Talk:Fruit cake/Archive 1

Archive 1

Various

"Fruitcake" is just the remains of "Nuttier than a fruitcake". Wetman 04:44, 4 May 2004 (UTC)

I'm very offended by the "nuttier than a fruitcake" statement. I will remove it. --Keith-Wigdor 17:31, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I've heard fruitcake used to describe homosexuals or effeminate heterosexual men. I always took it as derived from a queer person being "fruity". However I don't have enough info to really say it was much more than local jargon. If someone knows more please add it. :D

I have heard it used in that manner too, but it isnt a very pupular phrase.--Random user#7325

What does 'pupular' mean? Anyway, the phrase 'nutty as a fruitcake' refers (in the UK at least) to insanity, or at least 'oddness'. Maybe it's different in the US, but it certainly doesn't have any homophobic connotations here. Smurfmeister (talk) 15:37, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Part of this reads like an ad for the Collin Street Bakery. This hardly seems appropriate.

Also, the article says that the word, used as a slang insult, was first recorded in the UK in 1935, but it doesn't appear at all in Eric Partridge's dictionary of English slang, which is the standard source. It does show up in Wentworth and Flexner's dictionary of US slang, without a date, except for 1952, when it was used in the movie "Pat and Mike". I'm going to look into this further. Tex 00:13, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

This article mentions, "Fruitcakes proliferated until a law in Europe restricted them to Christmas, weddings, and a few other holidays." That seems like a strange law, especially considering that, in the 18th century, there were many different countries all governed by different laws. Does someone have more details on the how and why of this? -- 2006-04-20

Marie Rudisill, the Fruitcake Lady, died last year. Perhaps this line should be changed: "Carson is no longer alive but the tradition lives on with 'The Fruitcake Lady' (Marie Rudisill), who makes appearances on the show and offers her 'fruitcake' opinions." (4-7-07, anonyuser)

what is that a photo of?

that doesn't look like the kind of fruitcake i'm familiar with. a better pivture is needed. Joeyramoney 21:19, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure what fruitcake your talking about, but every fruitcake Ive ever seen looks exactly like that, just with different shapes and sizes.

That's definitely fruitcake, it's just square. I think people in the USA are accustomed to seeing fruitcake from a Bundt pan. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.111.77.215 (talk) 05:59, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

taste

are fruitcakes really bad tasting or is that just an urban myth? i've never even seen one much less eaten one.

Depends on the person's opinion. Personally, I happen to like fruitcake. Most people are turned off by the strong alcohol flavour, specially when its been aged for over a year, but some people like me actually find that flavour to be the best part. My suggestion, go out and try it yourself. Just make sure its not one of the cheap ones or you'll just regret it. ---210.213.199.6 20:51, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I'd say it varies a lot between cakes; recipe, how long it has been left to mature, etc have a lot to do with it. My experience is that many home-made and professional cakes are usually very moist, very rich, and incredibly flavourful. Many mass-produced cakes range from being comparable to home-made to being quite frankly not very nice at all. Then again, this is the case with pretty much everything. The core recipes are more or less the same regardless though. KingDaveRa 19:22, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

Actually, I had some once, and that was like jellied fruit which wasn't that bad. I didn't finish it though. it was....um... the opposite of grows on you. shrinks? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.71.163.38 (talk • contribs) 01:18, January 18, 2007

It depends on the cake, obviously. I'm getting rid of the silly comment about their 'portrayal as bad tasting' in the media - who in the media has said this, when? Smurfmeister (talk) 15:38, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

I'm told that Americans soak them in alcohol, which seems to me to be a rather miserable thing to do to a rather delicious desert. They are very popular in the UK but what we call fruitcake is probably rather nicer than what you would imagine. Also density varies a lot (and by taste) some people like very large proportions of fruit, others prefer lighter cakes with much less fruit. Francis Davey (talk) 09:59, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

Ammunition

I saw on the History Channel that George Washington once said since they were low (run out) of ammo, that fruitcake should be used instead. I dunno how many British soldiers were killed in this method. I am looking for an online source, but it aired the day before Thanksgiving on their holiday eats special.--Ben414 06:12, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

See

• www.operationfruitcake.com - Fruitcake can be used as ammo e.g. to feed a animals. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.58.199.228 (talk) 20:31, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

I saw that show, too. I think that it was meant to be a joke, but you're right, it was phrased exactly as though it were fact. I can't imagine it being true, though, given how cannons of the time worked. I would expect the cake to burn or explode and probably gum up the cannon some. I doubt very much that it would fly through the air and kill someone, much less the "many" troops that the fellow on the programme described being killed by this assault. It's actually been bugging me ever since I saw the show. I really do think that it was a (very bad) joke, but the way that it was presented, it's totally possible that viewers could have taken it to be fact. Heather (talk) 02:26, 17 January 2009 (UTC)

It sounds VERY unlikely that people were killed with fruitcakes. It was a joke and nothing more. But this shows the way how legends and misinformation is born.

Warrington (talk) 18:14, 17 January 2009 (UTC)

Europeans?

So Europeans were baking fruitcakes. Which ones exactly? Norwegians? Greeks? Belgians? All of them, no matter what nation they come from? Which "European" law restricted proliferation of fruitcakes? That must be an EU law, then? But then what is it about fruitcakes in 19th century England in the following sentence? Is the writer of this paragraph absolutely sure, he didn't mix up England and Europe? Why do I have this idea he was an American?

I let the "European" recipe go... :-) Mate, if you ever come to Europe, I wish you a wonderful time, whether you touch down in Finland or in Portugal. Just remember to try some local European fruitcake :-) --Breznanderl 00:14, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

Fruitcake outlawed in "Europe"?

I had a look at other pages on the net regarding the outlawing of fruitcakes "entirely throughout Continental Europe" for being "sinful", as suggested in the referenced article at http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Cakes/Fruitcake.htm.

I could not find a single reference to that event or chain of events other than the one quoted. I therefore propose deleting this sentence, although it sounds very funny and makes more people want to read the whole article :-)

There are two reasons why I feel rather dubious about the claim of fruitcake being outlawed. First, nothing ever happens uniformly "throughout Continental Europe" (although the Brits in particular are quite fond of that idea, because it makes them stand out more). Europe is far too varied for that. Second, the idea of outlawing some foodstuff because it might be considered sinful might catch on in Protestant cultures, but hardly in Catholic (or even Orthodox) ones. Again, that suggests that such laws might have been enacted in some countries (if at all), but not in others.

If no one can find another independent reference for this claim, I will delete it. Breznanderl 20:30, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Since that time the paragraph has been amended and now sounds more plausible with regard to this issue, however, now the article's description does not match the claim made in the citation. I therefore remove the citation and rewrite the paragraph. I did also come across references that locally and at different times there were indeed restrictions on certain Christmas traditions, including some times on the amount and choice of ingredients for various types of fruity cake (therefore not necessarily on the whole cake, whose ingredients obviously varied quite a bit during the centuries and also depended entirely on what was available in the area). However, I still haven't seen a single reference to an actual law. Regarding ingredients I have found references to the "Butterbrief", a dispensation which could be bought from a Catholic priest in order to use butter during Lent. However, this does not specifically refer to fruitcake. I could not find an English reference, so I'll add a German source here: http://www.wispor.de/wpx-k-b.htm Breznanderl (talk) 12:58, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

It could affected many regions of Europe, if it was outlawed by a religiousdecret or a Pope.

Warrington (talk) 20:46, 17 January 2009 (UTC)

Sigh

Um... Hooray for vandalism, I guess. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.209.130.208 (talk) 05:14, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

Possible Egyptian origin

On the Food Network it was just stated that the first fruitcake came from Ancient Egypt, where it was considered an essential food for the afterlife. Is this accurate? Hehe maybe? Badagnani (talk) 05:42, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

• Hey, good one. Could this refer to the everlasting infinite loop of re-gifting a fruit cake?--71.245.164.83 (talk) 04:06, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Maybe, see here too http://www.fruitcakecompany.com/fruit-cake-history.html

Warrington (talk) 20:41, 17 January 2009 (UTC)

Caribbean fruitcake - two refs

Two refs: Benjiboi 00:02, 22 December 2007 (UTC)

• A Caribbean Christmas inspires a unique fruitcake by Jacqueline Higuera McMahan, SF Chronicle, Wednesday, November 9, 2005

• A Fruitcake Soaked in Tropical Sun by JULIA MOSKIN; The New York Times; December 19, 2007

Link rot

The link to the "Easy to follow fruitcake recipe" is not easy to follow ... it's broken. Does anybody have a link that's not rotten? Fruitcake lasts forever but, alas, not links.Musanim (talk) 06:33, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

Homosexual?

I have never heard the term "fruitcake" used as a euphemism or insult for a homosexual. Do we have a citation for this? Optimus Sledge (talk) 13:44, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Neither have I. Tagged. Nick Cooper (talk) 12:23, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

I have heard it used to refer to homosexuals, but I thought the "insane" connotation was more prevalent in the United States, though this article seems to indicate otherwise. (Tha Pyngwyn (talk) 17:43, 16 December 2009 (UTC))

restoring old sections

I'm not sure why, but the article has been chopped down to a quarter of its size, so it now mentions that fruitcakes are a holiday gift and that the word is an insult. I'm adding back deleted sections, since I don't see any explanation of why they were deleted. FeygeleGoy/פֿײגעלע גױ‎ (talk) 17:27, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

Aha! The problem was that there were a couple of section blanking vandalisms, deleting "Fruitcake in various countries" and "History" , and the editors who cleaned up the vandalism simply deleted the text instead of undoing the revisions, thus removing entire sections of the article. I researched the incidents and restored them here and here .

Let's hear it for me um, fruitcake! Now, go out and celebrate anti-vandalism, Christmas, and the whole winter holiday season with a little fruitcake! FeygeleGoy/פֿײגעלע גױ‎ (talk) 18:26, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

Canada

I disagree with a couple of points in this section. Although Canadian fruitcakes usually aren't iced with a satin icing, they are frequently topped with a layer of marzipan. Also, while I've never heard of a "white" Christmas cake, light cakes aren't rare at all (not light in calories, they just use lighter-coloured ingredients).99.253.195.150 (talk) 13:59, 28 November 2010 (UTC)