On Mon, 6 Jul 1998, Pat & Tina wrote:
> Has anyone any experience with steaming plum puddings? I would like to try
> the Slow-Cooked English Plum Pudding found in The New McDougall Cookbook,
> but alas, I don't own a slow cooker. I am wondering if there is an
> alternate way of cooking it? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>
I haven't seen that recipe but I make a steamed fig pudding every
Christmas. I put it in a pudding mold (but a large can would do),
cover it tightly (mold cover but you could use foil on a can), and
put it on a rack with boiling water coming a few inches up the side
of the pudding mold (I now have a big pot with a pasta cooking
insert which works perfectly as a rack; I used to use upside down
jar lids). I cover the big pot and let it steam--at a simmer-for
two hours. A traditional plum pudding with suet steams much
longer but this recipe, which uses grated carrot and potato, is
fine in two hours.
I found my recipe in the original New York Times Cookbook many many
years ago when two of my Christmas guests announced a week before
Christmas that they had become vegetarians. It's not fatfree, but
easy enough to substitute eggbeaters and applesauce for the small
amount of eggs and butter.
Jane Colman
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