HOLIDAY COIN TRADITIONS
The Threat of Choking on a Silver Sixpence and Is Chocolate Really Better than Gold?
Since coins were first used as currency in around the 5th - 6th Century BC they have been an integral part of everyday life and society. However the power and importance of coins themselves goes far further than just the humble transaction. Coins are essentially a little blank artist’s canvas and the perfect vessel for propaganda. The monarch, ruler or governing body can put whatever symbols or cultural references that they like on their surfaces, so for centuries they were used to spread messages, and in fact for many people the bust present on a coin would be their only opportunity to know what the monarch even looked like. So naturally plenty of traditions developed over the millennia that have coins at their centre, several of which focus around one of the most magical seasons of the year. The holidays.
But would the holidays be the holidays without the involvement of food. Food is always an important part of the culture of celebrating so would it surprise you to know that each of these coin traditions are all linked to a particular festive recipe? Well we’ve got four recipes and traditions for you here that you can even try out yourself if you would like. We certainly have!
THE CHRISTMAS PUDDING
QUEEN VICTORIA’S CHRISTMAS PUDDING
Makes one 400g pudding.
160g mixed raisins, currants, candied orange, lemon and citron
100g chopped beef suet
80g plain flour
60g brown sugar
1 egg
80ml milk
Grated zest of ½ lemon
1 tsp of ground nutmeg and cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
Shot of brandy
A pinch of salt
Mix all of the ingredients together thoroughly and leave in the fridge for about an hour.
Spread a 400g pudding mould with butter and pour in the mixture.
Place a muslin cloth over the top of the pudding mould to seal and tie tight with string.
Place the pudding mould into a large saucepan of water that should cover ⅔ rds of the mould but not submerge it and boil for around 3 hours with the lid on to contain the steam.
The pudding is done once a skewer placed into the centre comes out clean.
Pour with brandy, light, and enjoy!
Best served with custard or cream.
Well, of course the origins and traditions of the Christmas pudding go back much further than the Victorians. It actually originated in England and goes back centuries, first beginning life in Medieval times as pottage, which was a kind of savoury broth or stew that was thickened with breadcrumbs or almonds, practically unrecognisable from the pudding we know today. It was also served at the beginning of the meal instead of at the end. But eventually over time this pottage somehow transformed into our Christmas Pudding.
This transformation started as dried fruit became more available after the 16th Century slowly shifting the pottage from savoury to sweet and making it a bit more solid, served more like a porridge, or even, alarmingly, cooked inside a skin like a sausage. Around 1650 it became a customary Christmas dessert but then it was almost banned! Puritans deemed it was 'sinfully rich' and 'unfit for God-fearing people'. Don’t worry though as George I re - established it as part of the Christmas meal once again in 1714 and the Christmas Pudding that we know today emerged around a century later as Prince Albert firmly placed it on the Christmas Table complete with the addition of Christmas’s favourite choking hazard, a Silver Sixpence, a coin that was first minted during the reign of Edward VI in 1551.
The Victorians really fell in love with Christmas and this was largely down to the way that their Royal Family celebrated it. Therefore Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are really the people to be held accountable for the creation of the Christmas celebrations and traditions that we know today. Much of our Christmas traditions have Germanic roots, such as the decorated Christmas tree, Gingerbread and of course the Christmas pudding. Traditions that we wouldn’t have without the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a union that brought the Germanic Christmas traditions of Albert’s childhood to the Royal Palace.
So the tradition of the Christmas Sixpence begins on Stir Up Sunday, the last Sunday before advent. Traditionally this is the day where the family gathered together to prepare the Christmas Pudding. Since Victorian times every member of the household would give the pudding mixture a stir and make a wish and naturally there were plenty of superstitions that surrounded this. For starters, if you dared to not join in the stirring of the pudding and you were unmarried then you would be condemned to remain a spinster for the following year. In honour of the Three Wise Men who came from the east to visit the baby Jesus the stirring of the pudding must have commenced from east to west. Finally, further wishes and luck would be bestowed upon the family through the hiding of various trinkets within the mixture, trinkets that of course included the Silver Sixpence, a trinket that once found was a sign of wealth and good luck in the year to come.
Sadly sixpence coins were withdrawn from circulation in 1971 and ceased to be legal tender after the 30th June 1980 but the tradition still continues to this day as the Royal Mint continues to release a brand new sixpence every single year to mark Christmas.
Notes from the Kitchen :
“Possibly the recipe we were most scared of, but what a triumph! What could be more simpler than mixing some ingredients together and then boiling some water. We would 100% recommend if you have a spare 4 hours. The pudding itself was delightfully light and packed with flavour we accidentally ended up eating half of it in the tasting! But we must share some top tips, firstly don’t forget to sterilise your sixpence with boiling water, and don’t worry if you can’t find a pudding mould, the hard plastic mould the shop bought puddings come in works just as well. They are even designed to be steamed just make sure they are placed on top of a heat proof saucer so they don’t touch the bottom of a pan!”
CHOCOLATE COINS
HOMEMADE HANUKKAH GELT
Makes around 8 individual gelt.
1 bar of milk chocolate
1 bar of dark chocolate (pareve friendly)
Toppings of your choice
Suggestions: orange rind, dried fruit such as cranberries, raisins, mango, crystallised fruit, sesame seeds, walnuts, almonds, cashews.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil.
Melt the chocolate.
Carefully drop a tablespoon at a time of chocolate onto the baking sheet to form circles.
Decorate with your choice of toppings before the chocolate hardens.
Allow the chocolate to harden at room temperature for around 30 mins.
Remove from the baking sheet and enjoy!
Are you a lover of the Chocolate coins that begin appearing on supermarket shelves around this time of the year, or would you have preferred gold? The origins of our shiny gold chocolate coins actually begin with the creation of the traditions of the Christmas Stocking. A festive act that is all down to one man, St Nicholas.
The legend is set in the 4th Century, during the time of St Nicholas, a man who took pleasure in giving presents to people who were less fortunate than himself. A charitable act that he preferred to do anonymously. Well he’s just overheard the unfortunate tale of a freshly widowed father who, following his wife’s tragic loss, was unable to afford the dowry of his three daughters, condemning them to a life of spinsterhood. Upon hearing this St Nicholas took it upon himself to right this unfortunate act and at the dead of night clambered down the family’s chimney, there he found the girls stockings which had all been left to dry hanging by the fire, the perfect opportunity. He slipped a small bag of gold coins into each pair of stockings. Naturally after news of this mysterious and saintly act spread around the town, and the girl's dowries paid, stockings were soon hung out to dry over every fire in town. They weren’t all filled with gold coins but this is what, over time, turned into the tradition of the Christmas Stocking.
So how and when did the bag of gold coins turn into chocolate? St Nicholas’s good deed had become a symbolic festive offering cementing the gold coin into Christmas tradition. However when Chocolate arrived into Europe in the 16th Century the giving of gold coins very quickly turned into the giving of chocolate coins. Apparently chocolate was a better gift than gold! And it wasn’t just Christmas tradition that saw the gift of coins either as another holiday celebration soon adopted this chocolate tradition too. Hanukkah.
During the eight-day winter holiday known as Hanukkah, which is celebrated in Jewish religion, money is distributed as gifts during the giving of Hanukkah Gelt which is an important symbolic part of the celebration. Gelt is simply the yiddish term for money, with the act of gelt giving during Hanukkah emerging as an important tradition during the Middle Ages where gelt was given by children to their Jewish teacher. At that time it can be described sort of like a tip. Over time the tradition expanded to giving children the gelt to emphasise the importance of Jewish education.
To start with the gelt was actually real money that was exchanged but by the time we get to the 1920’s, when Hanukkah celebrations were becoming more prominent in the U.S, an American candy company picked up on the giving of gelt and saw it as the perfect marketing opportunity. So the first Hanukkah Gelt chocolate coins emerged complete with a shiny gold foil coating. Today during the celebration of Hanukkah, Gelt is enjoyed by the whole family as it is used to play the game of Dreidel. A traditional game that involves a spinning top and a game of chance as players play against each other to hold onto their piles of chocolate gelt.
Notes from the Kitchen:
“The simplest and tastiest recipe! Honestly what’s not to love about getting creative with melted chocolate? These went down a treat with the whole household.”
LUNAR NEW YEAR
One of the most important holiday celebrations of the year in East and South East Asian Cultures is Lunar New Year. A 15 day celebration that typically begins with the first new moon at the end of January and continues until the full moon arrives. This holiday has ancient roots and is thought to date back to the Shang Dynasty in China in the 14th century B.C where it was the occasion to celebrate the harvest, worship the gods and ask for good harvests in times to come.
Today each culture celebrates the Lunar New Year slightly differently but every tradition associated with the celebrations symbolises prosperity, abundance and togetherness. Houses are thoroughly cleaned to rid them of bad spirits, food and paper icons are offered to the ancestors and red paper banners will start to spring up inside and outside homes inscribed with calligraphy messages of good health and fortune. Food is, of course, also an important part of this celebration and the types of food eaten symbolises the important meanings behind Lunar New Year and take their inspiration and roots from the main symbol in culture that is directly linked to prosperity and wealth, coins and currency.
ALMOND COOKIES
Makes 24 individual cookies.
100g ground almonds
150g all - purpose flour
150g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
2 eggs
1 tsp almond extract
135g granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
Sliced almonds
Mix the ground almonds, butter and a pinch of salt together in a bowl until the mixture becomes coarse and chunky looking.
Add one egg and the almond extract and beat together until incorporated.
Add flour, sugar and baking soda and mix until a dough is formed.
Pour the mixture out onto cling film and form into a disc, chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celsius and line baking sheets with parchment paper or tin foil.
Take pieces of the dough and roll into small balls, gently press these down onto the baking sheet to form flattened coin shapes.
Beat the remaining egg and brush the tops of the cookies with the mixture before placing a sliced almond on top and pressing into place.
Bake for 15 - 17 minutes until the cookies turn a dark golden colour.
Let rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before removing and enjoy!
When it comes to currency, China is the country with the most experience with its first currency dating back to 5000 BC when they first started using cowrie shells in trade. By 221 BC the cast bronze currency at the time was standardised by the first Emperor causing the introduction of one of the most iconic shapes of Chinese coins known. The round coin with a square hole known as ‘Cash’ Coins. The hole allowed the coins to be strung together, creating the first wearable currency, and a currency that stood the test of time lasting for over 2,000 years. So does it surprise you that during Lunar New Year there is a cookie specially made in its honour?
The Almond Cookie symbolises these ancient ‘cash’ coins and was initially meant only for royalty before the recipe escaped to all classes. They are meant to bring you good fortune and prosperity and can even be found moulded into the very shape of the coins. But traditionally during the creation of the homemade almond cookie a sliced almond is used to represent the iconic central hole of the ‘cash’ coin.
There are many legends that surround the invention of the Cookie but our favourite is the legend where Emperor Qianlong secretly visits a village in South China where it had not rained for months, so all of the village had gathered at the village's temple to pray for rain. There the Emperor was given a Cookie to welcome him, this cookie was so delicious that after he went home, he ordered the local people to make them for the palace. This cookie was of course the Almond Cookie that went on to be cemented into tradition for centuries.
Today the Almond Cookie is so popular that there’s a whole National Chinese Almond Cookie Day celebrated on April 9th and the cookies that were once only served during Lunar New Year are now available all year round
Notes from the Kitchen:
“These were delightfully soft with a crisp exterior and flavour not too dissimilar to marzipan. An excellent recipe to make too not needing too much technical baking skill! A firm favourite we will 100% be making these again.”
LUNAR NEW YEAR DUMPLINGS
Makes 30 dumplings.
250g pork mince
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
½ tsp ground pepper
A pinch of salt
2 spring onions finely sliced
1 tbsp minced ginger
200g shredded savoy cabbage
1 clove garlic minced
Dumpling wrappers
Place the mince into a bowl and add the soy sauce, a pinch of salt and pepper and mix well.
Blanch the cabbage for a couple of mins to soften and drain, squeezing out as much as possible.
Add the blanched cabbage, spring onions, sesame oil, ginger and garlic to the meat mixture and mix well.
Place a small portion of the dumpling mixture into the centre of a dumpling wrapper.
Wet the edges of the dumpling wrapper with water.
Gently lift the edges of the wrapper over the filling to meet at the centre and crimp the edges several times along the edge, pinching along to seal.
Add 1 tbsp oil to a large drying pan and add the dumplings, dry until they are brown on one side.
Add 100 ml boiling water to the pan and cover with a lid to trap the steam.
Let the dumplings steam until they become semi translucent and the filling is cooked.
Remove, serve with a dipping sauce and enjoy!
Now, as the currency in ancient China was based upon weight it wasn’t just coins that existed as the only payment options. One particular alternative payment option has become so symbolic that it is preserved to this day in one of China’s best loved foods. The dumpling.
Dumplings take the shape of an ancient yuanbao. A gold or silver ingot that was made by individual silversmiths for local exchange in ancient China. The shape of these ingots are an incredibly important symbol in Chinese culture that symbolises prosperity, income and wealth, and you can often find them in the form of ornaments popular throughout the culture. But the dumplings connection to Chinese currency doesn’t stop there as they are known as jiaozi, named after the earliest paper money in China.
So of course they are part of an important Lunar New Year tradition which sees the dumpling as the first meal of the Lunar New Year. The idea behind eating dumplings at Lunar New Year, a food which is so symbolic of ancient currency and wealth, is the idea of having money at the exchange of years, but in old tradition the dumplings could often contain a more literal surprise. During the preparation of the dumplings that is traditionally undertaken on Lunar New Year's Eve a coin is hidden inside one of the dumplings, as they are consumed at midnight on Lunar New Year the person who finds the coin is said to be lucky, and prosperous for the New Year.
Notes from the Kitchen:
“We would 100% recommend watching a couple of videos on wrapping a dumpling. Folding and pleating that seal is certainly an art form that requires a delicate touch. We had quite the competition between us creating the finest dumpling but some poor looking lads were certainly an embarrassment to all involved. Despite the challenge they were delicious and certainly didn’t last long on the plate once finished! It had been a long day of holiday cooking after all.”
Three very separate holiday celebrations that are all connected by the thing that probably ties us all together the most. Currency. Do you have any traditions in your family that bear a nod towards the coins that make up much of our everyday lives?
