Plough pudding

Bring in the new year with this hearty savoury pudding, a traditional Norfolk favourite

- Neil Buttery

We don't know exactly how far back the celebration day of Plough Monday in Britain goes, but it certainly has a long history, being already well-established by the Tudor era. It happened on the Monday after Twelfth Night, 6 January, marking the beginning of a new agricultural year.

On the day, a plough, splendidly decorated with white ribbons and bells, was pulled through the town by similarly bedecked young ploughmen, begging for food and drink; ale and bacon were particularly popular. Afterwards, everyone celebrated with plenty of food and ale.

But what did they eat? Many contemporary writings tell us it was the traditional plough pudding: a steamed pudding consisting of a basin lined with suet pastry and filled with sausagemeat, bacon, onions and herbs. However, there appear to be no recipes or even mentions of such a pudding before 1960, despite some modern historians claiming it has been eaten as far back as the Middle Ages. To thicken the plot further, the marking of Plough Monday fizzled out in the 1920s and 30s, when horse-drawn ploughs were replaced by modern tractors.

It's a mystery: where did it come from? Could it be that the idea of Plough Monday remained in the collective cultural consciousness, especially in Norfolk, where the pudding is most revered? The fact that its history is so elusive makes its existence fascinating. Of course, if anyone has any information regarding the plough pudding before 1960, this food historian would dearly love to see it!

How to make it