Full question
I don't have any sherry on hand but I do have a full bottle of James Cook Dark Rum. Would it be an acceptable substitute for the 175ml of Sherry that the original recipe calls for? I intend to cook this in the pressure cooker.
Our answer
Nigella's Ultimate Christmas Pudding (from NIGELLA CHRISTMAS) uses Pedro Ximenez sherry to soak the dried fruits as the dark, treacly flavour of the sherry matches well with the flavours of Christmas.
If you don't have PX sherry it is worth searching out a bottle as it is also excellent to serve in small glasses with the pudding on Christmas Day. However, if it is difficult then you can use alternatives. A sweet marsala or Madeira wine are good alternatives but if you only have a bottle of rum, whisky or brandy on hand then one of these could also be used. They have a higher alcohol content than the PX sherry, but as the pudding is steamed for a long time then this won't affect the finished pudding. However, if you are cooking the pudding in a pressure cooker then do make sure that you steam the pudding in the normal way for 20 minutes before you switch to pressure cooking.
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