In 1988 the ‘Vintage Dalesman’ collection of articles featured an article on Frumenty, and how to make it.

Frumenty, in the Yorkshire Dales, and other parts of northern England, was a traditional part of Christmas eating.  It is a sweetened pudding, eaten hot, with cream or milk if preferred.

There are variations on the recipe, but the basis is:

• equal parts of 1 pint crushed wheat, 1 pint milk and 1 pint of water, soaked overnight, traditionally in a stone jar.

It is then cooked for three hours in a slow oven, with sugar to sweeten, until the Frumenty is thick and porridge-like.  It can be flavoured with spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg, and honey and currents can also be added – these can be stirred in just before serving.

The writer of the article,  M.A. McManners, noted that:

[in the past] “The tiny hamlet of Stone, high up in Nidderdale, still had a curious custom connected with the eating of the Christmas dish of Frumenty. First the two eldest had to eat from the dish together, then the two next in age, down to the two youngest.”

 

Source: McManners, M.A. (1988) ‘How to Make Frumenty’, p.19, Vintage Dalesman. Dalesman Books