In 2015, a 46 year-old Christmas pudding was discovered by a family clearing out the home of their late relative..
The pudding was made in 1969 and had been hanging from the ceiling in the kitchen for 46 years.
The Christmas pudding was made to celebrate a family marriage 46 years earlier (1969) had been sealed in a traditional way and looked fine.
Traditional recipes would have included ingredients like 1½ lb beef suet, 2lb breadcrumbs, and 3½ lb dried fruit and of course ¼ pint brandy, a recipe Mary Berry would be proud of because you just put all the ingredients in a large bowl, stir, make a wish and then steam for hours on end!
The Christmas pudding was taken to Microbiology Investigation Centre (MIC) in the School of Biosciences at Sutton Bonington to go under the microscope and find out if it was good enough and safe enough to eat.
The microbiology work looked for bacteria, yeasts and moulds and specifically microorganisms that might make toxins and make you ill.
The pudding was delivered with the following advice: “Oh and don’t forget there might be a silver sixpence in there! Probably best not to microwave! Good luck with your tests and a merry Christmas to all – we look forward to hearing whether we should have served them on Christmas Day!”
The 46-year-old Christmas pudding unearthed during a house clearance was declared "dry" but tasty by food experts.
University of Nottingham's Professor Christine Dodd was convinced it posed no threat to her students as it was steamed for five hours first.
"We were interested to see just how well it had kept," Professor Dodd said, adding they wanted to see "whether there was anything still 'live' in there and what condition it was in".
The verdict: "It tastes amazing - honestly!"
Professor Dodd said the tasters all agreed it was "a little bit dry but very good flavour".
She said any bacteria in the pudding would not have survived the five hours of steaming - and the potent combination of alcohol and fruit.
Source University Of Nottingham
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