Christmas in England. Christmas food and recipes.

Christmas in England

Roofs covered with snow, red-breasted robins on thickly frosted branches and

fluffy cats leaving deep footprints on their solitary walks through deep

snow ... popular Christmas cards conjure up an image that most of us have

never seen!

But Christmas in England can be a magical experience, full of traditions and fun

and delicious food. Maybe it's time you visited us and found out for yourself.

History and TraditionsHistory and Traditions

Christmas has been celebrated in England forChristmas has been celebrated in England for

over a thousand years. But what makesover a thousand years. But what makes

Christmas wonderful traditions:Christmas wonderful traditions:

counting down to the big day by using adventcounting down to the big day by using advent

calendars, calendars,

sending Christmas cardsending Christmas card

listening to Christmas musiclistening to Christmas music

Beautifully decorated trees are a symbol ofBeautifully decorated trees are a symbol of

Christmas in England. lights in the streets andChristmas in England. lights in the streets and

at home brighten everything more than in anyat home brighten everything more than in any

other time of year.other time of year.

Christmas stockings are such a traditionalChristmas stockings are such a traditional

part of an English Christmas. They come in allpart of an English Christmas. They come in all

shapes and sizes, from luxury, whimsicalshapes and sizes, from luxury, whimsical

stockings that are a gift in themselves, tostockings that are a gift in themselves, to

gorgeously decorated felt Christmas stockingsgorgeously decorated felt Christmas stockings

that the children will love, to all manner ofthat the children will love, to all manner of

handmade Christmas stockings.handmade Christmas stockings.

Christmas FoodCelebrations, crowds and food have always gone together. And

there are few celebrations that draw on traditional food as much

as Christmas.

We have traditional Christmas foods for

every part of the Christmas celebrations.

Mince Pies, a sweet pastry crust filled

with mincemeat are offered at tea time,

carol concerts and Christmas parties all

the way through the Christmas season.

Dainty canapes and the best of English

cheeses are served at Christmas parties

and family gatherings alike.

While Christmas cake and the world-famous Christmas pudding -

flamed with cognac and served with cream and brandy butter -

usually round off the festivities - supported by more mince pies and

maybe a traditional sherry trifle, syllabub or chocolate.

Many of the traditional

Christmas foods, such as

mincemeat, Christmas cake and

Christmas Pudding are better

for being made weeks in

advance and being left to

mature.

Fragrant with Christmas

spices, studded with dried and

candied fruit, and laced with

alcohol ... these are truly

festive foods that would have

done a Medieval king's table

proud.

For most families, recipes for Christmas dinner include roast

turkey with all the trimmings - that's sprouts, roast

potatoes, carrots, chipolata sausages wrapped in bacon,

chestnuts, and bread sauce and cranberry sauce. This is

followed by either Christmas pudding or a Christmas trifle

and later tea, coffee and mince pies.

On Boxing Day, a baked ham could take centre stage, served cold

with salads and pickles and Cumberland sauce. There could also be

smoked salmon, or a large pie.

But away from the very traditional, there are many variations. Noteveryone likes turkey. Goose and duck - very popular in the Middle

Ages - are still the preferred choice in many families, as is fish.

And the many Vegetarians in England are developing their own

traditional dinners.

And all around the house there will be nibbles, and mince pies, and

sweets and nuts and - of course - chocolate! Christmas would not be

Christmas without chocolate.

And as for drinks... mulled wine and mulled cider go extremely well

with mince pies and keep out the cold, while a claret cup would make

a very good starter to the Christmas festivities.

Cadbury Chocolate Christmas Gifts

Cadbury chocolate is a firm favourite in English homes and many visitors to our country love it,

too! You give Cadbury's Roses to say thank you, or bring a tin of Quality Street to cheer up a

party. And Christmas in England certainly wouldn't be complete without Cadbury Chocolate.

There'll be tins of it dotted around the office during the run-up to Christmas. There will be

boxes of it under the Christmas tree. It's all about generosity and indulgence ... and there

are a couple of very old-fashioned sweets and games that will take some of us back a few

Christmas Pudding

The Traditional Grand Finale

Christmas puddings as we now serve them are another 'tradition' invented by the

Victorians. In medieval England puddings were popular and eaten all year round and not

just at Christmas time.

Made with suet, dried fruit and sugar, a

traditional Christmas pudding keeps extremely well

and can be made several weeks or even months in

advance of Christmas.

Michael Barry's Cookery recipes are

considered the best ones in the world. They are

rather easy and with them cooking becomes a real

pleasure.

Michael Barry's traditional Christmas pudding

recipe is apparently the one that's been used by

the Royal Family since the beginning of the 18th

century. It's very rich, but keeps very well.

The other recipe is the one for a No-fat

Christmas pudding. It's much lighter and also

Vegetarian, but - because of that lightness -

doesn't keep.

Traditional Christmas Pudding

This one is so rich, it should definitely remind you of Christmas past, but it keeps up to a year in acool place, so if you make too much, you can be sure your puddings won't spoil.

The recipe makes enough for 1.5kg of pudding. It will fill two medium-sized (16in) pudding basins,

or a large (20in) one.

•175g (6oz) shredded suet

•175g (6oz) soft brown or demerara sugar

•175g (6oz) seedless raisins

•175g (6oz) stoned prunes

•175g (6oz) self-raising flour

•100g (4oz) chopped mixed peel

•1/2 tsp salt

•1 tsp mixed spice

•1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

•4 large eggs

•150ml (5 fl oz) milk

Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Beat the eggs and the milk until frothy then stir into the dried ingredients until thoroughly mixed.

Allow to stand in a cool place (not the fridge) for 12 hours.

Put mixture into pudding basins and cover with a layer of folded greaseproof paper. Tie with string.

Cook, covered in a water bath, for 3 hours. Keep 4-5cm (1-2in) simmering water in the pan at all

times. If using a pressure cooker, cook for 1 1/4 hours.

Allow to cool and store in a cool, dark place.

Before serving, steam for an hour in a saucepan (or for 30mins in a pressure cooker).

Flame with brandy and serve with all the usual asides.

No-fat Christmas Pudding

As mentioned above, this pudding is much lighter and completely fat-free. It's also vegetarian, so

make this one if you have non-meateaters coming round.

This pudding will not keep for very long. So don't make it more than 2-3 weeks before Christmas.

To serve four:

•2 medium-sized apples

•2 bananas

•50g (2oz) walnuts

•50g (2oz) almonds

•50g (2oz) hazelnuts

•4 eggs

•150ml (5 fl oz) milk

•450g (1lb) mixed dried fruit

•juice and grated rind of 1 lemon

•1 tsp mixed spice

•1 tsp salt

•450g (1lb) freshly made wholemeal breadcrumbs

•50g (2oz) soft brown sugar

Grate the apples without peeling them. Peel and roughly chop the bananas and nuts. Break the eggs

and whisk with the milk.

Mix all the ingredients together and stir well.

Place into one or two well-greased pudding basins and cover with folded greaseproof paper. Tie

round with string.

Steam for 3-4 hours in a covered pan with 5cm (2in) simmering water. Check the water level at

intervals and don't allow to boil dry. Then cool and store.

Left it too late?

It happens. Sometimes, time just flies and it's Christmas before you know it. But that

doesn't mean that you and your family have to miss out.

There are some truly delicious ready-made Christmas puddings out there, and The

Lakeland Christmas Pudding is definitely one of them.

Lakeland say - very proudly - that sales of this particular pudding climb every year as

more and more people discover how good it is.

So if you left it a bit late, or can't face the hassle of making your own ... maybe give

this one a taste test.