Favorite Holiday Foods I’ve Never Had
What, exactly, is a sugarplum?
I’ve never eaten, or even seen, one to my knowledge. But they are quintessential to Christmas. It just wouldn’t be the same without visions of them dancing in my head (don’t ask me how I know, since I have no idea what they are).
Certain foods define the holidays, whatever holidays you may celebrate. Oddly, though, of all the annual holidays, only Christmas brings to my mind foods and beverages I’ve never actually eaten or drunk.
Figgy and plum puddings.
Goose.
Chocolate Yule logs.
Pfeffernusse.
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
Wassail.
Charles Dickens and Christmas carols bear responsibility for much of this, I think. Writers (of song and prose) can have such great influence (sigh).
Well, whatever you’re eating today, happy holidays! Or, as Tiny Tim would have it, “God bless us, every one!”
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December 25th, 2006 @ 10:59 am
I’ve never had a sugar plum, but it always sounds so good!
I have had a chocolate yule log though, and it was superior. Chocolate sponge, soaked with kirsch, rolled around and frosted with ganache. Heaven!
December 29th, 2006 @ 5:37 pm
My first and only goose here in America was a live one we bought, butchered and then I had to remove the feathers after you kind of scalded the goose. The smell of wet feathers will make sure you always buy a frozen or fresh one from the store. Goose is great, either stuffed with apples or with sauerkraut and roasted. Only drawback, the gravey will have lots of grease. I liked the skin, crunchy, the best. When we made the gravey one of the apples was strained thru a sieve which gave it a tangy flavor.
Pfeffernuesse is a cookie and some of them are quite hard, maybe I got old ones. Seasonings are cinnamon, cloves, pepper, ingwer, cardamon and Hirschhornsalz. I have no idea what that is in English, the direct translation would be “elk antler salt”, how would you harvest that?, but you can use baking powder instead.
January 6th, 2007 @ 9:01 pm
Oh, wow! I never thought about the “mythical” foods of Christmas.
I think you might have had goose in the past, though, because I know we had it one year at Christmas. Maybe we just didn’t make a point of it.