Trifling things

Trifle’s a controversial topic. Christmas foods do tend toward the divisive – from descriptions of plum pudding as ‘the devil’s food’ to those of brandy butter as ‘a sugary cyst’.⁶⁰ But trifle really gets people going. Responses to one poll (mine) about why it was a Christmas food included ‘it is the very pinnacle of perfection’, to ‘booze and cream!’ But there were also heated debates about the inclusion of alcohol, bought cake vs home-made cake and – the ultimate trifle touch paper – to jelly or not to jelly – and was jam an acceptable substitute, or should all such things be banned? Trifle is by no means as tied to Christmas as many of the other foods in this book, but it is a constant presence in surveys of Christmas dinners. Done well, it shares many of the characteristics of other festive foods – it is time-consuming to make, it looks spectacular, it is expensive, and it is best shared between a large group of people. Done badly, it is a mess of soggy cake and overly sweet booze, a slimy bowl of clashing flavours and terrible textures.