupboard and discovered
I had chopped dates, not prunes,
so I used the dates instead. I also
am not a fan of citron so I left
it out. That’s a matter of taste. I
also threw in a fewmore Grape
Nuts. Whenyou read theoriginal
recipe,you’llnote that itmentions
stoned raisins. As I explained to
a few folks, at one time, there
weren’t seedless grapes and so
thereweren’t seedless raisins, and
before you could add raisins to
any recipe, someone had to take
out the seeds. It was a laborious
job, sometimes donewith a fork,
but if you had the money, you
couldbuya raisinseeder. Ihavea
couple inmypersonal collection,
and there are a couple in the col-
lection at LeRoyHouse.
Original plum puddings were
laborious tomake.After thebatter
wasmixedup, itwas poured into
a floured pudding bag or cloth,
tiedwith a string and submerged
into a huge pot of boilingwater.
Ithad tobeboiled formanyhours
to cook completely through. It
often had beef suet in it, and it
wasveryheavy!When itwasfirst
turnedoutonto theplatter, it looks
like a huge white stone, because
theflour used to seal thepudding
cloth, stays white, until the pud-
ding starts to cool, and
then it turns dark brown.
I have never used brandy
on a steamedpudding, but
have seen it set onflameat
a historic site. It’s quite a
presentation!
When Jell-O was intro-
duced, theywanted toshow
thatall theoldVictorianrec-
ipes couldbemade simpler
with Jell-O and the Jell-O
Plum Pudding is a good
example. A small tri-fold
booklet was placed in a
box of Lemon Jell-O with
thedirectionsand this is the
historyof theplumpudding:
Years back in Merrie
England, in the days of
great manor halls and gay
roisteringsquiresandother
jolly things,Christmaswas
avery importantandexcit-
ing affair indeed. Prepa-
rations for the masque,
the dance and the dinner
began weeks beforehand.
The whole castle, from
dungeon to tower, bustled with
activity.Ascoreofmenandboys
went out into the woods and cut
a splendid tree to provide the
Yule Log. It was dragged home
with shouts of glee, and kept in
readiness for the night when it
should be rolled into the wide
hearth and lightedwith a branch
saved from the Yule Log of the
Christmas before.
In the kitchen, too, cooks and
sculleryboyswerebusyfordays in
advance.Christmasdinner in those
dayswasmadeupofmanystrange
dishes.Aboarsheadbakedwithan
apple in hismouth and decorated
with rosemary. Great roasts of
venison and beef, garnishedwith
holly. A peacock pie at one end
ofwhich the plumaged headwith
gilded beak rose above the crust,
while the tail feathers flourished
at theother end.Aproudpie!And
finally theplumpudding, steamed
for twelve hours, and brought in
bursting with fruits and aflame
withburningbrandy!
Plumpudding isaveryolddish.
The earliest recipe known is that
by the Chevalier d’Arvieux in
1655. But the most modern and
delicious recipe is theJell-OPlum
Pudding described in this folder.
After a hearty holiday dinner,
Jell-O Plum Pudding is a most
delightfulandappropriatedessert.
Its rich fruit and nut flavor fulfill
every tradition of the plum pud-
dingof olden times.Because it is
light and digestible, Jell-O Plum
Pudding tempts theappetitewhen
a heavier dish is unwelcome.
Jell-O Plum Pudding is made in
a fewminutes. Give your family
aJell-OPlumPuddingon thenext
holiday. Theywill all love it.
Dissolve a package of Lem-
on Jell-O in a pint of boiling
water and while still hot stir in
three fourths cup of GrapeNuts,
three fourths cup stoned raisins,
three fourths cup English wal-
nuts meats, three fourths cup of
cooked prunes and one fourth
cup citron – all cut fine; also one
half teaspoonful cinnamon; one
fourth teaspoon full cloves. Salt
to taste. Mix and let harden in a
mould. Turn out on a large plate
andgarnishwithholly.Servewith
whippedcreamorpuddingsauce.
