CHOOSE LIFE, CHOOSE PLUM PUDDING!

The recipe for plum pudding, the way my grandmother used to make it. This is quite simple, once you get the hang of it.

Ingredients:

2 cups of plain flour
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of butter
1 cup of sugar
375 grams of mixed fruit (from supermarket)
1 cup of cold tea
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 shot of whisky or rum

Other Requirements:

1 piece of cotton cloth, about 600mm x 600mm square
1 good sized covered pot
1 piece of string.

The Method:

Set the pot of water to boil on the stove.  The plum pudding must boil for 3 hours, so have plenty of water in the pot.  The water level in the pot MUST stay above the pudding at all times.  If you see the water level dropping as you are cooking, be prepared to add extra boiling water to the pot.  I would suggest from an electric jug.

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.  Add the butter and rub well into the flour.  Add the sugar and mixed fruit. Dissolve the baking soda into the cup of cold tea.  Add the tea and whisky to the mix.  Mix well.

Wet the cloth and squeeze out excess water.  Lay the cloth flat and sprinkle with a little plain flour.  Spread the flour evenly over the cloth with your fingers to create a consistent covering.  This will create the great skin on the pudding.  Place the mix on the centre of the cloth and draw all sides of the cloth tightly to a point above the mix and tie with the string.  Make sure you tie a tight knot, as you don't want it to come undone while cooking.  Also leave a little room in the wrapping to allow for expansion.

When the water is boiling in the pot, add the pudding.  Keep the pot covered, except to check progess.  If you are using a small pot, keep adding boiling water, so that the pudding is easily covered by water at all times.

Boil the pudding for 3 HOURS exactly.

After 3 hours, remove the pudding from the pot and place in a small pot shaped like a plum pudding.  This helps with the final shape.  Untie string and peel back cloth slowly.  Do this straightaway while the pudding is still warm. Flip pudding over onto a plate and peel off the rest of the cloth slowly.

Devour at your leisure.

The plum pudding devotee may wish to multiply the amount of ingredients by 1 and a half or perhaps 2 for a more ample serving.  Use the same cooking time.

HAPPY EATING

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