Christmas Puddings famously require a bit more effort and planning than some other festive desserts like Yule Logs. Most recipes suggests you give it at least a month to mature before tucking in on Christmas Day.
But when it comes to the Royal Family and their Christmas Pudding, they go above and beyond to make sure it’s of the highest quality for the likes of King Charles and co when they come together at Sandringham House.
Former royal chef Darren McGrady previously revealed all about what goes into making the pudding each year and there is one rather unusual part of the method. Rather than using a traditional mixing bowl, they use the sinks at Buckingham Palace instead - don't worry, they scrub them beforehand!
Writing in the Daily Mail in 2017, Darren - who worked for the royals for 15 years - shared that they would actually start making the Christmas puddings as early as September. This the month when the palace staff used to come back to Buckingham Palace following the royals’ summer holiday in Balmoral.
According to him, they would use "the enormous stainless steel sinks in the kitchen" as "giant mixing bowls" - but only after making sure they were "meticulously scrubbed".
The pudding served after Christmas Dinner - usually at 2pm following a traditional lunch which Darren explained included turkey "with mashed and roast potatoes, chestnut or sage and onion stuffing, cranberry sauce and bread sauce" - is actually often one from last year's batch.
Darren said, "The one presented on Christmas Day is often made the previous year, which allows extra time for it to mature. There is a lot of alcohol in it". What isn’t in the pudding, however, is a coin - an old tradition which, ironically, has royal origins.
Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's husband) is often credited with popularising this tradition, which involves placing a silver sixpence inside a Christmas Pudding. When enjoying the dish, whoever found the coin in their portion would be set to receive good luck, wealth and happiness for the coming year.
Nowadays, the Christmas Pudding served to the royals is coin-less, with Darren wisely declaring, "No one wants to be responsible for a royal choking."
This is a sensible precaution in general and we do know of a few instances of a member of the Royal Family choking on fish in the past. They involved the Queen Mother, and the first was in 1982 when a fish bone got stuck during dinner and she went to King Edward VII Hospital where it was removed.
Another incident occurred in 1993, which also required emergency surgery at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary after a fish bone got lodged in her throat while at Balmoral.
