01
.Introduction
We've tested 14 Christmas puddings, priced from $0.71/100g to $5.50/100g.
In a blind taste test, our experts assessed the puddings for general appearance, quality of finish, moistness, texture, mixture quality, flavour, and aroma.
The experts also looked for good shape, weight, balanced fruit, spice and alcohol flavours, even distribution of good-quality fruit ingredients and puds that held their shape when cut.
Find out how the higher-end puddings rate compared to some of the cheaper options. For more information about groceries, see Food and drink.
Ready-made puddings
If you haven’t yet started making
your own pudding for Christmas
Day, according to custom you’ve
left it too late. “Stir-up Sunday”
(the fifth Sunday before Christmas) was
25 November this year. Traditionally,
this is the day when the pudding is made,
allowing time for it to mature sufficiently
ahead of the Christmas Day feast.
Luckily, there’s a wealth of ready-made
puddings available from supermarkets,
through charities or via the websites of
smaller boutique producers. But are any
worthy of being the grand finale to your
celebratory feast? As the saying goes, the
proof of the pudding is in the eating, so
to help you avoid disappointment on the
day, we put 14 puddings to the test.
If you’ve made Christmas puddings at home, you’ll know they’re not cheap to produce. The cost of quality ingredients
such as dried fruit, butter and alcohol,
and the fact that they’re generally made
to a labour- and time-intensive recipe,
all add up. So it’s reasonable to assume
you might have to fork out a little more
for a top-quality pud.
Our taste test results certainly reflect
this. The four best-tasting puds are all
more than $3.60 per 100g, whereas the cheaper
puds generally fared worse in our test.
However, our judges also recommend
four that won’t
break the Christmas budget.
Expert tip
Take care when following microwave heating instructions. All microwaves vary and the overall consistency and density of the pudding can also affect the final result, so it's best to err on the side of caution.
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Puddings tested
- Big Sister Christmas Traditional Plum Pudding - $1.12/100g
- Coles Finest Luxury Christmas Pudding - $1.56/100g
- Coles Matured Christmas Pudding - $1.29/100g
- Crooked Creek Authentic English Christmas Pudding - $5.50/100g
- Fowlers Luxury Plum Pudding - $1.63/100g
- Itha's Traditional Plum Pudding - $4.20/100g
- Lions Traditional Lions Christmas Pudding - $1.22/100g
- Pud for All Seasons Traditional Plum Pudding - $3.62/100g
- Pudding Lady Traditional Christmas Pudding - $4.30/100g
- Pudding Lane Christmas Pudding - $4.20/100g
- The Cake Stall (Aldi) Luxury Christmas Pudding - $1.00/100g
- The Cake Stall (Aldi) Plum Pudding - $0.71/100g
- Woolworths Gold Vintage Christmas Pudding - $1.98/100g
- Woolworths Select Matured Christmas Pudding with Cognac - $1.13/100g
How we test
Puddings tested are those that were
available in major supermarkets
in October, as well as a number of
smaller boutique brands that are
readily available online or through
distributors nationally.
When it
came to the supermarket brands, we
included one product each from their
upper-tier ranges. For other brands,
where more than one variety was
available, we selected their standard/
traditional offering.
Puddings were
reheated according to manufacturer
instructions before being presented.
Tasting notes are collated from the
judges’ tasting notes.
Prices are based on the cost of each
product closest in size to 1kg, although
many products come in a range of sizes.
Our experts assessed the puddings for:
- general appearance
- quality of finish
- moistness
- texture
- mixture quality
- flavour, and
- aroma.
The experts also looked for good shape, weight, balanced fruit, spice and alcohol flavours, even distribution of good-quality fruit ingredients and puds that held their shape when cut.
Meet the experts
Brigid Treloar (left) ran her own cake
business for 10 years. Her experience
as a food judge includes Royal
Agricultural Show (RAS) Fine Food
Show judging. She’s also a cookbook
author, educator and freelance
food consultant.
Alison Mutton (centre) represents the
CWA. Her experience
ranges from judging
The Land Cookery
Competitions over the
past 14 years at both a
local and state level, to
appearing as a guest
judge on MasterChef.
Jan Boon (right) is a
home economist who
has been involved in
the food industry for
more than 40 years. She is an RASrecognised
judge for the Fine Food
Show and has been judging for local,
interstate and regional shows for
over 35 years.