I love creme brulee I am remembering Jack Tripper now. I absolutely LOVE fruit cake! And like Dan, with a nice hot cup of black coffee! It has to be homemade fruit cake....not that store bought funky stuff that has a shelf life of 75 years... :mdrmdr: 75 years? Oh, no! I wouldn't want to eat what's been around for 75 years. Might be a bit moldy. Fruit cake? That's a pass for me. I meet enough people like that in my everyday life. :wacko: Seriously, there is a reason there are Christmas fruit cake regifting jokes out there. 😉 Well I’m pleased to see the “fruitcake” club is still gaining members :whistle: … Yohanan is fully on board and Church girl (only if its freshly baked) lol … believe me, it’s from heaven’s bakery so it will be. :yes: Heidi is still thinking about it … scared of the 75 yr expiration date while T.R. remains awfully silent. :scratch: Meanwhile its a VERY strong no go :negative: from Tammie. And Arthur …with the wisecracks … have you even tasted it once? Are you telling me you don’t like raisins, dates, and various nuts? Or are you turned off by the chewy candy? You can always pick out the candy. Or … will you eat the fruitcake if the chewy candy is switched out for peanut butter M & M’s? 😉 Here is the History of the Fruitcake “There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep passing it around.” – Johnny Carson The simple holiday fruitcake has been to outer space, served as the world’s first energy bar, and is an international $100 million business. However, despite all of these achievements, this ancient Roman dessert is still the target of countless jokes. As we approach the final days of National Fruitcake Month, here is a look at the history of one of the world's most hated/loved cakes of all time. Fruitcake’s great, great, grandfather is the Roman Satura. The ancient Romans were looking for a way to sustain their troops in battle and developed a bread consisting of pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, raisins, barley mash, and honeyed wine. This cake was packed with calories and lasted long enough to fortify a soldier through an epic and exhausting campaign. As dried fruits became more readily available, this Roman warrior energy bar eventually made its way off the battlefields and into homes as a dessert for special occasions. When Rome fell, local variations on the fruitcake emerged, including Italy’s panaforte and panettone, Germany’s powdered sugar-coated stollen, and Britain’s plum pudding. Then, during the sugar boom of the 16th century the fruitcake, that we know today, began to emerge in Europe. Increasing amounts of fruit began to be preserved by soaking the fruit in inexpensive sugar from the colonies. The modern fruitcake was created as a way to deal with the abundance of sugar-laced fruit and, by the early 19th century, the typical recipe was full of citrus peel, pineapples, plums, dates, pears, and cherries.by the late 1800s, the fruitcake was gifted in decorative tins, becoming a holiday staple with Christmas and fruitcake becoming intertwined in Victorian England with the help of colonial sugar. The British adaptation of the Roman Satura recipe, plum porridge, was influenced by the sugar trade and the traditional meat in the porridge was replaced with the readily available sugar preserved fruit. During Christmas in the 19th century, it was traditional for English nobles to feed poor carolers with a slice of plum pudding and the Christmas carol, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” made begging for this figgy pudding famous. Eventually, the fruitcake made its voyage to America with colonists in the years before the Revolution and nowadays it is enjoyed throughout the world. Today, seven million pounds of this historic cake are produced each year, with three companies -- The Swiss Colony, Claxton Bakery and Georgia Fruitcake Company -- competing for the title of “Fruitcake Capital of the World." - Fair Use - Looks like the Romans used this amazing delicious cake to win some battles. B-) Well, I’m definitely in Churchgal’s camp. Only fresh fruit cake. None of that massed produced junk that gets regifted at Christmas time. :negative: You get a like for the informative article as well as the peanut butter M & Ms reference. I didn't realize it was the Romans that were responsible for this uhhh... thing. It's still *yuck* for me, though. :wacko: If it does not contain Maraschino cherries then it gets upgraded into the barely edible category. I find Maraschino cherries revolting. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/maraschino-cherries#TOC_TITLE_HDR_9 I am told there is an over a 100yr old fruit cake in existence! They make great doorstops! How about sawdust!? TR Oh my! I LOVE maraschino cherries! I would even pour the red juice in a glass and drink it!!! Thank you for sharing this info. I didn’t realize it contained dangerous Red 40 toxic cancer chemicals. A former deacon in my NJ church … he was a scientist that worked for Johnson & Johnson and he forbid his wife to bake with Red food coloring. His son was in my class and told us this. Sadly … he died of cancer in his mid 20’s and his dad died of cancer about 8 years ago. I’m drinking a lot of lemon water and that counteracts any cancer cells from forming … because it instantly makes your body alkaline. Cancer thrives on an acid diet.
By culinary agents
