Christmas pudding

Christmas pudding
A Christmas pudding decorated with skimmia rather than holly
Alternative namesPlum pudding, pud
TypePudding cake
Place of originEngland
Serving temperatureWarm or cold
Main ingredientsBreadcrumbs, dried fruit, sugar, treacle, suet, spices

Christmas pudding is sweet, boiled or steamed pudding traditionally served as part of Christmas dinner in Britain and other countries to which the tradition has been exported. It has its origins in medieval England, with early recipes making use of dried fruit, suet, breadcrumbs, flour, eggs and spice, along with liquid such as milk or fortified wine. Later, recipes became more elaborate. In 1845, cookery writer Eliza Acton wrote the first recipe for a dish called "Christmas pudding".

The dish is sometimes known as plum pudding (though this can also refer to other kinds of boiled pudding involving dried fruit). The word "plum" was used then for what has been called a "raisin" since the 18th century, and the pudding does not contain plums in the modern sense of the word.