Enough is Enough

Enough is enough!

All this week I have been subjected to a relentless assault on truth. Beliefs and values have been denigrated. I have come to understand the power of media and how it shapes our culture. Propaganda, fake news, misinformation, blatant lies prevail. Truth is being sacrificed on pagan altars. Sacred traditions, traced back to our pre-America ancestors have disappeared. The fabric of family tradition is being torn. 

We must stop this madness.

This post will reveal the truth and sound an alarm for the the treacherous path we have chosen(?) or more, likely been manipulated into by sinister forces.

Christmas for me, always brings early memories of my parents and their traditions. As an only child most of their attention was on me. One particular tradition that stands out is the baking of fruitcake. It was the only time I remember them working together in the kitchen. There were no mixes, everything was done from scratch. Coconuts were cracked and the meat carved out at substantial risk and then grated. Candied fruits, dates, raisins and nuts were carefully prepared. The highlight of fruitcake preparation was the addition of rum. They never explained how the rum was obtained. It seemed to make the occasion deliciously immoral. I presume there was a special exception for fruitcake. The heavy batter was mixed by hand, requiring my Dad’s strength. Fruitcake and boiled custard became a staple of my Christmas experience. Which brings me to the reason for this post.

In recent days since I purchased a fruitcake, it has become apparent that fruitcake has become a victim of the the destructive forces that are undermining our society. Everyone to whom I have offered to share my fruitcake has not only refused but has brought into question my intelligence, my motives, my integrity and even my faith, not to mention my taste. 

To understand how we got here, a bit of fruitcake history is necessary. (Wikipedia)

The earliest recipe from Ancient Rome lists pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash. In the Middle Ages, honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added. Fruitcakes soon proliferated all over Europe. Recipes varied greatly in different countries throughout the ages, depending on the available ingredients.

Starting in the 16th century, sugar from the American Colonies (and the discovery that high concentrations of sugar could preserve fruits) created an excess of candied fruit, thus making fruitcakes more affordable and popular.

Typical American fruitcakes are rich in fruit and nuts. Mail-order fruitcakes in America began in 1913.  Commercial fruitcakes are often sold from catalogs by charities as a fund raiser.

Most American mass-produced fruitcakes are alcohol-free, but traditional recipes are saturated with liqueurs or brandy and covered in powdered sugar, both of which prevent mold. Brandy (or wine) soaked linens can be used to store the fruitcakes, and some people feel that fruitcakes improve with age.

In the United States, the fruitcake has become a ridiculed dessert, in part due to the mass-produced inexpensive cakes of questionable age. Some attribute the beginning of this trend with The Tonight Show host Johnny Carson. He would joke that there really is only one fruitcake in the world, passed from family to family. In fact, the fruitcake had been a butt of jokes on television programs such as Father Knows Best and The Donna Reed Show years before The Tonight Show debuted and appears to have first become a vilified confection in the early 20th century, as evidenced by Warner Brothers cartoons.

Yes, I know there are fruitcake lovers somewhere out there, but the truth is, our numbers are shrinking.There was a time when we were the majority and life was good. Families gathered in the kitchen at Christmas and created a delicious treat handed down for centuries. 

After decades of derision and substandard fruitcakes, coupled with the emergence of generations unappreciative of tradition and family values, we fruitcake lovers have become irrelevant and facing extinction. We have contributed to our own demise by abandoning our precious tradition for commercialized and empty substitutes.  

Is there no hope? 

Perhaps if I began to make high quality fruitcakes and shared them with my neighbors? The negative image of fruitcake is such that just delivering them unsolicited to my neighbors would almost assure failure. A better strategy might be to invite them over and gently introduce them to the idea of fruitcake. (Generous amounts of rum and/or brandy might help, also put some into the fruitcake). After listening to their pre-conceived notions about fruitcakes and those who eat them, they might begin to trust me and try a piece or two. Truthfully, fruitcake is an acquired taste, but like bourbon, the conviviality created by sharing with friends can overcome deep divides.

What choice do I have? Some would tell me deepen my resolve and fight for fruitcake at all costs. We are no longer the majority and our power is waning. I grieve the prospects of a society without fruitcake. Legislation seems to be out of the question. Although it not outside the realm of possibility, I do not expect a presidential candidate to run on a fruitcake platform. 

Who can we blame this on? Johnny Carson? Perhaps, but all fruitcake lovers share responsibility. We failed to recognize and understand the cultural shifts that were occurring and chose utility and convenience, surrendering community for commodity. Like the entrepreneurs pitching their products on Shark Tank, we did not understand the real value of fruitcake was its tradition. Absent that, it becomes a commodity that can be knocked off  by anyone. Truth be known, I would guess purchasers of fruitcake are motivated more by nostalgia than taste.

I’m not optimistic about fruitcake but I could imagine that we might find community and when that happens fruitcake will be redeemed in ways we could never imagine.  Until then, I’ll keep buying fruitcake and remembering those precious times long ago. 

Merry Christmas