Apparently, the dessert had a fine reputation in the s before Carson and others started sullying its name. I associate fruitcake and disdain for it for an old Mary-Kate and Ashley film where an older couple who robs mail trucks at Christmas time gets frustrated because so much of their haul in one scene is fruitcakes; what a horrible gift, the lesson seemed to be, not even criminals like it. It seems unlikely that Johnny Carson would make such a joke out of the blue with nothing to back it up; the best and most successful comedy, after all, has some sort of basis in truth.
So fruitcake had to have had a reputation before his infamous statement. With the advent of home appliances and pre-prepared, freezable foods, many food items became associated with quantity and convenience over quality.
People stopped making things from scratch as much, including the fruitcake, and some of those products became synonymous with their generic, uncreative, low-quality, mass-produced versions. In the age of fake news, even the information we have about our desserts may need to be investigated further and not merely accepted at face value.
Before anything though, I needed to put my taste buds on the line and take an actual bite of the devil's loaf to see if my jokes all these years had been unfounded. The raisins and "cherries" of the crumbling cake bounced around my mouth, the semi-sweet, pungent taste radiated to the back of my throat.
The practical definition of a "fruitcake" isn't particularly nuanced. It can have myriad spices and flavorings, but as long as it's composed of those three essentials, it is a fruitcake. Shape -- whether it's a log, a bundt-cake situation, or something else entirely -- makes no difference. Because fruitcake is so loosely defined, versions exist all over the world. For example, stollen , or even the Italian panettone.
The American fruitcake bears little resemblance to its international counterparts. It was introduced to the Americas by way of Europe in the 16th century, but it wasn't until mail order fruitcakes became available in America in that it became the lazy man's go-to gift. For a modern fruitcake model, look to Colin Street Bakery 's classic or the equally famous Claxton fruitcake.
These pictures can be considered NSFW, if your workplace frowns upon dry heaving at your desk. We envision fruitcake as a quickly assembled, cheaply constructed facsimile. Virginia Glass -- self-schooled pastry purveyor and amateur fruitcake historian -- and NYU professor of food studies and author, Amy Bentley , believe that much of the resentment towards fruitcake stems from the disconnect of what fruitcake actually is, versus what Americans have come to believe it is.
In their opinion, redemption will only happen if the dessert can be redefined. What we envision as fruitcake is a quickly assembled, cheaply constructed facsimile.
This is the problem. A fruitcake should be rich, it should taste like dried fruit and spices and alcohol. Americans have spent decades rolling our eyes at this beast and its questionable taste, texture, and toughness. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Manitou Springs, Colorado. The city is home to the Great Fruitcake Toss , an annual event where people compete to see who can fling the dessert the furthest using a variety of mechanical contraptions. But has it always been this way? And more importantly, should it be? As is usually the case when history is long and complicated, the answer is both yes and no.
However, rather than eat them right away, people would wait an entire year before serving them, out of superstition that it would bring good luck for the new year.
While the cakes can withstand days without refrigeration, they were rarely properly preserved. Thus, this tradition helped the cake achieve its reputation as a tough, rock hard dessert. I know it's one of those long standing jokes that people pass them on for years. So, if you send me one, please, I would prefer one that is freshly baked. Thank you. Joined Aug 5, Messages Reaction score Do they?
I LOVE fruitcake. The last one I baked went a bit wrong, I ended up putting wrong amounts of ingredients in, but they usually turn out alright! Joined Aug 9, Messages Reaction score I too like fruitcake. I wouldn't say I love it but I don't mind it. It wouldn't be my first choice for a dessert but I too don't think it is so bad that it's reputation precedes it!! LOL I think maybe what turns people off is that it is so dense. Maybe they just haven't ever had a good one?
I've never tried to make it but that is probably because it isn't chocolate!!! Joined Jul 9, Messages 12 Reaction score 2. My Great-Grandmother made fruitcake, and I loved it!
I've never attempted making my own, but maybe that will go on the holiday list this year? Joined Apr 29, Messages Reaction score I love fruitcake ,too, and it is one of the things that I look forward to enjoying at the holiday season, along with eggnog in my morning coffee.
I have never made any, but I usually buy it when they have some in the stores. It is so expensive, even for a little one, so I just get one of them, and then after New Years, they usually put them on clearance, so I get more then and freeze it, providing there is any left to go on sale at the store. Someone must like it, it seems to sell pretty fast, even at the high prices. Joined May 2, Messages 1, Reaction score People hate fruitcake because they've only had store bought fruitcake.
If they had moist, homemade fruitcake, they might change their minds. I've never made my own fruitcake, but I've tried someone else's homemade fruitcake and I liked it. Homemade fruitcake is a different experience from the store bought fruitcake. I even like the store bought kind. It makes me happy that so many people responded that they also like fruitcake. I am not feeling like such a weirdo now. Yes, it can be kind of dense, but depending on how you make it, it doesn't need to be.
Plus, you can use any kind of dried fruits and nuts that you like. It doesn't have to be that heavily candied kind.
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