fruitcake, yes or no?

okay, it's that time of year
lots of jokes on this sublime? delicacy:-D:-D:-D
simple poll (or pole) (depending on where your mind is):-D
when I was a kid, it sucked! period!
now, I am old, and I suck.
But, I love fruitcake!!!!!!!!
am I the only one who has acquired a taste for it?

 

I don't like the chewy candies/fruit especially when they look so artificial.
My limited experience may be with low quality Fruitcake... hmm I haven'tr tried it soaked in alcohol. Is that something you made up, or a traditional way to eat it??

What are the origins of fruitcake?

 

I like it pretty much, if fresh and made with quality fruit, etc.

From the Wikipedia entry regarding Fruit Cake:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruitcake

The earliest recipe from ancient Rome lists pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash. In the Middle Ages, honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added, and the name "fruitcake" was first used, from a combination of the words "fruit" (Latin: fructus, Old French: frui), and "cake" (Old Norse: kaka, Middle English: kechel).[1]

Fruitcakes soon proliferated all over Europe; however, recipes varied greatly in different countries throughout the ages, depending on the available ingredients as well as (in some instances) church regulations forbidding the use of butter, regarding the observance of fast. Pope Innocent VIII (1432-1492) finally granted the use of butter, in a written permission known as the 'Butter Letter' or 'Butterbrief.' The Holy Father softened his attitude, and in 1490 he sent a permission to Saxony, stating that milk and butter could be used in the North German Stollen fruitcakes.[2]

Starting in the 16th century, sugar from the American Colonies (and the discovery that high concentrations of sugar could preserve fruits) created an excess of candied fruit, thus making fruitcakes more affordable and popular.[3]

In the 18th century in some areas in Europe, fruitcakes were made using nuts from the harvest for good luck in the following year. The cake was then saved and eaten before the harvest of the next year.[4] The fruitcake also remained popular at Victorian Teas in England throughout the 19th century.[5]

 

It was a tradition to soak the cake in rum after the baking process and then leave it wrapped for 2 or 3 months to ferment.

I loved the traditional Christmas cake as a kid but now i seem to have lost the taste for it.

 

Soak it in Brandy for a few months and then eat it with a nice block of cheddar cheese.

I can taste it as I type.

dave

 

I do like fruitcake if it is done properly, (a.k.a. the Olde English method). I think the last fruitcake of any description I tried was a Wedding cake, (no not mine - it wasn't THAT long ago!), with icing so thick you could lay building foundations with it. At Christmas I'm always too stuffed or too busy - usually both, to even think about it.
Bottom line - if it's not eaten at Christmas it can always be used for next year. Fruit-cake - the perennial food.LOL

 

and to add onto that, the king of fruitcake is the state of Texas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collin_Street_Bakery

 

Only if it is made with high quality booze. :-D

 

My mother used to bake our Chriatmas cake in September, she would wrap it in a muslin cloth then place it in a large cake tin, the cake was fed (given a large brandy every week till Christmas) she used to soak the fruit in a mixture of cold tea and brandy overnight before baking. It was my job to lick the bowl when she'd finished mixing it :yum
Mum also used to make something called bunloaf. almost the same mixture but not a fruity

 

I don't know why,,,,,,,,,,,just all of a sudden came to really like fruitcake ( any variety) a few years ago..just plain cakes suck.(sorry tim) apple, peach, blueberry, etc, fruit pies, etc., cream pies, etc. are THE BOMB:-D

 

just finished 2 batches of peanut brittle
gotta send a couple pounds to mongolia this week for in laws and some great friends. holiday tradition.

 

I tried it when I was a kid, but don't actually recall if I liked it or not. With the exception of in a store, I haven't even seen one in years.

So, I guess I could do without.

Now, my aunt used to make rum cake. I do recall loving that. :yum

 

:yum Absolutely love it, but not the store bought ones. The homemade ones, that are soaked with rum, or brandy, and are made very well.:yum I have two that will be ready about the 23rd! I am using an old recipe my Aunt used to use. She made them for everyone and they are delightful. Just chuck full of fruit !Oh, and some cake, too, Tim!:-D:yum

 

Fruit cake rocks the free world man

 

I like fruitcake but not the overly sweet commercial crap. I always loved the traditional type.:yum

 

Bite me!:-D

 

no, no, no!!! the way forward is to have BOTH :-D

 

I agree with you augie.... love the traditional home-made ones...:drool :yum

Shelagh

 

end of poll...Iam not alone
fruitcake is one of the best!:drool