Reheating Christmas Pud

[shivvy]

I have made this christmas pudding:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/christmaspudding_71054

What I need to know is, do I remove the clingfilm before I reheat the pudding?

[rojash]

I should bl00dy well hope so. Clingfilm steamed for 3.5 hours would not make a tasty snack.

[heathfield]

The clingfilm is there simply to provide an airtight seal whilst the pudding is cooling and is then stored. You don't need it when re-heating. For a Christmas pudding, re-heating in a microwave takes minutes, instead of the hours needed when steaming. This saves a lot of time and cost.

There's another reason to remove clingfilm if you're heating something. Clingfilm contains stuff called elastomers which make it stretchy. Some years ago, it was found that if food was wrapped directly in clingfilm, e.g.cheese, these elastomers migrated into the food, and ended up being consumed. These days there are special clingfilms for wrapping food which reduce this migration, but it can still happen when clingfilm is heated.

[shivvy]

Thanks.