Flour of England, fruit of Spain, Met together in a shower of rain; Put in a bag, tied round with a string; If you tell me this riddle, I’ll give you a ring.
Can you guess the answer? It’s a plum pudding (also called as a Christmas pudding).
In the old days, plum puddings were boiled in a cloth bag. Many poor people didn’t have an oven in their houses. So people put the batter into a cloth bag, tied it with a string, and boiled it for several hours.
Please watch this YouTube video. You can see how to cook plum puddings in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Some people who like histories want to say like this: “flour of England” means Queen Mary and “fruit of Spain” means Phillip II of Spain because this rhyme was current at the time when Queen Mary was proposing to marry Phillip II.
I was very happy when I found this riddle in “The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin” written by Beatrix Potter.
Nutkin, a little squirrel, went to Owl Island with other squirrels to collect nuts. They brought a present for Old Brown, an owl who lived on the island. They put the present in front of Old Brown and asked for his permission to gather nuts on his island. But Nutkin had very bad manner. He was rude and sang riddles to him.
The above riddle was sung by Nutkin on the fourth day of their journey.
(Please see around 6 minutes in)
Traditional British Christmas dinner is really lovely. Christmas puddings, Christmas cakes, mince pies, turkeys, cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, sage and onion stuffing, pigs in blankets, Yorkshire puddings, trifle, wine, and more and more. My mouth is watering.
If you are interested in British Christmas dinner cooking, "Delia’s Classic Christmas" series are my favorites.
So many good foods! Delia’s videos reminded me of another nursery rhyme which I showed you before. Do you remember it?
Christmas comes but once a year, And when it comes it brings good cheer, A pocket full of money, and a cellar full of beer.
(cheer: food and drink for a feast) (pocket: a small bag carried by a person. A purse.)
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February 16 is Shrove Tuesday this year. It falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year. People goes to churches to confess their sins (=shriving) before Lent.
Shrove Tuesday is also known as "Pancake Day"!
Collop Monday, PancakeTuesday, Ash Wednesday, Dark Thursday, Friday’s lang but will be done, And hey for Saturday afternoon.
Shrove Tuesday is the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats before Lent, which starts from the next day (Ash Wednesday) and lasts 40 days (not including Sundays). Pancakes are the perfect pre-Lent dish.
Traditional British pancakes are very thin, not like American fluffy ones. And classical toppings are only sugar and lemon juice. It’s very simple but sounds nice!
If you are interested in making British pancakes, please watch this video:
Mix a pancake, Stir a pancake, Pop it in the pan; Fry the pancake, Toss the pancake, Catch it if you can. (poem written by Christina Rossetti)
People have pancake races in many places across the UK on the pancake day.
In 1445 a woman of Olney (in Buckinghamshire) heard the shriving bell while she was making pancakes and ran to the church in her apron, still clutching her frying pan. This is the origin of the pancake races.
People race down streets carrying a frying pan with a cooked pancake in it. Flipping the pancake three times as you run is the rule.
