It’s the first Christmas since I started my little foodish blog, so how could I let that pass me by without a post about festive foods.
Now, writing about what I like to eat at Christmas would be one thing, but instead, I thought what better way to offer a genuine reflection of the most common festive foods than to conduct some actual real-life research, albeit informal research to say the least. So I did what lots of people do, I asked Twitter.
I can’t claim that these are the nation’s favourite yuletide treats or anything like that. These were the front-of-mind answers to the simple question, “What are the first five festive foods that you think of?” Fortunately, a few people helped me out by answering. Thank you to all who did.
What was top of the list, I hear you ask?
There were many usual suspects in the list. After tallying up the answers, the top-five is pretty standard festive fare. There were a few low down the list that were more unusual and one I’d never heard of, which is great and sparked some lovely conversations over on Twitter – I’m happy to chat Comida Española todo el dia!
Here’s the top five:
Mince Pies
Mince pies take the top spot, unsurprisingly. They’re a food that we simply don’t eat at any other time of the year, and are simply delicious. That buttery pastry, sweet boozy fruity filling and warming spices, it is Christmas in a mouthful.
Although mince pies have long been part of our Christmas traditions, it wasn’t until Victorian times that they were filled with sweet ingredients. Before that, they were actually made from shredded meat.
“A custom from the middle ages says that if you eat a mince pie on every day from Christmas to Twelfth Night (evening of the 5th January) you will have happiness for the next 12 months!”
WhyChristmas.com
Sprouts
Brussels sprouts take joint second place. Despite being somewhat of a divisive vegetable, no Christmas dinner worth its salt would be complete without them.
I won’t have a bad word said about sprouts. So, if you’re not a fan of the little cabbages, I challenge you to try them just one more time but cooked with pancetta and chestnuts. There is no going back after that.
Try pan-frying cubed pancetta until crispy, then add par-boiled halved sprouts and chopped pre-cooked chestnuts. Add butter, seasoning and some sprigs of thyme or sage. Voila.
Turkey
Turkey trots into joint second place sitting alongside the sprouts on the Christmas hit parade. Although it’s available all year round, no one actually buys a whole bird any other time, do they?
It’s another divisive item in the festive fare with many claiming that it’s dry or tasteless and tough, but we keep coming back for more. ‘Cos it’s tradition, innit.
It’s the perfect poultry to feed a crowd because of its size. And there are always plenty of leftovers ready for Christmas dinner sandwiches – turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, sliced roast potatoes, pigs in blankets (if there are any left) – all piled up between two slices of white bread. You know, in case you were a bit peckish later in the day.
Christmas Pudding
If you wanted to make your own Christmas pudding for this year, I’m sorry to say that you’ve left it a bit late. The traditional day to prep these puddings is on Stir-Up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent.
Whether you’re stirring it yourself, adding a charm or a coin, or simply taking it out of the packet on the big day, the Christmas pudding is another example of a rich food steeped in rich festive tradition.
Got some Christmas pudding left over? Have a go at making Christmas Pudding ice cream.
Pigs In Blankets
In fifth place are Pigs In Blankets, the little chipolata sausages wrapped in streaky bacon. One of those EXTRA things we add to our festive roast dinner, just in case we don’t have enough food on the plate already.
But what’s not to love about a nice sausage with a smoked bacon blanket wrapped around it.
Apparently, here in the UK, we’re alone in our definition of ‘Pigs In Blankets‘. In the US and everywhere else, that means sausages wrapped in pastry. Surely that’s a sausage roll, no?
The best of the rest
The other foods mentioned included:
- Satsumas and clementines
- Pannetone
- Yule Log
- Chocolate – a special mention for Quality Street, Chocolate Orange, After Eights and Matchmakers
- All the cheeses – but Stilton is the king at Christmas
- Bread Sauce
- Mulled Wine – yes, it’s food!
- Gingerbread and Lebkuchen
- Stollen
- Turrón
- Chestnuts
- Many more on the list on the thread on Twitter
- Plus, Polvorones, which is the one I’d never heard of.
There we have it. The top-five and more festive foods as defined by a sample group on social media.
I don’t know what I’ll be eating on Christmas day yet because, for the first time in years, I’m not cooking! (I’m actually missing the prep and the panic of that already, but don’t tell anyone).
Merry Christmas x
(23 / #Write52)
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash