OnePoll conducted the survey of 1,000 consumers and asked them to complete the sentence ‘It’s not Christmas without…’. 58% responded with roast turkey, with Christmas crackers coming second .
Brussels sprouts came third (41%), followed by Christmas cracker jokes (33%) and falling asleep to a Christmas film on TV came fifth (26%).
The perfect Christmas dinner consists of two slices of meat, three roast potatoes, five or more Brussels sprouts, two pigs in blankets, two tablespoons of stuffing and two parsnips. Gravy and cranberry sauce are the condiments and sauces of choice (76% and 48% respectively).
Chris Brown, channel category manager of Unilever Food Solutions, said: “research uncovered some great findings about what people think makes the perfect Christmas dinner. Pubs that want to offer crowd pleasing Christmas menus should make sure they offer all the classics like turkey, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets and gravy.”
Only 33% want a starter with Christmas dinner, for those that do, prawn cocktail tops the list (19%), followed by soup (17%). Dessert is much more popular, with more than a third opting for Christmas pudding (35%), followed by chocolate yule log (17%).