Posted on 12/27/2022 1:26:04 PM PST by Red Badger
NATIONAL FRUITCAKE DAY
Across the United States, fruitcake lovers young and old, commemorate National Fruitcake Day each year on December 27th.
#NationalFruitcakeDay
Made with chopped candied or dried fruit, nuts, and spices and sometimes soaked in spirits, fruitcake has been a holiday gift-giving tradition for many years.
Dating back to ancient Rome, one of the earliest known recipes lists pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins mixed into barley mash. Records indicate that in the Middle Ages, makers added honey, spices, and preserved fruits. Recipes for fruitcakes vary from country to country, depending on available ingredients and tradition.
In the 16th century, two achievements crystallized to make fruitcakes more affordable and accessible. First, sugar from the American Colonies became abundant. Second, it was discovered that high concentrations of sugar could preserve fruits. These two actions resulted in excess candied fruit. Consequently, fruitcake making grew.
Typically, Americans produce fruitcakes abundant in fruit and nuts In America, mail-order fruitcake began in 1913.
Charities often sell commercial fruitcakes from catalogs as a fundraising event. In 1935, the expression “nutty as a fruitcake” was coined. The phrase came about as a result of excess nuts some Southern bakeries added to their fruitcakes due to their access to cheap nuts. Most mass-produced fruitcakes in America are alcohol-free. Some traditional recipes include liqueurs or brandy. Bakers then complete the fruitcake by covering it with powdered sugar.
Some fruitcake makers soaked their fruitcakes in brandy-soaked linens believing the cakes improved with age.
HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL FRUITCAKE DAY
Share a fruitcake story or recipe. Or maybe share both. Invite someone to enjoy some fruitcake with you. No matter how you celebrate, use #NationalFruitcakeDay to post on social media.
You can also explore the other 5 Time-Honored Christmas Foods to get a jump on next year.
NATIONAL FRUITCAKE DAY HISTORY
National Day Calendar will continue to experiment with recipes until we get it right. In the meantime, we’ve not found the origins of this immortal cornerstone of holiday baking, either.
Fruitcake FAQ
Q. I’ve never eaten fruitcake because I’ve always heard it is awful. Is that true?
A. No, it doesn’t have to be true. There’s a difference between quality fruitcakes and those you might find at the convenience store Christmas shelf. Bakers using quality ingredients create rich, nutty, and flavorful fruitcakes.
Q. Why did the fruitcake fall out of favor?
A. Historians point toward a variety of reasons for the fruitcakes downfall including mass production, poor ingredients, and iconic jokes. However, another reason may be that a good fruitcake takes time and effort, sometimes up to a week to complete every step.
December 27th Celebrated (and Not So Celebrated) History
1932
The Radio City Music Hall opens under the direction of S.L. “Roxy” Rothafel. The show featured the Roxyettes (later renamed the Rockets), opera performed by Titta Ruffo, Coe Glade, and Vera Schwarz, Leon Rosebrook directing a chorus of 100 voices, and the Radio City Music Hall Symphony Orchestra. At the time, the theater was the largest in the world.
1947
Howdy Doody appears on television for the first time on NBC’s Puppet Play House.
1952
Jimmy Boyd’s “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” reaches number 1 on the music charts.
1964
Performing their hit “Come See About Me,” the Supremes make their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
December 27th Celebrated (and Not So Celebrated) Birthdays
Louis Pasteur – 1822
Some of the many achievements of the French chemist and microbiologist include developing vaccines for anthrax and rabies. He also created the process for sterilizing products such as milk to kill microorganisms called pasteurization.
John Celardo – 1918
The American comic strip and comic book artist rose to popularity in the 1950s and 1960s with his work on the Tarzan comic strip for United Features.
Genevieve Audrey Wagner – 1927
A power-hitter in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, Wagner began her career at the age of 15. One of the league’s All-Stars, she played seven seasons, usually in the outfield before continuing her athletic career with the National Girls Baseball League in Chicago. While she played, Wagner pursued her medical degree. Following baseball, she practiced obstetrics for four decades.
Jason Hawes – 1971
In 1990, Hawes founded The Atlantic Paranormal Society to investigate reported paranormal activity. He also starred in and co-produced the SyFy show Ghost Hunters.
The gift that keeps on giving...............
Must be throwing parties for Don Lemon and Brian Stelter.
I had a friend years ago that made phenomenal fruit cakes each year as gifts to family and friends. I’ve never found any as good elsewhere. Sadly, lost touch. In search of good fruit cake.
So many fruitcakes, so little time.
I hear they are a good sink for carbon capture.
Collin Street Bakery on Corsicana. Sluice it with rum then it’s really good 👍.
Not a real fan of fruitcake, but my wife and I love Panettone bread. Love, love, love it.
The Collin Street Bakery (Corsicana, Texas) Is arguably the finest place to get fruit cake.
But I won’t buy it anymore. My wife and i spent big bucks buying fruit cake from there once only to be disappointed due to pecan shells being left in the mix.
More important, personally. My wife and I are celebrating our 58th anniversary.
That’s every day in the Biden administration.
In my family that’s true. In 1991 my brother gave me a cheap fruitcake for Christmas. In 1992 he got it back. 32 years later we’re still exchanging the same fruitcake.
It’s all in the wrapping. This year I surrounded it with a brick wall and concrete floor and ceiling. Last year it was welded inside a steel box.
We sign and date the box every year.
i second that. Claxton is the best. i couldn’t have any this year due to too much sugar and that was tough.
we got one of those this year as a gift and gave it away- hubby was not impressed.
I will definitely have me some fruitcake tonight.
I recently won a Claxton fruitcake at a white elephant party. I soaked it in some Appleton rum, and it tastes fantastic.
Claxton fruitcake is pretty good. I used to buy all I could find when it got marked way down after Christmas. Nobody around here seems to carry it.
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