I want to make a christmas Plum pudding and I don't have a pudding mold. Any suggestions?? It has to be covered and steamed for hours. I thought of using a coffee can for a mold. Would there be a problem with the seam (is it safe/no lead?) Also can I make it without suet?? This will be the first time I have attempted one. Thanks!

-- PJC (zpjc5_@hotmail.com), December 06, 2001

Answers

you can use a coffee can in the oven,,, use them for making bread,, they havnt used lead in alot of years. ""Also can I make it without suet?? "" suet?? why would you want to eat bird seed anyways?? I dont know how to make plum pudding anyways,, but suet doesnt seem correct at all

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), December 06, 2001.

stan, suet is ground beef fat and you use it in the pudding. I have always used a small coffee can. So far no problem. lexi

-- Lexi Green (whitestone11@hotmail.com), December 06, 2001.

suet is any fat/lard mixed with bird seed,, otherwise its just lard/fat

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), December 06, 2001.

Sorry, Stan, but suet is beef fat & lard is rendered hog fat. And ground suet is used in plum pudding.

And PJC, I've steamed my plum pudding in a pyrex bowl.

-- Julia (charmer24@juno.com), December 06, 2001.

Coffee can will work but so will any type of ovenproof bowl. Just cover it tightly with foil and secure a string around the top. That is how Martha Stewart does it and I tried it last year. The bowls create a more authenic looking mold also.

-- Karen (db0421@yahoo.com), December 06, 2001.

And Stan....if you try your hand at the plum pudding this year....make sure you get the suet without the seeds! heehee! The whole sunflower seeds get stuck in your teeth! LOL!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), December 06, 2001.

wait a min,, pig fat, = lard,, beef fat = tallow ,, goose fat = great sandwiches,, suet,,is the stuff you but (or make) for the birds,,, ,( I need a dictionary)

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), December 06, 2001.

Lard=rendered pig fat, tallow=rendered beef fat. Suet=unrendered beef fat, straight from the beef.

You do need a dictionary. Maybe Santa will bring you one...

-- Julia (charmer24@juno.com), December 06, 2001.

Oh Stan, rule number one, never argue with a bunch of women! heehee! Straight from Webster's : Suet\n:the hard fat from beef and mutton that yields tallow. In your defense, it does make great birdseed cakes for winter feeding. No one is right all of the time! So you have to give up that little .09%. LOL!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), December 06, 2001.

I was wrong once,, but I was mistaken about that also

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), December 06, 2001.

Oh, back to the original question....you could do them as individual servings and use little ramekins or oven proof dessert bowls. What about an angel food cake pan? Bundt pan? Loaf pan? Pyrex? Pyrex measuring cup?

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), December 06, 2001.

Stan, like Nan said, no-one can be right all the time - and - no - never mind. Suet is a pure hard fat - mostly what they call the kidney fat, that you can break out entire from the the inside of the body cavity, rather than having to cut it off anything or render anything. That kind of fat you can actually grind, whereas any other would just turn into grease if you tried. I assume they use that in bird feed because it would better withstand sunshine without melting, but I don't know.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), December 06, 2001.

Thanks! I'm going to look for a bowl to use and if not a coffee can. I'm going to use the (plain)suet. Don't worry, No bird seed.:-) I forgot its also mixed with birdseed. LOL Don't want to pick seeds out of my teeth. I think it is mixed with birdseed also because the cost is less than other fat to supplement the birds.

-- PJC (zpjc5_@hotmail.com), December 07, 2001.

I make plum pudding every year. I use vegetable shortening, we are vegetarians. I use a bowl, the pudding mold I bought in England is really a heat proof bowl, I cover the top with waxed paper and then a final cover with aluminum foil. I tie this on with a piece of string, good and tight and then steam it in the crock pot to save energy. It is a big hit with everyone ... we prefer whipped cream to hard sauce. Happy holidays.

-- nancy (stoneground@catskill.net), December 07, 2001.

So funny, I was just looking at my antique kitchen gadgets and thought to myself, hmmm, I should find a recipe for plum pudding to mkae use of this pudding pot!

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), December 07, 2001.

I would love a recipe now that you've all got me curious - I even have an old pudding mold that came with my old farmhouse. Thanks and Happy Holidays...

-- diane greene (greenwitch@catskillnativenursery.com), December 07, 2001.

Diane, as always use www.google.com and search - in this case on "Christmas pudding recipe" or anything else inspiration strikes you with. Note that you'll have to move fast - a lot of recipes - even the non-alcoholic ones (sacrilege! or at least near it) require a time for the pudding to mature, with ingredients infusing into each other, for best results.

PJC - the bowl-with-a-top-tied-on works. The result is probably as good as or almost as good as a proper pudding dish with clip-on lid - just not as easy. Worth sprinkling the top of the pudding with a little flour - forms a starchy seal, roughly like you get when you boil a pudding in a pudding-cloth,

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), December 08, 2001.

I have used pyrex bowls for this with great success, also the tinfoil over the top method. This unmolds MUCH easier than the intricate, fluted molds that are seen for sale -- those can be a real bear, and you often end up with the pudding a torn mess. Close-woven cotton pudding sacks have been used for hundreds of years with success too.

No one seemed to like it much with the suet in it, made a tallow scum in the mouth, so I changed the recipe to incorporate butter instead, and it was then a big hit. I would think that you could cook it in any large, enamel-lined can. I've steamed brown bread in vegetable cans in past with no problems.

Plum pudding seems to be best liked by people who also like fruit cake -- if your family doesn't like fruitcake, chances are slim for them liking plum pudding.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), December 08, 2001.

my english grandmother always made plum pudding by tying it in cheese cloth it came out like a round ball then she would peel the cloth off and slice. the sauce was a cornstarch and vanilla mixture. anyone knowing exactly how to do this I would appreciate instructions.

-- ronda (thejohnsons@localaccess.com), December 08, 2001.