What do Britons have for Christmas dinner?
For some, Christmas dinner is a much-anticipated highlight of Christmas day itself – a feast to end all feasts.
Turkey still rules the roost at the Christmas dinner table, with 57% of Britons having it as part of their main meal.
Nonetheless, chicken or beef are not uncommon, with just under a quarter of Britons (23-24%) having either as part of their Christmas dinner. One in seven Britons (15%) will be able to tuck into some Christmas ham this December, while 10% of festive dinner tables feature other joints of pork.
Vegetarian or vegan alternatives, such as nut roasts or Quorn, now feature on the Christmas dinner table for 13% of Britons. In 57% of cases, this is in addition to at least one meat option.
Indeed, having more than one main meat portion itself is not a particular rarity, with 41% of Britons saying they have two or more at Christmas dinner.
A roast dinner doesn’t feature in everyone’s 25 December, with 7% of Britons saying they have something else as their main meal on Christmas Day.
With a roast dinner the overwhelming norm for the festive feast, around eight in ten Britons (79-81%) will be accompanying their Christmas Day meal with roast potatoes or gravy.
Carrots will be on the table at 76% of Christmas dinners, while just over two thirds (68-70%) will feature stuffing, pigs in blankets or brussels sprouts, and 62% typically have parsnips as part of their Christmas meal.
Half of Britons (49%) add Yorkshire puddings to the Christmas dinner table, with this rising to 68% of those having the roast beef with which they are traditionally most associated. Roughly four in ten (40-42%) include cranberry sauce or broccoli.
Mashed potato will feature for 35% of Britons, though its appearance does seem to depend on where in the country you are. While it is a component of around half of Christmas dinners in the North (51%) or Midlands (48%), and more than four in ten of those in Scotland (42%) or Wales (44%), just 21% of those in London and 18% in the South will have it.
A third of Britons (33%) include peas as part of their festive dinner, while cauliflower cheese accompanies 27% of Christmas meals. Despite characters in Peep Show famously disagreeing over its traditional status, just 21% of Britons pick cauliflower itself as a Christmas side, placing it in a similar tier to red cabbage (18%), bread sauce (16%) and swede (15%).
What do Britons have for Christmas dessert?
When time comes for dessert, the nation is less united on what is on the table, though traditional options are still the most common.
Christmas pudding is Britain’s top festive dessert, with 41% of Britons being brought some figgy pudding, possibly with a cup of good cheer. Mince pies are the afters of choice for 31% of Britons, while 24% opt for a more savoury cheeseboard.
Yule logs, trifles or Christmas cakes round off the Christmas day feasting for 17-19% of Britons, while 9% opt for a sticky toffee pudding, and stollen or gingerbread feature for 4-5%.
One in eight Britons (12%) say they have something else for dessert, with cheesecake or chocolate options frequently mentioned when asked to specify. One in seven (14%) do not have a dessert after their main meal on Christmas Day.
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