To wonder why so few people dislike Christmas pudding?

[malificent7]

It's delicious... especially with brandy butter and cream.
Dont get ne wrong... I live all the alternatives like trifle, oavlova and chocolate log but you cannot beat Christmas pud.
This year im going to make Mary Berry's Christmas pudding icecream too!

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

I've always assumed that liking things made out of dried fruit is some sort of hangover from rationing, when food was so terrible that fruitcake and Xmas pudding seemed to taste good.

Nope. Things were made out of dried fruit thousands of years ago before sugar was available. The only way to sweeten food would have been to use honey or fruit, and in the absence of freezers, fridges, canning or bottling, drying would have been an excellent way of preserving fruit for the winter months.

When spices like nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and cloves were very expensive, exotic imports, only the rich could afford to use them routinely. The rest of the population had spices only at high days and holidays, e.g. Christmas and Easter.

Mincemeat, Christmas pudding and fruit cake all go back to the Middle Ages or earlier. I think the reason they are less popular now is that people have got used to eating lots of very sweet foods with less complex flavours and textures.

I love mince pies, Christmas pudding and Christmas cake. I don't like royal or fondant icing much so we make a Caribbean rum cake for our Christmas cake. It's very moist indeed and absolutely gorgeous. So looking forward to all these once-a-year treats! (And to the sprouts - I love sprouts.)

[Greycat11]

Love it, with custard or ok and cream.
Know this won't go down well but it's also nice with a fry up, especially a fried egg

[user1470997562]

My dc don't like dried fruit at all. I think because they were given raisins every day as a healthy snack at nursery. They won't touch them with a barge pole now. I like xmas pudding though. Currently doing the 8 hour boiling of some.

[SherlockPotter]

I've never tried it... I love mince pies though

[LunaLoveg00d]

I was out for Christmas lunch with 19 other people on Monday. There were 5 dessert choices on the menu. 17 of us chose Christmas pudding - don't think that proves your theory.

[EggysMom]

I know exactly why I don't like it, and it's the same reason I don't like mince pies or Christmas cake. I do not like glace/candied fruit. So I don't like glace cherries, and I don't like candied orange peel - and this latter item has a habit of appearing in various festive foods.

So I only like Christmas pudding & cake when my Mum makes it specially for me, with currants and sultanas but no damned peel!

[Katedotness1963]

I think being brought up on clootie dumpling has made Christmas pudding not so bad, but a little goes a long way! I just realised we have not bought Christmas cake this year...I'm sad now...

[JustDanceAddict]

Too rich for me!

[Laniakea]

I like Christmas cake & mince pies but Christmas pudding really is horrible - over powering flavour, horrible texture & too bloody dense. Brandy butter is even more disgusting.

Haven't had turkey but I like sprouts Mulled wine is a crime - sickly sweet and barely alcoholic.

[lokisglowstickofdestiny1]

Christmas pudding is vile, so is Christmas cake. However I do like the little green balls of death, aka sprouts.

[Wookiecookies]

I might add, I am not cooking the turkey this year, my mum is, so I will probably still be chewing it come boxing day!

[Wookiecookies]

basic agreed, turkey that is properly cooked for the correct amount of time (not overcooked) , basted, and then rested whilst cooking the sides, is really really lovely. Dry overcooked turkey is just nasty.

Amd always always buy a high quality free range bird.

[MotherofPearl]

Oh Claws, the horror, the horror! As I said upthread, I love the stuff, but that's given me a mental image I'm going to struggle to get rid of.

[PollytheDolly]

We love it. Especially if covered with copious amount of brandy then set on fire!!

Served with cold, double cream. Mmmmmm

[Basicbrown]

Turkey is lovely if it's a good quality, flavoursome bird, cooked properly - ie not dried out.

Agreed but I'm shit at cooking it.

OP Christmas pudding is awesome...

[TrampagneSupernova]

... which may explain my excessive girth.

[HellonHeels]

Loathe it. Also not keen on Christmas cake. American friend told me that in the States wedding cakes are not fruit cakes. She had a chocolate wedding cake. Sensible choice.

[TrampagneSupernova]

For all of you miserable heathens that don't like it, good for you, more for us. With rum sauce, custard, cream, brandy butter, ice cream or just hoovered into my gob straight from the fridge as leftovers. It's undoubtedly the food of the Gods.

So are mince pies.

[SecretSix]

It's the best thing about Christmas. With the mince pies. And the fruit cake. With Wensleydale.

Everyone in our house eats it except DSDs.

[MsJamieFraser]

Going to sound like a teenager... because it's rank!

[CheshireDing]

It is rank. I have found my people.

Every bloody year my DM and GM used to go on about how they had started making their Christmas puddings in September (or similar) and offer the evil things after Christmas dinner. EVEN THOUGH they knew everyone hated it except them ! :(

Since I moved out never had to go near the horrid things since and I married someone who equally hates it, bonus !

We didn't even have fruit in our wedding cake :)

[DailyFail1]

I love it but it can go horribly wrong if you cook too long/not enough.

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

I love it as well as sprouts... I'm a freak and I don't care.

[TheClaws]

Can a tell a gross story? Last year, I was given a Christmas pudding by my lovely SIL. She makes them in a batch every year and, although I don't like them, I'd never think of knocking them back. I just up the ratio of brandy butter/pudding. Anyway, when I got around to boiling the pudding, I saw something crawl out of the muslin wrapping. Uh oh. I took off the wrapping and the wrapping and pudding was SQUIRMING with maggots.

So, I didn't like Christmas pudding already, and now I don't think I'll even be able to look at one ever again

[BiscuitCapitalOfTheWorld]

Yup, Knitted and Janey. Fried, next day. Slice it, pan fry in butter or coconut oil til crispy round the edges, serve with vanilla ice cream. Maybe some booze and butterscotch sauce It's amazing.

Saw a stollen Xmas pudding this year- has a marzipan middle. Also one with sticky toffee pudding sauce at the bottom.