To just want Christmas food with no alcohol

[Used4tt]

I don't drink alcohol at all anymore because I get drunk too easily but mainly because I think I'm allergic/intollerant.

I don't like the taste of it in my food anyway.

Why is it soooo hard to find a good Christmas pudding without alcohol? I know Christmas pudding is like marmite but I love it! I also can't find nice mince pies without some sort of spirit in them.

Does anyone else find it increasingly harder to find non-alcoholic Christmas treats?

YABU. There are LOADS of Xmas goodies that don't contain alcohol. Loads.

Maybe the stuff in the shops at the moment is more boozy as it's supposed to last another 7 weeks?

In 5 seconds I found that Tesco has alcohol free Christmas puddings and mince pies

There are lots. This seems like a (not so) stealth way to moan about alcohol to be honest.

Lol no one is getting drunk off a Christmas pudding.

So many times I've bought sainsburys taste the difference range and been disappointed. The item will simply be called "mince pies" or "christmas pydding", and then when it arrives the packaging says "with brandy" in a way you'd never be able to read on the little icon withy clicking. I drink alcohol but i hate the taste of alcohol in food. I now scan items carefully!

I can understand why there's not a large selection of alcohol free Christmas puddings, because they're traditionally made with alcohol.
M&S sell one though that I've heard is nice. I can't say first hand as I hate the stuff.

The trend for adding prosecco and gin to random festive snacks annoys me more. It's a very Mumsnet first world problem but I don't want prosecco flavoured crisps. There lots of alternatives though so YAB a little bit U.

It’s because those particular food items - mince pies and Christmas pudding - are traditionally made with alcohol-steeped fruit. It’s not a conspiracy, it’s the recipe.

They do individual Christmas puddings, I get these for those that like them and I get chocolate puddings for the others. You can make mince pies very easily. Buy ready rolled pastry and a jar of mincemeat they usually do not contain alcohol. Mr Kipling mince pies don’t have any alcohol in them. Tesco does an alcohol free Christmas pudding.

The rule of thumb is that the luxury/ premium versions always have alcohol so stick to the regular variety. I’ve taste tested 😀loads of mince pies and found the Iceland version the nicest. The astray is fre from palm oil is lighter and less claggy.

its a bit like saying it’s so annoying I can find biscuits without flour- alcohol (brandy) is an ingredient in a lot of traditional Christmas items? Christmas pudding and mince pies being prime examples. It’s normal that alcohol free would be the exception , like gluten free biscuits are.

Wow, some arsey replies here! I know what you mean OP.

Have you only stopped drinking quite recently? There are of course lots of Christmas foods without alcohol in them but if this is quite a recent thing for you, you’re probably noticing the boozey stuff everywhere in a way that you wouldn’t have before. It’s been years for me and I just automatically tune out anything that isn’t suitable for me, but in my first few months of not drinking I would have felt super sensitive to it.

Even though I don’t drink, I generally don’t mind alcohol in food. Sometimes though I find that if the boozey taste is very strong it messes with my head a bit, I almost feel ‘drunk’ even though I know I can’t be. So a sauce with a bit of red wine in it I’m fine with, but posh mince pies with cognac or things like brandy butter I tend to avoid (which is a shame because I do love the flavours of them!)

At the risk of stating the obvious, could you are your own? You can use apple or orange juice to replace the alcohol in any recipe.

That should have read 'make your own'.

Buy a jar of mincemeat and make your own.
Or just buy standard mince pies - as sold by Iceland, Greggs, and plenty of other places - which contain no alcohol.

@Used4tt

yabu

u ain’t gonna get pissed off a slice of Christmas pudding

hth

It's because Christmas pudding and mince pies taste so much better with the brandy flavour and it's not enough to get you drunk

Plenty of worse things than alcohol in mass produced food. You have to make your own stuff to avoid a high chemical, sugar and general junk diet

Why though. It evaporates during the cooking and just leaves behind flavour, depth and layering. You are not going to get drunk on it, are you? It seems a bit overzealous to be worried about it.

Make your own!

You will be so proud, and it will taste better and have better texture.

It’s fairly negligible quantities in shop bought stuff. Although it does contribute to the Christmas pudding flavour you love.

you can make your own and soak the fruit in another liquid instead.

Just make your own.

@Rippled

whos got time to do that though?

How we spend our time is a choice. eg you can allocate more time to messing around on the internet and less to cooking good food for your family.

It's a pain in the arse label checking everything. I buy an alcohol free Christmas pudding from Tesco really early, they sell out quickly. My mum made an amazing Christmas pudding last year soaking fruit in juice (Mary Berry recipe, no link sorry).
I make my own mince pies, love stollen but rarely find alcohol free.
Have been sober over 15 years and I avoid all food containing alcohol.

😂