On average, a fruitcake weighs up to two pounds, serves six to seven people, and contains candied or dried fruits, walnuts, dates, flour, sugar, eggs as well as alcohol (like rum, whiskey, or brandy). Culinary lore claims that ancient Egyptians placed an early version of the fruitcake on the tombs of loved ones perhaps as food for the afterlife.
Fruitcakes were not common until Roman times when pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and barley mash were mixed together to form a ring-shaped dessert. Prized for its portability and shelf life, Roman soldiers often brought fruitcake with them to the battlefields. Later in the Middle Ages, preserved fruit, spices and honey were added to the mix and fruitcakes gained popularity with crusaders.
In fact, by the early 18th century, fruitcake became synonymous with decadence and was outlawed in Europe, where it was proclaimed "sinfully rich." The law was eventually repealed since fruitcake had become an important part of the tea hour particularly in England. In 1969, astronauts aboard Apollo 11 ate two meals. While the first meal consisted of bacon, sugar cookie cubes, coffee and a pineapple-grapefruit drink, the humble fruitcake starred in meal two alongside beef stew and cream of chicken soup.
Panettone
and stollen are relatives to the fruitcake. The Italian version, panettone, is
lighter, with a cake-like consistency, and isn't made with alcohol. Stollen,
fruitcake's German counterpart, has lower sugar content and also omits alcohol.
Both have fruit and nuts.
Some
fruitcakes are made one year in advance. (A fruitcake can still be edible for 26 years if
stored in an airtight tin.) This allows the cake to deepen its flavors since
fruit contains tannins
that (like wine) release
over time. The loaf should be heavy, moist, and have a variety of flavor in
order to be a successful dessert. A fruitcake can have citrus notes and spices
like cinnamon
and clove. (11 % of people who said they planned to regift their fruitcake.)Each year in early January, the town of Manitou Springs, CO. gathers for the Annual Great Fruitcake Toss. Besides acting as a food drive, participants must bring one canned item to gain admission. The event is a clever way to rid citizens of unwanted fruitcakes. Fruitcakes can be hurled, tossed, or launched by a spud gun.
The Best Showmanship award encourages contestants to wear costumes and decorate their launching devices. Since 1994, individuals and teams have tested their projectile prowess with the promise of a trophy. Judges take the event seriously and make contestants adhere to standards such as weight divisions (two- and four-pound fruitcakes), launching distances, fruitcake contents (must contain glacéed fruits, nuts, flour and be edible) and launching devices (non-fuel devices only).
In 2006, nutrition and food
scientist Thom Castonguay blew up fruitcakes with a bomb calorimeter. This is a metal box that allows for small-scale
food explosions. The heat from the explosion was measured in order to determine
the amount of calories in the fruitcake. Some people prefer to repurpose their fruitcakes
in less dramatic ways, like the old stand-by: fruitcake-as-doorstop. 47 % of
people said they received a fruitcake as a gift and threw it away.
“Friends are the fruitcake of life - some nutty, some soaked in alcohol, some sweet.” (Jon Ronson) [i]
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