Fruitcake: An Elegant Christmas Dessert that Deserves More Respect!

No other Christmas tradition receives as much disrespect as the reviled fruitcake. Civilized society is divided into two groups: those who love fruitcake and those who despise this dark, dense holiday cake full of preserved fruits and nuts. There seems to be no middle ground. Since the first utterance of the phrase "nutty as a fruitcake," it has been the brunt of jokes and ridicule. Johnny Carson, on The Tonight Show in the early '90's, joked that there was only one fruitcake and it was passed from family to family each year.

Jokes aside, Johnny may have had a valid point. When laced with brandy, rum, or other spirits, wrapped in cheesecloth moistened with spirits, and kept in an airtight container, fruitcake can be kept indefinitely. One reason that some people may not appreciate fruitcake is that they eat it while it's fresh. A fruitcake should be properly aged from one to three months before it's consumed.

Let's give this traditional holiday dessert the respect it deserves. Fruitcake recipes have existed since ancient times (No, not the fruitcakes themselves. Get serious). The ancient Egyptians entombed fruitcakes with their dearly departed loved ones. They believed the dense cake with preserved fruits would survive the journey to the afterlife.

The Middle East was overflowing with dates, citrus fruits, spices and nuts which were not available in other parts of the known world. The Crusaders brought these treasures back with them to Northern Europe. Of course, it was a long journey and they often stopped to cause mayhem along the way, so the perishable fruits were preserved by being dried or candied. Once home, people shared the preserved fruits by mixing them into cakes. Since the fruits and nuts came from the Holy Land and were said to represent the gifts of the Magi, they were revered and saved for holy feasts like Christmas and Easter.

In later centuries, as fruits and nuts became more readily available in Europe, and inexpensive sugar was available from the American Colonies, fruitcake became more affordable. Until the end of the 18^th century laws restricted the consumption of fruitcakes to Christmas, weddings, and a few other holidays because they were "sinfully rich."

Most traditional family recipes produce a cake that is dark, dense, and rich. An excellent fruitcake has little cake matrix to hold the fruits and nuts together. When the cake is sliced, high-quality preserved fruits will shine like the colors in a stained glass window. It's too bad this elegant treat isn't shown proper appreciation.

Part of the problem is that many people who say they don't like fruitcake have never even tasted one. They've only been told that fruitcake is awful, probably by people who have never tasted it either, and taken their word for it. It can be an acquired taste, and an adult taste considering they are often doused with liquor (although most mass-produced fruitcakes are non-alcoholic).

Still not convinced to treat the revered fruitcake with a little respect? Join the annual fruitcake toss held at Manitou Springs Memorial Park in Colorado Spring, Colorado. Each year, participants are invited to throw, swing a golf club at, or otherwise mechanically launch a fruitcake into the stratosphere. As one fruitcake manufacturer points out, perhaps there are some bad fruitcakes that deserve to be tossed. While you're there, pass around some fruitcake jokes. Here's one to get you started:

Q. Why does fruitcake make such a great gift?
A. Because the Post Office hasn't found a way to damage it in the mail!