Currently there is a certain amount Internet and media frenzy about Heston’s Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding from Waitrose. Thanks to clever marketing by Waitrose the resulting publicity has ensured that the puddings had completely sold out before the end of November. Consequently they have become even more desirable, with puddings listed on e-bay selling for many times the £13.99 store price. Waitrose say they are making more puddings, but I imagine that with half the UK blanketed in snow, and as usual unable to cope, there could well be a few logistical problems, which undoubtedly is music to the ears of the e-bay sellers.
I was lucky enough to be contacted by Waitrose several weeks ago and offered a pudding for review. It arrived a few days after, beautifully wrapped in brown paper. As the pudding serves 8 – 10 I asked a few friends round to help test it. For any of my non UK readers, who may have missed the pudding being in the news, there is a whole candied orange hidden in the middle of a traditional looking Christmas pudding. The idea behind it being that the orange will infuse the pudding with flavour (I think I read that the idea was inspired by a Sussex Pond Pudding). I am sure that given the publicity very very few people are going to be remotely surprised if they are served a pudding with an orange inside it on Christmas day.
Firstly I was slightly disappointed that after cooking and turning out the pudding started to slide off the orange in the centre. This could well have been because I microwaved, rather than steamed the pudding for 3 hours, having read the cooking instructions too late. (The packet does clearly state that the pudding can also be microwaved however).
This pudding is very very rich indeed, it is very very nice and would easily serve 8 – 10 people, especially after a full Christmas lunch or dinner. After a fairly light main course I struggled to eat a slice. It is very good, sticky and brimming with nuts and fruit, all infused with orange. The orange in the centre is perfectly candied and tender enough to eat easily with a spoon and fork. I think that the centre orange was slightly too big for the size of the pudding, with a resultant of slightly too much orange per serving. This pudding is quite different to the puddings I am used to, and grew up on.
I appreciate that I am biased; all my life I have eaten my Grandmother’s and then my Mother’s pudding on Christmas Day, and anything else is not the same and does not have the associated memories. Bizarrely we also often eat Christmas pudding on Easter Sunday too, every year my Mother makes one large pudding for Christmas, and another smaller one for Easter. As I still go to my parents’ house for Christmas every year I have never yet made a Christmas pudding or cake.
If your tastebuds do not enslave you to tradition, and thus the same pudding every year, and if you do not make your own puddings; I would recommend giving Heston’s pudding a go, if you can get hold of one. Heston is a genius, and tradition with a theatrical twist is his speciality, it is a different idea and a great pudding to serve on Christmas Day. I am sure that lots of variants of the concept will pop up over the coming weeks, I already have a couple of ideas.
If you are desperate for the now unobtainable pudding here is Mat Follas’ (winner of 2009 Masterchef) creation of his take on the pudding.
Heston’s Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding is available from Waitrose (when they get more stock) for £13.99.
Thanks to Waitrose for my free sample pudding.
All photographs in this post are from Waitrose.
I heard that apart from the extras that were sold on Thursday (and were all pre-ordered and consequently sold out even before they hit the shelves) there were no more puddings, as they have to be made months in advance.
Well, I’m very surprised you weren’t tempted to sell this one on e-bay! Aren’t people amazing? I’m with you, I grew up with my grandmother’s and now my mother’s xmas puds and I’ve never found one to beat either of them. She always makes me one for Christmas, so I shall be sticking to that. I’m now feeling rather nostalgic having seen your reference to Sussex Pond Pudding – that used to be my favourite one when a teenager and my speciality. Don’t think I’ve made it since.
It honestly did not occur to me to sell it on e-bay. Does this make me completely unworldly?
I’m not selling mine either, though I haven’t done the taste test yet…
I can’t quite understand the people who have been bidding £100 and more for one of these puddings, presumably having never even tasted one before (or read any reviews of them).
ODD.
If selling on ebay were not such a hassle since the closure of my local post office I think I would be in the camp selling it – provided I’d bought it myself that is.
Waitrose didn’t send me one! *sniff*
interesting to hear about the pudding – I had wondered if they were just about the orange or had other interesting flavours – I have only heard about them because E reads the british papers but am curious about if there will be similar recipes that make their way into UK cooking mags and cookbooks in years to come or if it will be all forgotten after this year.
I still go to my mum’s for christmas but I have started to make the pudding and take it there so my mum has one less thing to do
If I had a pudding worth £13.99 and someone else was willing to buy it for £100 I would sell it, I don’t care how tasty it may be. I don’t get why people would want to spend £100+ on a pudding though. Kavey’s right, people are ODD.
I never understand how people like Christmas pudding, far too rich and the last thing you want to eat after a roast meal. Mind you I dont like mince pies or christmas cake either .
I did use to like Sussex pond pudding but havent had one for about 25 years. My grandmother used to make it.
stop fussing about a bloody christmas cake……… just eat it or sell it.. it not the end of the world…either way
Thanks for you comment. I was unaware I was fussing, and I did eat it. It has been the most read post on site since I posted it so it seems that some people are interested in it!
It was lovely to share it with you. Merry Christmas! x
Hi,
I wanted to try this pudding as soon as I got my hands on one. While the pudding itself was moist, and delicious in its flavour, the supposed ‘candied orange’ turned out to be a candied leprechaun, that was very tough and difficult to chew
.
In the end I had to eat around the offensive item, and throw the remnants of the disaster in to the wheelie bin.
May try next year.
Dolly
I’m glad I make my own puddings and put an orange in the middle. Heston’s was far far too sweet and greasy! One mouthful and it was in the bin. Sorry Heston!
If you have a pressure cooker you can make one in 3 1/2 hours and to your own flavour. Try a lemon too, and adapt a Sussex Pond Pudding.
We cooked as instructured for three hours. The pudding slid off the orange looked like vomit on the plate and i would love to see how Heston manages to make this look apetizing as a serving on tv.
We will revert to our own recipe next year. If I had spent 200 on this I would be angry
[...] Heston from Waitrose Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding You may have heard all about these puddings in the media. The pudding developed by Heston Blumenthal for Waitrose has been flying off the shelves priced £14.99 and now selling for over £100 on eBay. Unsurprisingly they are now sold out in Waitrose. I’ve been lucky enough to be sent one and while I admit I did toy with the idea of flogging it on eBay but have decided to share it with friends next week as our Whisky Pudding for Christmas Day is currently maturing. You can read a review of the Heston pudding on Fuss Free Flavours. [...]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Fuss Free Flavours, UKfoodieNetwork. UKfoodieNetwork said: Countdown to Christmas – Review: Heston’s Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding from Waitrose http://bit.ly/foEEwR http://bit.ly/d1UNT3 [...]