The cursed holiday gift: Why the fruitcake still has a bad reputation
Nothing brings in the holiday season like a fruitcake, whether it's fresh or regifted.
For several decades, the delicacy has been the butt of many holiday jokes and still gets a bad rap as one of the "worst" gifts to receive on Christmas.
But why do Americans still turn up their noses at fruitcakes? The website Serious Eats reports that over 2 million fruitcakes are still sold each year, so someone is clearly eating them.
What is a classic fruitcake?
According to the Swiss Colony bakery, a fruitcake is a cake that is filled with candied or dried fruit, nuts, and spices. The cake is also sometimes soaked in spirits or iced on top, depending on what region or country you're from.
The dessert is also known for its longevity, as the combination of sugar, low moisture ingredients and high-proof spirits make fruitcakes some of the longest-lasting foods in the world. In 2017, a fruitcake from Robert Scott's expedition in Antarctica was found untouched after 106 years in "almost" edible condition
When were fruitcakes 'invented?'
The cake has existed in one form or another since Roman times. Potica bakery writes that ancient Romans would mash barley, pomegranate seeds, raisins, and pine nuts were combined to make a dessert called "Satura," valuing its long shelf life.
Over time, ingredients from European colonies were added, including sugar, candied fruit from the Middle East, various spices, and liquor, to give us a version most similar to the modern fruitcake we see today.
Fruitcakes in Europe still resemble the ones seen in the Middle Ages, whereas British and American delicacies lean more into the cake aspect.
Why is fruitcake eaten at Christmas?
It's hard to determine exactly when fruitcake became associated with the holidays; however, it is believed that it started it happened during the 18th and 19th centuries when the cost of the ingredients was too expensive for most households to afford.
"Considered an indulgence, fruit cake was thus reserved for special occasions and holidays," Potica bakery writes. "As time went on, others began to credit Truman Capote’s 1956 short story, “A Christmas Memory,” which became most interesting when the older woman in the narrative looked out her window and exclaimed that it was 'fruit cake weather.'"
Why does fruitcake have a bad reputation?
Once again, it's hard to pinpoint the moment that fruitcake became a running holiday joke to Americans. In a USA Today article, they claim it might have started sometime between the early 20th century, identifying two specific factors:
When commercial mass production of mail order fruitcakes resulted in dry bricks being delivered to people's homes as a last-minute Christmas gift.
When Johnny Carson made his infamous joke on "The Tonight Show"about how there's only one fruitcake in the world and it's passed from family to family.
Are fruitcakes actually good? How can I make them good?
When it comes to finding fruitcake food, your taste buds will have to be the judge of that. However, there are ways to perfect the recipe to your liking.
Every year, fruitcake enthusiasts from around the country attempt to make the dessert more palatable to modern tastes, in an effort to elevate the fruitcake back to its status of official holiday dessert.
Some suggest less batter and more fruit for sweetness, while others recommend using a batter that is fluffier to avoid a dense, bread-like consistency. According to The New York Times' test kitchen, the solution to better fruitcake is "showering the cake in whiskey."
Contributing reporting: Kae Lani Palmisan, USA Today's 10Best
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fruitcake: Where did it come from and why is it a holiday tradition?
