Food

Traditional Christmas Meals

A typical Christmas dinner is often held the evening of December 24, or Christmas Eve. During this time, meals are often rich and substantial, as this feast is a significant part of gathering and reuniting with others. The actual meal and food consumed varies among different traditions and regions of the world, although they usually consist of ham, turkey, roast beef, or other type of poultry, served with sides of vegetables and biscuits. These meals are heavily influenced by popular culture; some very common foods found at this time of the year in the United States includes Christmas pudding and mince pies.

Christmas Pudding

This sweet and somewhat tangy dessert originates from medieval England and is also referred to as plum pudding, or pud. It consists of many dried fruits held together by egg and suet, sometimes moistened by molasses and flavoured with spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. It is very dark in appearance due to the usage of dark sugars and black treacle in most recipes, along with its long cooking time.

Mince Pie

The early mince pie was known by several names, including mutton pie, shrid pie, and simply just Christmas pie. This savory holiday food has a British origin, with ingredients traceable to the 13th century. Its ingredients were typically a mixture of minced meat, suet, a range of fruits, and spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, although it may vary with tradition. It may be prepared as one large pie in which the host would cut slices to serve to the guests or be prepared as multiple, single-serve pies.

Click here for additional Christmas recipes.