Three items about high church pudding from the 1960–1961 Door County Advocate
[from January 7, 1960]
Youth Goes Into Army
Ethel Bonville, Corres.
FISH CREEK —
…
I talked with Miss Lyon who served the high church plum pudding at a Christmas party at her home and she says this is a steamed pudding made with suet. The recipe came direct from England but she does not know how it got that particular name. Any way it is very good and we all know that England is famous for its puddings.
…
[from January 12, 1960]
Letters From Our Readers
Lady Describes ‘High Church Pudding’
I learned on returning home after the holidays that the dessert I served at a Christmas party has aroused high interest. No doubt that was because it is called High Church Pudding. I regret that I can throw no light on that topic.
When I was a student at Newnham College, Cambridge, we were often served a delicious steamed pudding at dinner. It was a rare treat after the kidney soup and mutton too frequently appearing on the menu. When we asked the maids what the dessert was we were, told "High Church." We let it go at that. Several years later an English woman joined our staff at Park college. One evening at dinner in her home her guests were served this same dessert, which she, too, called "High Church pudding." Soon I had the recipe.
Each autumn, thereafter, my mother would make plum preserves to be used in this Christmas pudding. High Church pudding is a concoction of preserves, suet, candied fruit, raisins, currants and spices. It is steamed for many hours and served hot on a slice of rich fruit cake and topped with hot fruit sauce. The English recipe calls for a sauce of tart plums or sherry; I use cherries obviously.
(How about a detailed recipe for our readers? — Ed.)
ETHEL LYON
[from January 3, 1961]
It Pays to Ask
In his own realm an editor is as all-powerful as the captain of a ship. So it is when editing the correspondence from around the county. Occasionally a writer will say something that comes with an unintentioned meaning, or just plain make a mistake in wording or phrasing. Then I find it hard to resist teasing with a short editor's note. Fortunately I haven't lost any. correspondents despite my churlish behavior.
But sometimes I use the note to ask a legitimate question. For instance some time ago Fish Creek correspondent Mrs. Bonville, I think, referred to "high church pudding." Now I'd heard of high church, belong to one in fact, but using it to describe a pudding was a new one to me. So I asked, and received a letter in reply. In fact the subject was bandied about in print for some time.
I'd forgotten all about high church pudding when just before Christmas in came Ethel Lyons from Fish Creek with a pudding for our family. We steamed it and ate it with hard sauce. Man, was it good.
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it got me a high church pudding.
[by Chandler F. Harris]
Items are courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
A recipe for high church pudding: https://ia904705.us.archive.org/35/items/webfootcookbook00port/webfootcookbook00port.pdf#page=111
Articles about food: