Storing Christmas Puddings

Asked by durlas. Answered on 28th October 2011

Full question

Hi, I made Nigella's Christmas pudding last week, and used a plastic pudding bowl. Actually I made 6 puddings for friends of mine and for gifts and I wanted to keep them in the plastic bowls as storage until Christmas. Is that ok or should I be taking them out and wrapping them up in paper? As they will be gifts, i want them to taste perfect! I have them stored with some fresh baking paper on top of the pudding and in a large plastic storage box in my spare room. Thanks, Jenny

Our answer

Christmas puddings can be made in advance and it is preferable to store them in the pudding bowls that they have been steamed in as taking them out can cause the puddings to break up, plus you will need to return them to their bowls for steaming on Christmas day.

You are correct to put a fresh piece of paking parchment (parchment paper) on top of the pudding and make sure that if there is a lid it is snapped on tightly. It is also a good idea to overwrap the bowl with 2 to 3 layers of clingfilm (plastic wrap) as this will help to keep the bowls sealed tightly. You do not need to remove the clingfilm for steaming and it is actually quite useful to have it in place to prevent the lid popping off when the pudding has its second stint in the steamer. If you don't have lids then wrap the bowls tightly in a double layer of clingfilm followed by a double layer of foil (making sure there are no gaps) and this should not be removed before steaming.

Storing the puddings in a spare room is fine as long as they are away from direct light and heat. As it is a spare room perhaps it is possible to turn the heat down slightly in that room as the puddings will store better in a cooler climate.