I don't get people's obsession with fruitcake. What's good about it? Nothing. I visited the Hurricane Pioneer Museum a couple of months ago and saw a 100-year old preserved fruitcake? WHY? What would possess someone to want to preserve a fruitcake? According to wikipedia, fruitcake is "a cake made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts and spices, and optionally soaked in spirits. Fruitcakes are often served in the celebration of weddings and Christmas." I guess people like it because it's typically drenched in spirits. But what bride would have something like that at her wedding. Give me a chocolate cake rich in icing any day! I also learned from our somewhat trusty souce wikipedia, that "starting in the 16th century, inexpensive 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." I still think that no matter how much sugar you use, fruitcakes should be banned. Here's some facts about fruitcake to think about....
47-Percentage of people who say they’d toss a holiday fruitcake in the trash without delay
47-Percentage of people who say they’d toss a holiday fruitcake in the trash without delay
11-Percentage of people who say they would make time to re-gift a fruitcake
25-Years that fruitcakes can age and still be enjoyed, as long as they have the right preservatives and are stored in tightly closed tins
2,952-Pounds of fruitcake delivered to U.S. troops in Iraq for the holidays last year
25 years! Who wants to eat a 25 year old fruitcake?!
I leave you with one of my favorite comedians, Jim Gaffigan, talking about cake. Enjoy!
