George Orwell’s famous Christmas pudding recipe

Perhaps Orwell’s round heap could offer more? The recipe is “special” for several reasons. Who would have thought that such a serious writer as Orwell, who wrote satirical social criticism, protested against the totalitarian state and published novels like Animal Farm And Nineteen eighty-four containing heavy dystopian features and political allegories, did it have a MasterChef hidden within it?

It turns out that Orwell was very interested in the culinary world and fiercely championed British cuisine in his own quirky way. In an unpublished 1945 essay entitled British cuisine Orwell opens with a quote from Voltaire, the single-named French critic, who ironically declares that Britain is a country with “a hundred religions and only one sauce.”

Orwell disagreed when he wrote that this “was false” then and “is just as false today.” However, as a diplomat, he also pointed out what exactly was wrong with the British culinary world, saying: “Cheap restaurants in Britain are almost invariably bad, while in expensive restaurants the cuisine is almost always French, or imitation French. »

For Orwell, this implied a lack of culinary pride. Since cooking and eating are a central part of any culture, this lack of pride has interesting implications. However, there is one area in which we excel, and we know it very well: sweet treats. In Orwell’s delightful opinion, we had mastered the art of pudding and he tried his hand at making them himself.

In the same essay, which primarily studies the British palate, Orwell offers a number of dessert recipes such as treacle tart, orange marmalade and plum cake, ending with Christmas pudding. So it seems appropriate to share the author’s perspective on the dish in the hopes that you can compare it to the abomination you must endure.

Find the full recipe below.

George Orwell’s Christmas pudding recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb each currants, sultanas and sultanas
• 2 ounces sweet almonds
• 1 ounce sweet almonds
• 1 ounce bitter almonds
• 4 ounces mixed zest
• ½ lb brown sugar
• ½ pound of flour
• ¼ lb breadcrumbs
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 ounces of suet
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 5 eggs
• A little milk
• 1/8 pint of brandy or a little beer

Method

“Wash the fruit. Chop the suet, grate and chop the skin, pit and chop the raisins, blanch and chop the almonds. Prepare the breadcrumbs. Sift the spices and salt into the flour.

“Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Heat the eggs, mix them with the lemon juice and other liquids. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. If the mixture is too stiff, add a little milk. Let the mixture sit for a few hours in a covered basin.

“Then mix well again and place in well-greased basins about eight inches in diameter. Cover with rounds of greased paper. Then tie the tops of the basins to the floured tea towels if the puddings are to be boiled, or with thick greased paper if they are to be steamed.

“Boil or steam for 5 or 6 hours. On the day the pudding is to be enjoyed, reheat it by steaming it for three hours. When ready to serve, pour a large spoonful of lukewarm brandy over it and light the fire.

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