What is figgy pudding?

Figgy pudding — also known as plum pudding or Christmas pudding — may be a staple on the British Christmas table, but if you are not from Great Britain, it makes sense that you might not know what it is. Your powers of deduction won’t likely give you any hints as to what it is either, as traditional figgy pudding contains neither figs nor the creamy custardy dessert that we Americans typically refer to as “pudding”. It doesn’t contain any plums either, in case that’s where your head was going next.

Figgy Pudding (occasionally misnomered Piggy-Pudding) is a rather vague term used for a class of traditional seasonal winter dishes usually forming sweet & savory cakes, containing a sour-sweet creamy layer of honey, fruits, and nuts, as well as a flavorful savory filling of rich herbally accentuated pork sweetmeats. in later times, rum or other distilled alcohol became often added to enrich the fruitfulness of the flavor.