Plum, in this case, does not refer to the fruit, but is rather an adjective meaning "good"... maybe. Plum may also be a reference to sugarplums, which was simply a sweet sort of candy, or to the raisins that were often used to sweeten the pudding, and were sometimes referred to as plums.

A plum pudding is a sponge pudding made with fruit and brandy and sweetened with sugar, although the details have varied greatly over the centuries. Early recipes used beer and beef; sometimes the sugar is mixed in, sometimes poured on top; and they were traditionally boiled, but the Victorians preferred them steamed. They have always been highly spiced.

"Boiled plum or Christmas pudding: Cut a pound of beef-suet extremely fine, to which add a pound of raisins well stoned, half a pound of currants, picked, cleaned, and dried, some nutmeg, two spoonsful of brandy, two ounces of candied lemon-peel, and one ounce of candied orange-peel

Introduction

Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa) are some of the hardiest and easy-to-care-for pets that you can have — they're the perfect depression pets. If you forget to take care of them for weeks or months on end, odds are many of them will still be alive. I have the inkling suspicion that they cannibalize. The males have bumps or "horns" on their heads, while the females do not.

They're beautiful insects; they're large compared to most…

A bolster pudding is any sort of pudding made with suet-based dough spread with jam and rolled-up to look like a bolster cushion. These days these are usually called a roly poly or simply a jam roll, and are usually baked. The bolster pudding was not baked, but wrapped in cloth and either boiled or steamed, usually for a period of a couple of hours.

Bolster puddings had a number of names, including Dog in a Blanket and Jack in a Blanket, refering to the appearance of…