Figgy Pudding is a pudding resembling a paler colored Christmas pudding containing figs. The pudding may be baked, steamed in the oven, boiled or fried. The original pudding was formed by mixing various ingredients with a grain product or other binder such as butter, flour, cereal, eggs, and/or suet, resulting in a solid mass. These puddings are baked, steamed or boiled.
Depending on its ingredients such a pudding may be served as a part of the main course or as a dessert.
Boiled or steamed pudding was a common main course aboard ships in the Royal Navy during the 18th and 19th centuries. Pudding was used as the primary dish in which daily rations of flour and suet were prepared.
Steamed pies consisting of a filling completely enclosed by suet pastry are also known as puddings. These may be sweet or savory and include such dishes as steak and kidney pudding.
Figgy pudding dates back to 16th century England. Its possible ancestors include savory puddings such as crustades, fygeye or figge (a potage of mashed figs thickened with bread), crème boiled (a kind of stirred custard), and sippets. In any case, its methods and ingredients appear in diverse older recipes. Today, the term figgy pudding is popularized mainly by the Christmas carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," which includes the line, "Now bring us some figgy pudding" in the chorus.
Figgy Pudding
"Christmas pudding" by User Musical Linguist on en.wikipedia - This Christmas pudding was made and photographed by Musical Linguist in December 2005.. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christmas_pudding.JPG#mediaviewer/File:Christmas_pudding.JPG