Merry Christmas: Have A Merry-Feast-Time in Christmas Day

Christmas is all about spending time with our family and close friends, eating delicious Christmas foods, and exchanging gifts. Our desire for warm and scrumptious evening meals grows as Christmas comes. Here are nine classic Christmas dishes with a long tradition. Let's see what delicacies we can't live without at Christmas.

Roasted Turkey

For Christmas dinner, a turkey is a must-have. On the 25th of December, most people served beef, geese, or rabbit, but when Queen Victoria began eating turkey, it became a popular custom among the middle classes. As turkey became more affordable, it grew more popular among the working class, extending the Royal trend far into the twentieth century. Turkeys were born in the spring and grew to be large enough for dinner by the time Christmas rolled around. Over 90% of households nowadays opt to serve the huge bird for Christmas dinner. Turkey became a popular dish in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Roasted potatoes

The traditional roast spud is a must-have for every modern roast supper, especially Christmas. This potato dish originated in the Andes of South America and was brought to the United Kingdom via Spain by returning sailors from Peru. As a plentiful source of food for the poor, the potato rapidly became popular in the United Kingdom. The potato was first brought to the Christmas table by Queen Victoria, albeit they were served mashed rather than roasted at the time.

Mince Pies

Mincemeat was created to extend a meat supply and use up leftovers in its original form, which consisted of minced meat combined with dried fruits, sugar, and spices. Over time very little meat was added to the recipe, until today's mincemeat is made completely of fruits, sugar, and alcohol, and it is transformed into mince pies.

Mince pies had become a Christmas tradition in Britain by the 16th century. Some believe that the Saturnalia practice of delivering sweetmeats to Roman fathers in the Vatican contributed to the popularity of mincemeat pies at Christmas. Mincemeat pies were criticized by Puritans as a Catholic habit, which may explain why they're less popular in the United States than in the United Kingdom.

Dundee Cake

Fruitcakes are an essential part of the Christmas season for us. The Dundee cake, a simpler variant of the Christmas fruit cake, has recently taken over the market. Dundee cake gets its name from the fact that it originated in the Scottish city of Dundee. Sultanas, currants, fruit peels, and a gorgeous arrangement of almonds were used in the original recipe for this Scottish fruit cake. The strong orange flavor distinguishes this cake from others. In Scotland, a generous amount of whiskey is traditionally added to the Dundee cake. Glazed cherries are used in fruit cakes. Some Scottish bakers thought that glazed cherries in their cake were too much for them, so they made a cake using blanched almonds instead. The Dundee cake was formed as a result.

Plum Pudding

A Roman Catholic Church mandate to prepare a 13-ingredient dessert to represent Christ and the apostles may have started the Christmas tradition of eating plum pudding. Families created this pudding on ‘Stir It Up Sunday,’ or the Sunday before the Advent season begins, by taking turns stirring the batter from east to west to represent the Magi's trip. As seen by Victorian pudding recipes contained plum, raisins, currants, beef suet, citrus zest, almonds, and spices.

Brussels Sprouts

Sprouts are probably the most contentious part of any Christmas feast. They appear to be a well-established Christmas custom. In December alone, about 750 million are consumed. They also appear to be one of the earliest Christmas traditions, having arrived around 400 years ago via France from Belgium. To be honest, you'll only want to eat these on Christmas Day. Having said that, it wouldn't seem like Christmas dinner if you didn't have brussels sprouts on your plate.

Eggnog

Eggnog, as we know it now, is a 17th-century English punch made with milk and wine. Nogs were frequently served to salute the health of people who drank them; thus, they were an obvious option for spreading holiday happiness. It is particularly popular during the Christmas season in the United States, but others enjoy it throughout the holiday season. It is a more American custom! However, it is also accessible in Ireland over the occasions.

Gingerbread

Gingerbread has a long history, and it is thought that it has been shaped into Christmas trees since the Victorian era. In the Christmas season, biting the head off a man-shaped cookie is a touch disturbing. After the Grimm brothers wrote Hansel and Gretel, gingerbread homes became famous. Gingerbread, as the name implies, is made using ginger and a variety of additional spices such as cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Honey, sugar, and molasses are used to sweeten it. Only professional gingerbread bakers were allowed to bake the stuff all year in some parts of Europe in the 17th century. This limitation was abolished during the Christmas and Easter holidays, which might explain the Christmas-gingerbread link.

Mulled Wine

It is a spicy, warm alcoholic beverage created with red wine, spices, and herbs. It is said that the Romans invented it to defend themselves from the harsh winters during the Christmas season, and the practice has been passed down through the generations. Mulled wines have a long and illustrious history. They were known as ypocras' or hipocris' in medieval times, after the physician Hippocrates. They were regarded to be quite beneficial, and with wine being considerably more hygienic than water at the time, these hot beverages most certainly kept people well during the frigid winters. Since the beginning of time, this fiery drink has been associated with Christmas and has been a customary component of the festivities.

Conclusion

Christmas is incomplete without a merry feast. Cakes became synonymous with Christmas. As you now know about the traditional Christmas foods and their interesting history, now, it’s your time to decorate your table with these dishes and celebrate Christmas with your family and loved ones.