ART OF EATING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 300, 20 December 1938, Page 9

ART OF EATING.

CHRISTMAS DINNER, i ■ TURKEY AND PLUM DUFF. ti EEPDfO UP OIJ> TRADITION. • ■ Aucklanders do themselves extremely well at Christmas. They preserve many of the traditions of an English Yuletide and have added some new ones that are entirely to the good. As trenchermen they have few peers, and the business of eating is approached with the seriousness that so important an operation demands. Among the noblest of England s traditions that Mve been transplanted to the Dominion is the provision and disposal of a gargantuan dinner on Christmas Day. Although tradition dies hard there Is "a stern fight being waged in Auckland against the turkey-plum puddingnuts convention. The climate is on the side of the rebels and a hot day next Sunday will see thousands on the beaches and scattered over the countryside enjoving a light picnic lunch. They mar reverse the usual order of things and reserve the heavier artillery for the cool of the* evening.

The idea of tucking their legs under a table groaning with turkey and plum pudding, and being required by the master of ceremonies, to do their duty when the temperature is 90 degrees in the shade appals some people. However, in the households of the many thousands to whom dinner is the gastronomic h ' g ht of the vear, preparations have been", hand for "weeks: They are st.U >n hand «nd much loving care *nd thoughtjnll be dwnnW upon the menu thus week by fiSEhJTV- ft* it are responsible in the mam for the mightv inroads made into^this.noWe meal, keep a close eye on the arrange aunts.

Comes Off in Honks. The hardier members of our race go the whole hog. Turkey must be accompanied by ham, or, at a pinch, a cut off the sucking pig. Some favour the variation of duck, goose or chicken. A fewhave a bit of each, but we look the other way when we see these people in the street. For these occasions the largest plates are produced from the bottom of the china cupboard and father get® loose on the fowl with the carving knife. There is an art in the correct dissection of these ungainly carcases and as few people get sufficient practice the flesh usually comes off in hunks. It is a New Zealand tradition that turkey must be accompanied by green peas. The phrase "the peas are doing nicelv and will be ready for Christmas'" ig a household one at this time of the year. It is the big event of the year for amateur gardeners. With peas it is allowable to include any other vegetable or combination of vegetables, the limit being only the size of the plate.

At about the time repletion occurs a brown plum pudding the size of a Soccer ball is produced and is invariably eyed with secret loathing but, withal, a surface show of extreme enthusiasm. It is tradition and the darned thing must be eaten, though you suffer agonies for the remainder of the afternoon. We are very British and must do something about the pudding though we die in the attempt. Complete Torpidity. When this milepost has passed the itoin" is not so heavy. To a -man who has coped with eight or nine pounds of solids a few handfuls of raisins, cherries and nuts is child's play. Then there is another olde Englishe custom—ale, wassail or Christmas cheer. To many this is a reward for a mighty deed well done and the gentlemen of the party mav be noticed to have strongly-deve-traditions at this stage of the operations. Others, who have anticipated. fall by the wayside. | At this stage complete torpidity sets in and the entire family spends the afternoon in recovering sufficiently to face the less arduous task of coping with a Christmas tea that may run from one to seven courses. However, tradition is not so stronp here and individual leanings are treated with a certain amount of consideration.