Page 21 - Sonoma County Gazette December 2017

Food for the Afterlife
By Ron Skaar
Culinary lore claims that an early version of the fruit cake was placed
on the tombs of loved ones, by the ancient Egyptians. This was to provide nourishment throughout the deceased’s eternal journey.
The oldest reference for making fruitcake dates back to Roman times. Pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and raisins were mixed with barley mash and baked in a circular shape. This cake could be shipped around the empire and became a staple of the mighty legionnaires diet.
During the Middle Ages honey, preserved fruit and spices were added to the mix. Fruitcake continued to fuel the armies of Europe during the ensuing centuries. Its durability gave soldiers, hunters and, later on, the Crusaders the nourishment they needed on their long perilous journeys.
Modern fruitcakes originated in the 13th century with the addition of
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By the 16th century, colonists from the New World
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to Saxony for using milk and butter in their “Stollen” fruit cake.
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itcake was baked at the end of the nut harvests. This i
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In the early 18th century, fruitcake was outlawed entirely
throughout England and Europe. The cake was considered “sinfully rich” with laws restricting its consumption to only Christmas, Easter, christenings, funerals and weddings.
Each progressive century seemed to contribute yet another element to the cake, like the heavy use of alcohol during the Victorian era. Fruit cake became an intricate part of the English “tea time” bu et so all restraints were o .
The mail ordered fruitcake became an American standard beginning in 1913. So many ubiquitous cakes were peddled from catalogs and for charity fund raisers, that it soon became a ridiculed dessert.
On his late night show Johny Carson joked “that there really is only one fruitcake in the world, passing from family to family”. In Manitou Springs, Colorado the “Great Fruitcake Toss” recurs the rst Saturday of each year. They encourage the use of recycled cakes and the record toss (with a modern catapult mechanism) is 1,420 feet!
My uncle Lloyd used to send fruitcake every Christmas to our family. It sat in the fridge for months, at times untouched, until someone got the courage to toss it out. Any cake that has fruit as a main ingredient can be colloquially called fruitcake. The “Fruit Basket Cake” is the perfect nale to any holiday or special celebration, and won’t hang long in the fridge.
12/17 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 21