THE incredible eating-drinking extravaganza that is Christmas must be looming because Mum's talking about Christmas puddings - making them, that is.

At 82 years of age and with more Christmas puddings under her belt (or more accurately, under her children's belts), you'd reckon she'd be off the hook by now, but nope.

In the "off' years - the alternate year when we all do our own thing rather than come together for the big Santa shebang - she still makes a pudding.

It's just not Christmas for daughter-in-law number one if she doesn't have Mum's pudding.

Gwen Houlden's the same.

Gwen, 81, of Rochester, made her first Christmas pudding in 1955, the year she married, and began her apprenticeship as the family matriarch.

"I tried making it in a cloth," Gwen says.

"I used to see my mother and grandmother do it that way but I tried it and it fell apart."

Such botchery is long forgotten and each year since she's made one, if not two, puds.

The origins of Gwen's recipe were a mystery to her family.

"The traditional family recipe," they all assumed.

"Been in the family for generations."

In fact, Gwen's daughter Glenda was recently horrified to hear that it was not a family original.

It comes from The Bendigo Cookbook: Recipes from District Housewives, published in the mid-20th century and in fact was attributed to a Mrs Trimble, from Kangaroo Flat.

Well, power to you Mrs Trimble.

Your legacy swells.

Of course, Gwen's mucked around with Mrs Trimble's doings - brandy instead of milk, brown sugar instead of white sugar and raisins or sultanas instead of fruit peel - but her greatest innovation came about three years ago.

And, lo, I say, hers is the revolution that will set pudding makers everywhere free from hours of basin-greasing and string-knotting.

All it takes is an oven bag.

Yes, ladies and gents, simply drop your prepared pudding mix in an oven bag (the sort you put your lamb or chook in for roasting) and sit it in the basin.

It's now ready to boil as normal.

There's no need to grease the basin, no need to cover the basin with tin foil and tie it up tightly with string.

Last year, Gwen heard about the oven bag trick and tried it.

A wonder to behold, she said, promptly ringing Glenda to tell her the good news.

Whereupon Glenda rings me apologising that at that stage it was too late for a column before last Christmas but insisting I spread the word before this Christmas.

So I am. Thanks Glenda.

GWEN'S CHRISTMAS PUDDING

227g butter
227g brown sugar
3 eggs
11/2 cups plain flour
1/2 tspn cream of tartar
3/4 tspn baking soda
1 large tspn mixed spice
227g currants
227g sultanas
11/2 tbspns brandy
85g raisins
85g slivered almonds
100g glaced cherries, chopped

Cream butter and sugar well. Add eggs one at a time. Sift dry ingredients twice, and the third time sift them on to the fruit and gradually add to the egg-butter mixture. Then add brandy.

Place a large oven bag inside steamer base or basin. Fold top down to the outside and spoon in mixture. Tie the bag, allowing plenty of room for rising.

Place wire cooling rack (or enamel plate) in bottom of boiler and add boiling water. Place on heat and bring to boil before adding pudding.

Boil for 4 hours. Remove pudding from basin. Leave pudding in oven bag, tied.

Once cool, place in the fridge for up to a week, or alternatively freeze.

Boil for a 1 hour on Christmas Day and serve with custard or brandy sauce.