A plum pudding for the June 7 , 1809 Bartholomew Fair at Paignton was so enormous it had to be boiled in a "brewer's copper." How big? 400 lbs of flour , 175 lbs of suet , 140 lbs raisins and 240 eggs to make a pudding weighing in at 800 lbs! It was boiled from Sat. morning until Tues. evening and pulled in a wagon by 8 oxen.
Charles Dickens' journal -
"Coming down a little into the century [1800s] , we learn from a Devonshire newspaper , that , at Paignton Fair , near Exeter , a plum-pudding of vast dimensions was drawn through the town amid great rejoicings. No wonder that a brewer's copper was needed for the boiling; seeing that the pudding contained four hundred pounds of flour , a hundred and seventy pounds of beef suet , a hundred and forty pounds of raisins , and two hundred and forty eggs. This eight hundred pounder , or so , required continuous boiling from Saturday morning till the following Tuesday evening. It was finally placed on a car decorated with ribbons and evergreens , drawn through the streets by eight oxen , cut up , and distributed to the poor.
At Bartholomew Fair , some years later , there was a plum-pudding seller who was quite a character in his way; neatly dressed , his hair powdered and tied a la queue , and without a hat , he carried his delicacy on a board , announcing its merits in a full and ringing voice , letting off verbal squibs of wit and humour , and selling his plum pudding at a penny a slice.
Plum-pudding never has really taken root (so to speak) in any part of Europe save England."
All the Year Round: A Weekly Journal , By Charles Dickens Dec 23 , 1876
1819 article from 1809 Devonshire newspaper - Enormous Pudding.
"Lately at Paignton Fair , near Torbay , a plum-pudding , of an extraordinary size , was prepared and placed on a car , fancifully decked with ribbands , laurel , &c. and drawn through the town by eight oxen; it was then cut up , and distributed among the populace , conformably to an ancient custom , neglected many years , but thus pleasantly revived. An immense concourse from the neighbouring parishes assembled to witness the ceremony , and enjoy the amusements of the fair.
The ingredients which composed this massy pudding were 400 lb. of flour , 170 lb. of beef suet , 140 lb. of raisins , and 20 doz. [240] of eggs: it had been kept constantly boiling in a brewer's furnace [copper] , from Saturday morning until Tuesday morning; tin pipes were passed through it to convey the heat , so that the middle and every part should be thoroughly dressed.
The Literary Panorama , 1819. [from a June 7 , 1809 Devonshire newspaper]
Image 1: Dictionary of Arts and Science , 1756
Image 2: Illustrated London News. Jan 1 , 1863. A 900 lb pudding – 10 feet in circumference - made in the kitchen of Marylebone Workhouse. ©2017 Patricia Bixler Reber
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