centurion Posted 1 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 1 January , 2011 From my grandfather's diary: . The only duff I know is plum duff, which is another name for Christmas pudding. All the 'duff' menus I can find on the internet are also sweet puddings - did people really eat these with beef, or is this duff something else? Graham Plum duff is more like spotted dick than christmas pud All the duffs originally originate as steamed suet puddings so in the case quoted it would be a bit like dumplings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarylW Posted 1 January , 2011 Share Posted 1 January , 2011 Definition of 'Duff' from some online dictionaries: duff2 /dʌf/ Show Spelled [duhf] Show IPA noun a stiff flour pudding, boiled or steamed and often flavored with currants, citron, and spices. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Origin: 183040; dial. var. (Scots, N England) of dough ..................................................................................... Oxford Dictionary duff1 …a flour pudding boiled or steamed in a cloth bag… The first definition does sound a lot like Christmas pudding Also this on Wikipedia (if reliable) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding Caryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pietro Posted 1 January , 2011 Share Posted 1 January , 2011 I've hopefully attached a photo of soldiers in Newcastle, Co. Down with their field cooking facilities. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 2 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 2 January , 2011 Definition of 'Duff' from some online dictionaries: duff2 /dʌf/ Show Spelled [duhf] Show IPA –noun a stiff flour pudding, boiled or steamed and often flavored with currants, citron, and spices. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Origin: 1830–40; dial. var. (Scots, N England) of dough ..................................................................................... Oxford Dictionary duff1 …a flour pudding boiled or steamed in a cloth bag… The first definition does sound a lot like Christmas pudding Also this on Wikipedia (if reliable) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding Caryl Shan't ask you to cook a Christmas pud which is far richer with things like sugar, beer (stout or porter) included. According to The Long Trail (Soldiers Songs and Slang) by Brophy and Partridge Duff was "boiled suet pudding" On that basis it could also apply to dumplings and be eaten with beef. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarylW Posted 2 January , 2011 Share Posted 2 January , 2011 Shan't ask you to cook a Christmas pud which is far richer with things like sugar, beer (stout or porter) included. According to The Long Trail (Soldiers Songs and Slang) by Brophy and Partridge Duff was "boiled suet pudding" On that basis it could also apply to dumplings and be eaten with beef. Oh good, because I wouldn't have a clue You are right about the duff referring to dumplings, as mentioned in Graham's grandfather's letter here: "At dinner time we got some fine beef & duff, the first duff we'd had for a whole month. What should we have said at home if Mothers and wives had made us go without duff for a day let alone a whole month" Beef and dumplings makes more sense and at home dumplings would have been eaten on an almost everyday basis, added to meals, stews, casseroles to fill up the menfolk and make what was in the pot go further and they would hardly be given Christmas pud every day by wives and mothers' but I still maintain that 'Plum duff' refers to Christmas pudding rather than spotted dick I've hopefully attached a photo of soldiers in Newcastle, Co. Down with their field cooking facilities. Peter Interesting photo Peter! I downloaded it and enlarged it to see the detail. What would the name of the camp have been? Looks as if they would have had a lot of men to feed there, judging by the number of tents. I can see the steam or smoke rising from near to the ground, the cook in white and a soldier wearing an apron with a shovel who looks as if he might be shovelling more coal (coke?) onto a fire of some sorts. What method of cooking are they using there do you know? Or is it just a large basic camp fire? They must have needed to have a lot of pots all boiling at once to cater for them all Caryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 2 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 2 January , 2011 [/i]Beef and dumplings makes more sense and at home dumplings would have been eaten on an almost everyday basis, added to meals, stews, casseroles to fill up the menfolk and make what was in the pot go further and they would hardly be given Christmas pud every day by wives and mothers' but I still maintain that 'Plum duff' refers to Christmas pudding rather than spotted dick Figgy Duff, Plum Duff and Spotted Dick were all Navy slang for the same thing. Still a traditional Newfoundland Fishermans dish see photo nothing like a Christmas pud. My grandmother use to make both Christmas plum puds and plum duffs - nothing like each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEW Posted 2 January , 2011 Share Posted 2 January , 2011 Caryl As you mentioned an interest in Peter's photo I thought I'd show this one. It is 2/5th Koyli in Strensall April 1915. The cooking arrangements look very similar to me with double rows of bricks probably allowing for variable amounts of heat by simply raking material away or banking up. Not a lot of hygiene going on!! TEW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 3 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 3 January , 2011 Caryl As you mentioned an interest in Peter's photo I thought I'd show this one. It is 2/5th Koyli in Strensall April 1915. The cooking arrangements look very similar to me with double rows of bricks probably allowing for variable amounts of heat by simply raking material away or banking up. Not a lot of hygiene going on!! TEW Dunno - the cooks were probably under strict instructions to wash their hands afterwards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarylW Posted 3 January , 2011 Share Posted 3 January , 2011 Figgy Duff, Plum Duff and Spotted Dick were all Navy slang for the same thing. Still a traditional Newfoundland Fishermans dish see photo nothing like a Christmas pud. My grandmother use to make both Christmas plum puds and plum duffs - nothing like each other. Possibly splitting hairs here. 'Plum duff' may mean different things to different people. Could depend on family traditions, regional differences or just a matter of taste as to what exactly went into a plum pudding or 'duff' and what it was called. The addition of alcohol, i.e. beer, stout, brandy, dark rum, any or all, plus the traditional spices and more dried fruit used at Christmas time to a spotted dick would turn it into a Christmas pudding. Great War sources refer to Christmas pudding being described as 'Plum Pudding' during that time period Recipe for 'Plum pudding' (Plum duff) here sounds very like Christmas pudding http://www.bbc.co.uk...gplumduff_89799 More online references to 'Plum Pudding' eaten at Christmas time in the trenches http://www.independe...ar-2167090.html http://www.walesonli...91466-27899242/ http://www.ireland-f...um-pudding.html From War Illustrated Caryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarylW Posted 3 January , 2011 Share Posted 3 January , 2011 Caryl As you mentioned an interest in Peter's photo I thought I'd show this one. It is 2/5th Koyli in Strensall April 1915. The cooking arrangements look very similar to me with double rows of bricks probably allowing for variable amounts of heat by simply raking material away or banking up. Not a lot of hygiene going on!! TEW Thanks Tew, very interesting. Ahhh so that's how they did it! Caryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 12 August , 2014 Share Posted 12 August , 2014 I like these meals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now