Page 45 - All About History - Issue 59-17

The Secret History of Christmas

georgian world war ii

I) Black butter J) Twelfth Night Cake Q) Roast rabbit R) Christmas pudding
A classic Christmas preserve, black butter The centrepiece of a Georgian’s Twelfth Night The government encouraged people Following the ‘make do and mend’ mentality of the
was a mild and sweet accompaniment to parties. The elaborate cake contained both a to eat rabbits caught in the wild to war, the Christmas pudding was often made with
cheese and crackers. Its main ingredients dried bean and a dried pea — whoever found ease the pressure on meat rations. more unusual ingredients in place of rations. The
included apples, cider and cinnamon, and the bean in their slice would become king for Popular recipes included roast rabbit pudding generally had less fruit and no eggs and
it was usually prepared in November. the night and the pea picked the queen. or rabbit stew. would sometimes contain root vegetables.
K) Mince pies S) ‘Murkey’
Although the mince pies we enjoy today For many, real turkey just wasn’t an
are sweet, the Georgians made them with option during wartime rationing.
actual minced beef or lamb along with Instead, many households had
raisins and currants. mock turkey, which was actually
mutton stuffed with breadcrumbs.
L) Apple dumplings It was developed by Gert and
and rice puddings Daisy, stars of BBC Radio’s The
We know that the Georgians enjoyed a Kitchen Front.
festive feast with apple dumplings and T) Carrot cake
rice puddings thanks to a letter from
the writer Jane Austen to her sister, Rationing during the war meant
Cassandra. After the last of her guests that ingredients such as eggs,
were gone, she wrote, “I shall be left to sugar and butter were in very low
the comfortable disposal of my time, to supply. In order to sweeten cakes,
ease of mind from the torments of rice An 18th-century engraving grated carrots were used as a London air raid corps workers
puddings and apple dumplings.” of Christmas gift giving substitute for sugar. tuck into a pudding

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viCTorians

M) Turkey N) Plum pudding Queen Victoria and Albert
Turkey was not the traditional A classic Victorian dish, plum pudding celebrate with the family
meat for a Christmas dinner. was often served alongside the savoury “Elizabeth I
Although not commonplace, dishes of the evening rather than with the
Queen Victoria had one and desserts. It was tradition to put a coin in
it soon grew in popularity as the pudding mixture — a trend reportedly ordered that
a way to feed large middle- started by the queen as a thank you to
class families. the cook.
the whole
O) Gin punch P) Christmas cracker
Gin punch was a simple Tom Smith, a confectioner’s apprentice, of England
drink of gin, hot water, decided to sell sugared almond bon-
lemon and spices but it bons after discovering them in Paris.
always went down well They failed to catch on as he had
with the dinner guests – hoped and after a few years he created eat goose”
and would often spark a the Christmas cracker as an ingenious
few rowdy drinking games. new way to market his product.