Twentieth Century

Although the nineteenth century had done a lot of damage to British cuisine, the disappearance of domestic servants in the twentieth century only accelerated its decline. The lady of the house now had to try to cook those often time-consuming and labour-intensive dishes herself. Boiling puddings was hardly ever done, and preference was given to steaming in basins or baking. Plum pudding would be for festive occasions only and black, white and haggis-type puddings could be bought from the butchers’ shops.