1 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:09,840 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Saber. I'm any Rees and I'm 2 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: Lauren Fogelbaum, and today we're talking about fruitcake. Yeah, fruit cake, yeah. 3 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,919 Speaker 1: Which I don't have much, if any experience with fruitcake, um, 4 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:25,440 Speaker 1: but I am aware of its terrible reputation there. There's 5 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: some holiday movie, probably more than one, where the mailman 6 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:33,159 Speaker 1: just throws out fruitcake after fruitcake. If anyone remembers what 7 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: that is. I feel certain that I've had a slice 8 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,239 Speaker 1: of it at some point, but that might be some 9 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:42,360 Speaker 1: kind of bizarre movie film memory that's just been stuck 10 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: celluloid to your own memories. Um. And one of the 11 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,559 Speaker 1: reasons we're talking about it is I I kind of 12 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: wanted to get the bottom of white it's so loathed. 13 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: But also it's the holidays coming up as we record this, 14 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: and it is commonly associated with the holidays. In Truman 15 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 1: Campodi's nineteen fifty six short story at Christmas Memory, the 16 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:08,399 Speaker 1: whole story gets started with an old woman god sing 17 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: out her window and saying, oh my, it's fruitcake weather. 18 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 1: And then her and her buddies start getting all the 19 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: stuff they need for a four day fruitcake baking extravaganza. 20 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: And these ingredients include stolen pecans and bootleg whiskey. When 21 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: the bootlegger here's the intended use for this whiskey, he 22 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,119 Speaker 1: says something along the lines of, oh, that's no way 23 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: to waste a fine whiskey. And Truman capotees Aunt Marie 24 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 1: redicill Um has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay 25 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: Lerno several times under the stage name the Fruitcake Lady. 26 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: So Truman Campodi has a lot of a lot of 27 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: fruitcake connections. That's right, that's right. And December is a 28 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: National Fruitcake Day, and January three is National Toss the 29 00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 1: Fruitcake Day. Yep, it's kind of the Dike automy. Fruit 30 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: cakes got going on, it does. But this brings us 31 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 1: to our question fruit cake? What is it? Well? In 32 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: the parlance of our times, fruit cake is a sweet, rich, 33 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:18,239 Speaker 1: moist cake. The batter is traditionally made with wheat flour, eggs, butter, 34 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: dark sugars, and warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. 35 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:31,519 Speaker 1: It is heavily studied, studied absolutely, It's heavily studded with 36 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:34,920 Speaker 1: dried and candied fruits and nuts. As you might imagine 37 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 1: from the word fruit cake, most Traditionally those fruits are raisins, 38 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: citrus peel, and the nuts are almonds, but honestly, anything 39 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 1: goes and candied cherries are very common Modernly, a rich 40 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: brown liquor like brandy, whiskey or rum is often incorporated. 41 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 1: Either the fruits are soaked in it before being stirred 42 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: in and or the finished cake is basted in liquor. 43 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,079 Speaker 1: For those who do not imbibe, things like apple juice 44 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: or vanilla syrup can be substituted, though the overall effect 45 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: of this is kind of overwhelming, like lots of heavy 46 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: flavors and differing textures. But it tastes like Christmas, tastes 47 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 1: like Christmas. The cake can be coated in an apricop 48 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: glaze for sheen. Some versions are topped with a crunchy 49 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,080 Speaker 1: royal icing and or a layer of almondy marzipan to 50 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:24,680 Speaker 1: to make it look snowy white for winter. Yeah, and 51 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:26,639 Speaker 1: this is often called Christmas cake and it's more of 52 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:31,079 Speaker 1: a British thing, so it looks and tastes like Christmas. Yeah, 53 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: whoa m hmmm festive. Indeed, indeed, nutrition wise it is 54 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: a calorie bumb for sure, so much sugar. It's it's 55 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: meant to be an expensive treat, so you know, treated accordingly. Yeah, um, 56 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: numbers wise, in two thousand and six, about three thousand pounds, 57 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: which comes out to about hundred sixty kilograms of her 58 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: cake were delivered to soldiers in Rock. Also side note 59 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: that i've its fruitcake ways two pounds. They're hefty. What 60 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: the Harper's Index found that fruitcake shares the same density 61 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: as mahogany, the wood. It's all those nuts and fruit 62 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:17,159 Speaker 1: they're they're packed in all that liquor. Did hurt someone 63 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: with that? You certainly could. They're not projectile weapons. Well, 64 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 1: they're not meant to be. Well, we'll get more into 65 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: that and a minute. Actually, yes, um of people who 66 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: received a gift of a fruitcake report throwing it away, 67 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 1: eleven report regifting it. That's one of my favorite statistics 68 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 1: ever regifted fruitcake. Um some report using it as a 69 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: doorstop or a paper weight, so pretty pretty hefty. Indeed, 70 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: the average shelf life is three years, but if stored 71 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:55,159 Speaker 1: in an airtight tent, a fruitcake can last up to 72 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: twenty six years, which is amazing. Or longer, yes, or longer. 73 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,479 Speaker 1: We'll get into that later. Another another thing to look 74 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: forward to um news to me. But there are plenty 75 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 1: of types of fruit cakes. There's chocolate fruit cake, civil 76 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 1: war fruit cake, peacock fruit cake, Japanese fruitcake, which is 77 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 1: popular in the southern United States and has no known 78 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 1: connection to Japan of course, stained glass fruit cake, which 79 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:20,600 Speaker 1: is so densely packed with dried fruit that when held 80 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: up to the light it looks like stained glass. Sometimes 81 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 1: I think called Bishop's cake. That's pretty spectacular. There are 82 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:31,640 Speaker 1: also a lot of cakes with fruit in them that 83 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 1: tend to be eaten around the winter holidays, but are 84 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,160 Speaker 1: not quite what we are talking about here. A Dundee 85 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: cake from Scotland, panatone from Italy, stolen from Germany, et cetera. 86 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: All of these are more cake e in texture, less 87 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:48,040 Speaker 1: like cake head babies with a granola bar, and more 88 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:52,919 Speaker 1: like cakes that happened to contain granola bar ingredients from Italy. 89 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: There's also a pan forte, which contains no eggs and 90 00:05:55,760 --> 00:06:04,920 Speaker 1: is thus more bar like on this scale. Alright, pop culture, 91 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: it seems that like candy corn, fruitcake has its lovers 92 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:15,600 Speaker 1: and its haters. Comedian and talk show host Johnny Carson 93 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: joked the worst Christmas gift is fruitcake. There's only one 94 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,279 Speaker 1: fruit cake in the entire world, and it keeps getting 95 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: passed around, So that's not a glowing review. Huffington Post 96 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,919 Speaker 1: called the fruitcake quote easily the most hated cake in 97 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: the existence of baking, and this article listed out the 98 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: reasons why we hate fruitcake, which in their minds includes 99 00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: things like it looks radioactive, it looks pockmarked or diseased, 100 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 1: and that the cake in the name is misleading, that 101 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:52,480 Speaker 1: that that radioactive thing comes from the frequent inclusion, especially 102 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: mid century onward of those candy cherries of candied Machino 103 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: cherries that we talked about in our Machina Cherry episode, 104 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,560 Speaker 1: which are sort of day glow. Yeah, and one of 105 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,320 Speaker 1: the reasons they were chosen is because Christmas colors yea 106 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 1: festive red and green. That's right. The word itself is 107 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: commonly used as English slang to describe someone who is 108 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: insane or eccentric. Yeah. My roommate Heidi informed me when 109 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: I told her I was doing this research. He was like, oh, 110 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 1: that was my favorite nickname for my best friend. Just 111 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:28,000 Speaker 1: after college they called each other the fruitcakes. The fruit cakes. 112 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: That sounds like an excellent band that should exist. Oh yeah, 113 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: Oh jeez, we keep giving ourselves more products projects a 114 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 1: do um. So back to that whole projectile thing. Oh yeah, 115 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: Colorado has taken this disdain of fruitcakes and made a 116 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: fun festival out of it. Uh, the annual Fruitcake Toss, 117 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: where the unwanted fruitcakes are sent flying via cat bolt. 118 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: The event went on hiatus, so I'm not sure if 119 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:00,120 Speaker 1: it's still takes place. The website wasn't working, but if 120 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 1: any of your listeners go or have been, let us 121 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: know send pictures. Yes, there are award categories like catch 122 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 1: the Fruitcake, No Thank You, Accuracy, crowd Pleaser, Slash, Most Creative, 123 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 1: Best Showman Ship, People's Choice. There are weight divisions, weight divisions. 124 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: To qualify, the fruitcake has to have nuts, flour, dried fruits, 125 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 1: and it has to be edible. I like that. I 126 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: like that specispicity there. Yeah, I'm so important, keep keep 127 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 1: people honest. Yeah. But on the other side of the spectrum, Claxton, 128 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 1: Georgia and of Corsicana, Texas are sparring over the title 129 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 1: of fruitcake capital of the World. They're like fighting, kind 130 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 1: of like we talked about in Sundays. Yeah yeah, oh man, 131 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: one of them is we should go, we should go, 132 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: you know, doing this research. I haven't had a fruitcake, 133 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 1: but I feel for the fruitcake. Know, Yeah, me too, Okay, 134 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: I want to I want to defend it and I 135 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,200 Speaker 1: want to dry it. We'll work on it. We'll work 136 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: at it. One thing that I love about this is 137 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:11,959 Speaker 1: the fruitcake has been involved in several science experiments, including 138 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:16,440 Speaker 1: buoyancy and getting blown up in a bomb Colora meter. 139 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,080 Speaker 1: That's pretty cool. Um. Each year, Richmond's Science Museum of 140 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:24,400 Speaker 1: Virginia throws a post Christmas fruit cake celebration, calling for 141 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: donations of unwanted fruitcakes for science. That is cool stuff, 142 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: and it literally can be like like some experience they've done. 143 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:35,439 Speaker 1: What happens if you quick freeze fruitcake? Which right ice? 144 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: What if you like them up with a torch or 145 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:42,200 Speaker 1: send them aloft via balloons? Yeah that's good. I like. 146 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:44,880 Speaker 1: I like the idea of turning potential food waste into 147 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 1: fun science. Yeah yeah, I really want to check this 148 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:53,120 Speaker 1: event out. Honestly, Um, But this whole this dislike of 149 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:59,320 Speaker 1: fruitcake is actually pretty new. Historically, it's been popular. One 150 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:03,240 Speaker 1: recipe Print did in November six ended with the line 151 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:06,240 Speaker 1: when completely cool cover with glass top and put high 152 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: up on a shelf for Christmas. If the shelf isn't 153 00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:11,360 Speaker 1: high enough, someone will want the cake for Thanksgiving or 154 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: maybe much sooner. That's right in my family. You gotta 155 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: have a pretty good hiding place. But yeah, people were 156 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: digging fruit cake. Yeah, and we'll get into the history 157 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 1: of that right after we get back from a quick 158 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:36,719 Speaker 1: break for a word from our sponsor, and we're back, 159 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 1: Thank you sponsor. These days people might like having a 160 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:45,520 Speaker 1: having a go at fruit cake, making some jokes. Yeah, 161 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 1: but fruitcake has survived for centuries millennia. Even it will 162 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:55,840 Speaker 1: weather your jeke. Ancient Romans were making a precursor to 163 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 1: fruitcake that was a mixture of nuts, raisins, pomegranate seeds, 164 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 1: and barley all lashed together and something that was more 165 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: energy bar like than cake like. Possibly it was in 166 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:07,680 Speaker 1: a ring shape. And this cake was called satura, And 167 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:10,800 Speaker 1: that word is the root for our our modern English 168 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 1: word satire because of the cake's mix of sour and 169 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: sweet ingredients. Yeah, Roman soldiers took this highly portable and 170 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:23,080 Speaker 1: long lasting fruitcake esque thing with them when marching out 171 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,679 Speaker 1: to battle. The basic idea was there, though, and some 172 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:30,200 Speaker 1: historians think that the ancient Egyptians placed a type of 173 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:35,959 Speaker 1: fruitcake on the tombs of loved ones. If we skip 174 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 1: ahead to medieval Europe, we get a more direct ancestor 175 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:43,920 Speaker 1: to our modern day fruitcake. And also the name now 176 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:47,160 Speaker 1: that dried fruits were more widely available, so we're bread 177 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 1: that had these dried fruits and them. That makes sense. 178 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,040 Speaker 1: In Western Europe, honey was a popular edition and these 179 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 1: breads too, and we get a couple of different versions 180 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:58,839 Speaker 1: in this period. In the thirteenth century, Italy comes out 181 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 1: with their sweet and spiced strong bread Panoforte around the 182 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:04,600 Speaker 1: same time you could find Germany stolen. It was a 183 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: Dresden delicacy and it has its own festival to this day. 184 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:12,200 Speaker 1: And again listeners, if you've been oh yeah, pictures please. 185 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: The fruitcake continued to be a go to option for soldiers, 186 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 1: particularly during the Crusades, and dried fruits from the Mediterranean 187 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 1: arriving to Europe boosted the fruitcakes profile. Like plums. Yeah, 188 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:29,200 Speaker 1: and we've talked about Britain plum pudding before on the show, 189 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 1: and Lauren she really plumbed the dips of the research. 190 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,360 Speaker 1: I went on a really serious plum putting aside, I 191 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,760 Speaker 1: had to stop myself, but it's tied so intrinsically, I 192 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:43,199 Speaker 1: think to the to the history of the fruit cake. 193 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: I wanted to go through some of this. So plum 194 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 1: putting modern ly is a boiled cake. It's similar to 195 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:51,160 Speaker 1: fruit cake, and that it's rich and dense and spiced 196 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 1: and studded with dried fruits or candied fruits and nuts. 197 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:57,319 Speaker 1: And note that less wealthy folks might not have had 198 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:00,880 Speaker 1: access to an oven at home until the seventeen eighteen hundreds, 199 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:03,960 Speaker 1: so boiling a pudding would have been more feasible than 200 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 1: baking a cake for a lot of folks and up 201 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 1: until that time. Originally circa the fourteen hundreds, plum pudding 202 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:13,719 Speaker 1: was a savory and sweet dish that contained mince meat 203 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,959 Speaker 1: like minced meat, not mincemeat as in nuts, which is 204 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: sometimes referred to today. And it was served at the 205 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,400 Speaker 1: beginning of a meal rather than the end, and could 206 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:24,079 Speaker 1: be found on tables year round. And no, it did 207 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:27,679 Speaker 1: not usually include plums in the recipe or even prunes. 208 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,719 Speaker 1: A raisins and currents were the most popular ingredients and 209 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:33,959 Speaker 1: still are today. Prunes were among the first dried fruits 210 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 1: available in Britain from the Mediterranean, and apparently the term 211 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,440 Speaker 1: plum to describe all kinds of dried fruits was adopted 212 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:44,960 Speaker 1: and stuck plum putting. Starting in the sixteenth century, sugar 213 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:48,480 Speaker 1: from the colonies went into the fruitcake mix along with 214 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:52,319 Speaker 1: nuts instead of the aforementioned meat. Yes, although the use 215 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:56,079 Speaker 1: of suet, a rich organ fat, remained in recipes of 216 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 1: plum pudding and remains to this day. The addition of 217 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:02,679 Speaker 1: sugar and made it a treat for special occasions, and 218 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:07,079 Speaker 1: then as globalization made spices like nutmeg and cinnamon limitedly 219 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:11,160 Speaker 1: available and widely posh um, those spices went in as well, 220 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:14,960 Speaker 1: making it even more special occasional e It might also 221 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,559 Speaker 1: include brandy in the batter, or call for the dried 222 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: fruits to be soaked in brandy. This paved the way 223 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:23,400 Speaker 1: for the Caribbean black cake, where the fruit is soaked 224 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 1: in rum for up to a year before baking, yeah, 225 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:30,080 Speaker 1: which is still a Christmas specialty in that area. Also, 226 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 1: if the plum pudding was to be made a few 227 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 1: weeks ahead or even a few months ahead, it would 228 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:38,360 Speaker 1: sometimes call for regular feeding a k a basting of 229 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 1: the cake with alcohol and this was a you know, 230 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:45,480 Speaker 1: tasty and b would preserve the cake against spoilage. By 231 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 1: the sixteen seventies it was associated with Christmas specifically, and 232 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 1: recipes showed up as Christmas pudding instead of plum pudding sometimes. 233 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:57,880 Speaker 1: But it was so rich that Puritan's bandit possibly Oliver 234 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: Cromwell himself what Yeah. According to the Telegraph, Cromwell declared 235 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 1: that eating it was a lewd custom inappropriate for people 236 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 1: who followed god lude custom. Yeah. Oh. Dear George the 237 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 1: First supposedly requested it to be served at his first 238 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:19,320 Speaker 1: reigning Christmas in England in seventeen fourteen, giving him the 239 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:24,240 Speaker 1: nickname the Pudding King. I like that, right, What a 240 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 1: great nickname. I can only aspire to such a great nickname. 241 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:36,320 Speaker 1: I know. By the eight hundreds, a plum pudding would 242 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:39,320 Speaker 1: be served in a sauce of wine or brandy, which 243 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 1: by Victorian times came to be lit on fire on 244 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,240 Speaker 1: its way to the table. I've never witnessed this. I 245 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,080 Speaker 1: really want to. I do too. I love a good 246 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:53,120 Speaker 1: fire coming closer and closer my way under control. Of course, 247 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 1: Victoriana was also the era that enshrined stir up Sunday. 248 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 1: This is a semi official church holiday that occurs on 249 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:04,920 Speaker 1: the last Sunday before the Advent. This year it was 250 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,840 Speaker 1: Sunday November, during which the whole family will gather to 251 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: help make and stir the plum pudding to be preserved 252 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,640 Speaker 1: until Christmas. Uh. That's fun. I don't think I could 253 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:20,080 Speaker 1: ever get my family on board with that, but maybe 254 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:23,560 Speaker 1: I could. It's it's it's got traditions. You're supposed to, like, 255 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:26,200 Speaker 1: everyone's supposed to stir it and make a wish while 256 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 1: they're stirring. Yeah, you're supposed to stir it east to 257 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 1: west to mirror the journey of the wise men to 258 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: the Baby Jesus. Oh but the wish. But the wish part. 259 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:39,280 Speaker 1: I feel like that could be a selling point. Plum 260 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:42,280 Speaker 1: putting also frequently involves sort of like kincake little tokens 261 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:46,280 Speaker 1: or or pennies or something like that to represent good luck, 262 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 1: like whoever finds the token or whoever finds whatever kind 263 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 1: of token, it's like lucky in whatever way for the 264 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: coming year. Okay, Okay, well I'm big into that, so 265 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:58,720 Speaker 1: maybe I'll just I think that plus the fire oh 266 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:03,680 Speaker 1: yeah yeah, although I am very very clumsy. Yeah. No, 267 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:05,720 Speaker 1: I'm not allowed to do that for sure. I'm always 268 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:09,880 Speaker 1: the one who sets something on fire. That is. I mean, 269 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:15,040 Speaker 1: that's a fun like when someone introduces you, this is Lawrene. 270 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 1: She always sets things about fire. It's a good conversation. Accidentally, 271 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 1: I'm not even a pyro. Anyway, back to fruit cakes. Yes, 272 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:26,200 Speaker 1: plum putting aside aside um, Yeah, all of this plum 273 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:29,280 Speaker 1: putting stuff was happening in parallel to the development of 274 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:33,399 Speaker 1: the modern fruitcake. Yeah, and kind of similarly. By the 275 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:36,399 Speaker 1: eighteenth century. Um it got to the point that continental 276 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: Europe outlawed the fruit cake, which at the time we're 277 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:45,879 Speaker 1: called plum cakes, for being sinfully rich my goodness. Of course, 278 00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:48,840 Speaker 1: this law was eventually repealed, and part because the fruitcake 279 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:52,600 Speaker 1: had become a big part of English tea time. In 280 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:56,800 Speaker 1: the seventeen hundreds, a fruitcake tradition arose. A cake was 281 00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:59,160 Speaker 1: made at the end of the net harvest and then 282 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,119 Speaker 1: saved to be eaten a year later in hopes of 283 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:07,760 Speaker 1: securing another successful not harvest. Another tradition around fruitcakes that 284 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:12,040 Speaker 1: came about around this time, unmarried wedding guests would place 285 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:18,600 Speaker 1: a slice of fruitcake under their pillows and in theory 286 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:22,879 Speaker 1: it would bring dreams of their future spout. We need 287 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:26,120 Speaker 1: to do a whole episode on wedding cakes. Oh yes, 288 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,320 Speaker 1: it's separately birthday cakes. All the traditions around these are great, 289 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:32,600 Speaker 1: I know. And that gives you another, at least me 290 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 1: indication of just how dense this cake is. That I 291 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:38,199 Speaker 1: could put my pillow in my head on top it 292 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 1: and it wouldn't just that's that's some pretty serious cake. 293 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:48,000 Speaker 1: And speaking wedding cakes, Queen Victoria's wedding cake was a fruitcake, 294 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:51,680 Speaker 1: and if you remember, it was this wedding that gave 295 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:54,639 Speaker 1: us a lot of our modern day wedding traditions, the 296 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:58,400 Speaker 1: ones still around. The weddings of Prince Charles and Princess 297 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:02,280 Speaker 1: de and Prince William and Kate Middleton featured fruitcakes as well. 298 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:05,720 Speaker 1: A slice of Charles and Kate's wedding cake sold for 299 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:12,640 Speaker 1: seven thousand, five hundred dollars. What m h man. Okay, 300 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:17,480 Speaker 1: I feel like I bought it up on this. I haven't. Um. 301 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:26,399 Speaker 1: There's this episode of signfeld Elaine Um accidentally kind of 302 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 1: on purpose eats a very old cake that was like 303 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,920 Speaker 1: I found in a royal cellar, like a hundred years 304 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 1: old or something, and her boss had bought it through 305 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:41,439 Speaker 1: auction for a very large amount of money, and she 306 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:43,919 Speaker 1: kind of like accidentally ate it a little piece of 307 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,520 Speaker 1: it and then ate the whole thing and then replaced 308 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:51,439 Speaker 1: it with an intimate And then her boss brings in 309 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:55,040 Speaker 1: somebody to appraise the value of the cake, and he says, UM, 310 00:19:55,119 --> 00:20:00,800 Speaker 1: one fifty and Peterman her boss is like, hundred thousand 311 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 1: dollars you've made me underrmous profit. And guys like, no, 312 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 1: a dollar fifty. You find us at the end of 313 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:07,040 Speaker 1: the grocery aisle. And then it turns out there was 314 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: security footage and he knew it was a lane, and 315 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:12,320 Speaker 1: he said, I'm not going to punish you because I 316 00:20:12,359 --> 00:20:15,480 Speaker 1: believe what's about to happen in your digestive check will 317 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:18,960 Speaker 1: be punishment enough. Anyway, I always was like, how could 318 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:21,359 Speaker 1: a cake glass that long? But doing the research for this, 319 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:29,360 Speaker 1: perhaps it was a fruitcake Seinfeld aside over perhaps all 320 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:33,399 Speaker 1: of this, the wedding cakes, the expense of it. Um 321 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 1: maybe that's when fruitcake in particular took on an association 322 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 1: with Christmas. But there is no clear historical marker that 323 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:43,320 Speaker 1: you can point to. It might just be because when 324 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:47,200 Speaker 1: Christmas trees and Christmas colors start solidifying during Victorian times, 325 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: fruitcakes could be customized to match those colors, kind of 326 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,639 Speaker 1: like we were talking about earlier. And then there was 327 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:59,080 Speaker 1: this association between Italian unification and fruit cake that happened 328 00:20:59,119 --> 00:21:01,399 Speaker 1: for a similar reason. And a version of fruitcake was 329 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,280 Speaker 1: baked with red cherries and green citron for the colors 330 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: of the Italian flag. Huh, so it could be a 331 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 1: combination of colors. It was expensive, um, and also all 332 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: the flavor, like the nut harvest. That's when that was happening. 333 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:22,280 Speaker 1: A lot of those spices are kind of warming spices 334 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 1: and became holiday centric due to their expense. Um. There 335 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 1: also isn't a clear marker for when fruitcakes lost their popularity, 336 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:38,919 Speaker 1: but historians speculate this falls from fruitcake grace took place 337 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 1: in the twentieth century with the introduction of male order fruitcakes. 338 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:48,119 Speaker 1: These were not good, no, no, they were dry and 339 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:51,400 Speaker 1: brick like. Um. And these businesses are still around, by 340 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: the way, but I think probably they've improved, and especially 341 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 1: Texas based Colin Street Bakery, which has been around since 342 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety six. They make up to a million a 343 00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:05,359 Speaker 1: year and they shipped to countries and this is the 344 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,119 Speaker 1: town um in Texas, Fine for fruit cake capital of 345 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:10,520 Speaker 1: the world. I mean, I imagine that the whole mail 346 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,120 Speaker 1: order thing started because they are so labor and time 347 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,720 Speaker 1: or not labor but time intensive and expensive to make personally. 348 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:21,160 Speaker 1: So at that point, if you can outsource it. Yeah. Oh. 349 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:24,880 Speaker 1: Nineteen eleven is the year that maybe the oldest known 350 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:30,159 Speaker 1: surviving fruit cake was possibly made. During the expedition of 351 00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: Robert Falcon Scott to the South Pole called the Terra 352 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:37,199 Speaker 1: Nova Expedition, they left a fruit cake in a hut 353 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 1: in Cape Dare in Antarctica. Members of the Antarctic Heritage 354 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:45,640 Speaker 1: Trust found it there in that hut in Its container 355 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:48,600 Speaker 1: was severely corroded, but the team reported that there was 356 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:51,119 Speaker 1: a very very slight rancid butter smell to it. But 357 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:54,399 Speaker 1: other than that, the cake looked and smelled edible. M hm. 358 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:57,879 Speaker 1: And apparently fruit cake is still a popular Antarctic food 359 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:02,120 Speaker 1: due to its energy density and durability. Well that might 360 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:06,360 Speaker 1: also contribute to this next fact. In n eight, fruitcake 361 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:11,000 Speaker 1: went to space. Yeah, you can see it in the 362 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Apparently, for cake was also 363 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:17,040 Speaker 1: on the menu during the Apollo seventeen mission in the 364 00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:21,840 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies Wow. In a Night three New York Times 365 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:25,720 Speaker 1: article called fruit Cake Is Forever, the author Russell Baker 366 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:28,359 Speaker 1: wrote he was in possession of a fruitcake one of 367 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:33,520 Speaker 1: his relatives baked in seventeen ninety four for President George Washington. 368 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 1: According to this story, Washington refused in a note, saying 369 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:43,440 Speaker 1: it was unseemly for presidents to accept gifts weighing more 370 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:47,440 Speaker 1: than eighty pounds, even though they were only eight inches 371 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:51,560 Speaker 1: in diameter. This is most likely not true, but it 372 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:56,879 Speaker 1: is very fun. That sounds super apocryphal, but nonetheless, yeah, yeah, 373 00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:59,520 Speaker 1: he kept coming up, and I eventually just gave in, 374 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 1: and we're just gonna have to include it. In nineteen nine, 375 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,080 Speaker 1: Dina Klein wrote an article titled just in Time, A 376 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:10,600 Speaker 1: defense of fruit cake. And if you'll remember that Johnny 377 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:13,840 Speaker 1: Carson joke came out in five and that is where 378 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,000 Speaker 1: some people point to the big downfall of the fruit cake. 379 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: Actually I think it started before that, but it definitely 380 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:22,840 Speaker 1: didn't help. So this comes out a couple of years later, 381 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:25,280 Speaker 1: and she argued that the problem was not the fruit cake, 382 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:30,719 Speaker 1: but the recipe and ingredients. Another defense of Fruitcake, published 383 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,680 Speaker 1: in two thousand six by Erica Yanett, called stop making 384 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:36,360 Speaker 1: fun of fruit Cake, argued pretty much the same thing. 385 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,600 Speaker 1: So it's got its defenders out there. I'm glad. What 386 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: if I try it? I hated. I mean, if you 387 00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:47,560 Speaker 1: if you like candied fruits, then you'll probably like it. 388 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:52,480 Speaker 1: If you don't, then probably not like candied fruits. And 389 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,920 Speaker 1: it's pretty rich. It's it's definitely a small portion kind 390 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:59,159 Speaker 1: of thing. Yeah, all right, Well, I'm down to try it. 391 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,560 Speaker 1: And we got a place apparently right here in Georgia, 392 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 1: the potential fruitcake capital. I want to I want to 393 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: make one and keep feeding it with brand that sounds great. 394 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,639 Speaker 1: I love that. Anything anything that's a project like that, 395 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:18,600 Speaker 1: any anything that I get to feed m Speaking of projects, 396 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,240 Speaker 1: we got some signs for you. We do. But first 397 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:24,159 Speaker 1: we have one more quick break for a word from 398 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:36,400 Speaker 1: our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you, sponsor, Yes, thank you. 399 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,920 Speaker 1: I want to tell you Annie about another long lived 400 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:44,440 Speaker 1: fruit cake, another one h This one was found Sarka 401 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:48,119 Speaker 1: two by soldier who had been gifted it while he 402 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:52,600 Speaker 1: served in Alaska in nineteen sixty two, forty years earlier. 403 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:55,960 Speaker 1: It wound up uneaten in his mother's attic. That's kind 404 00:25:55,960 --> 00:26:01,439 Speaker 1: of funny. And the springs me to the question of 405 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:06,760 Speaker 1: how can fruit cakes last so long? Well, official U. 406 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:09,600 Speaker 1: S d A recommendations, I should mention give a fruit 407 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:11,560 Speaker 1: cake two to three months in the fridge and up 408 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:15,200 Speaker 1: to a year in the freezer. But yes, depending on 409 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: how you make one, it can last a lot longer 410 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:22,480 Speaker 1: and at room temperature. Even although note we cannot recommend 411 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:26,160 Speaker 1: that you try this home. No, no, please don't send angry. 412 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:28,320 Speaker 1: It's like three years later we get a bunch of 413 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:35,720 Speaker 1: angry fruit cake. We are washing our hands of that. Yes, 414 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:41,560 Speaker 1: but but you know that being said, they can last 415 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:44,040 Speaker 1: a lot longer because a some of the ingredients and 416 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,560 Speaker 1: fruit cake are already preserved. Those candied fruits which are 417 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:49,840 Speaker 1: usually boiled in some kind of sugar syrup, dried and 418 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:51,879 Speaker 1: then boiled in some kind of sugar syrup, and b 419 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:54,919 Speaker 1: you add a whole bunch of sugar and alcohol to 420 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 1: the mix. These prevent the growth of many bacteria and 421 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:00,920 Speaker 1: molds because they limit the water content of the cake. 422 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:05,919 Speaker 1: Like us, bacteria and mold need water to thrive, and 423 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,879 Speaker 1: sugar is a desiccated it bonds with water, making the 424 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: water otherwise unavailable. An alcohol, especially fresh alcohol, used to 425 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:16,359 Speaker 1: feed or baste a fruit cake, will destroy the cell 426 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:19,399 Speaker 1: walls of bacteria. And again I mean like us, like 427 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:22,919 Speaker 1: bacteria need to keep their insides inside in order to thrive. 428 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:25,960 Speaker 1: And after bacteria and molds, the only thing you would 429 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:28,200 Speaker 1: have to worry about in preserving food for the long 430 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:32,000 Speaker 1: term is rancidity. Rancidity of the oils. If you keep 431 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:34,560 Speaker 1: your cake tightly wrapped, the oils and the nuts, butter 432 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,400 Speaker 1: and eggs used to make your fruitcake won't have much 433 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:40,560 Speaker 1: exposure to the air, the light, and the water, which 434 00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:44,000 Speaker 1: can make oils go rancid um along with bacterial growth, 435 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 1: which we've also covered. So yeah, sugar, y'all. Sugar y'all. 436 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:55,360 Speaker 1: And uh, perhaps a new project on our horizon right. Oh, 437 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: it's gonna be so expensive. I don't know if I'm 438 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:01,240 Speaker 1: gonna like it when it turns out. Those are the 439 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:07,200 Speaker 1: best kinds of projects, perfect giant waste of time and money. 440 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:10,200 Speaker 1: As long as we can set it on fire. Oh 441 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,040 Speaker 1: that's true. We can set it on fire and then 442 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,160 Speaker 1: launch it from a catapult and then probably go to jail. 443 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:19,680 Speaker 1: It depends on where you aim the catapult. Right right, 444 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:26,399 Speaker 1: I've got a yard. Well that brings us to the 445 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:30,600 Speaker 1: end of this our fruitcake episode and hopefully our foolish 446 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:46,120 Speaker 1: ideation around launching a fruitcake and too. Listener man, Oh oh, yeah, 447 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 1: it was wintry, Jenny wrote, I just finished your red 448 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:53,960 Speaker 1: Lobster episode, and while that was great, I was more 449 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,400 Speaker 1: amused by the listener mail about KFC and had to share. 450 00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:01,560 Speaker 1: I spent six years teaching college in Kentucky. One year, 451 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:03,760 Speaker 1: one of my students, who was from Japan, asked if 452 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:06,479 Speaker 1: she could attend the commencement ceremony with my husband and 453 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:09,640 Speaker 1: I to see her friends graduate. Side note, ladies, you 454 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:11,520 Speaker 1: would have loved this young woman. She came prepared for 455 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:14,080 Speaker 1: the long ceremony with several giant bars of chocolate the 456 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,040 Speaker 1: share yes, Yes, Yes. At the end of the very 457 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 1: long ceremony, they played the state song My Old Kentucky Home. 458 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,080 Speaker 1: Our friend became highly confused as the crowd all joined 459 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:26,800 Speaker 1: together to sing. When I asked what was wrong, she said, 460 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:31,560 Speaker 1: why is everyone singing the KFC theme song? Turns out 461 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:34,960 Speaker 1: in Japan, my Old Kentucky Home is used in commercials 462 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:39,520 Speaker 1: to sell chicken Total culture shock. For my friend, I 463 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:41,400 Speaker 1: always tried to imagine what it would be like to 464 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:44,120 Speaker 1: be in her place, Perhaps something like attending a a 465 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:46,440 Speaker 1: wedding in Japan and hearing the attendees burst into the 466 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:50,880 Speaker 1: Oscar Mayer Weener's song after the exchange of rings. That 467 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:54,360 Speaker 1: would be pretty weird. Oh that's so good, I know, 468 00:29:55,440 --> 00:30:00,480 Speaker 1: I love it. Um Rosalind wrote about our Willy Wonka episode. 469 00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:03,640 Speaker 1: I enjoyed said episode earlier this year and may or 470 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:06,040 Speaker 1: may not have repeated it a few weeks later, and 471 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,680 Speaker 1: soon after had the idea of throwing together a Gene 472 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,400 Speaker 1: Wilder's Wonka costume in the event I ever attended a 473 00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:14,560 Speaker 1: con of any kind. That still hasn't happened yet, But 474 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,640 Speaker 1: Halloween came and went. At this point, I'm sure you 475 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,400 Speaker 1: can take a guess at this year's costume. I work 476 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:23,200 Speaker 1: at a rock climbing gym, and as Wonka, went all 477 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:25,320 Speaker 1: out and hid five golden tickets on some of the 478 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:28,800 Speaker 1: climbing roots during her Halloween event. She attached photos. They're 479 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,120 Speaker 1: great props too, goodwill for all the things. And in 480 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:34,640 Speaker 1: the event you go as Wonka anywhere, you may have 481 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 1: a stranger shout slash sing across the parking lot. Who 482 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:43,920 Speaker 1: can take a Rainbow to you. Highly recommended. Yeah, I'm 483 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:47,600 Speaker 1: kind of inspired to do this costume now. Uh. Gene 484 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:50,520 Speaker 1: Wilder had really specific thoughts about the costume. You can 485 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:52,160 Speaker 1: you can look you can look them up. He was 486 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:55,840 Speaker 1: very particular about the color scheming and about like the 487 00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:58,440 Speaker 1: like which bits of it should match with with which 488 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:02,560 Speaker 1: other bits. Mm hm. I don't have that material right 489 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:05,360 Speaker 1: now in front of me, but but google google Geane 490 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:09,640 Speaker 1: Wilder Wonka costume and it will probably come up somewhere. Oh, 491 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:15,160 Speaker 1: Gene Wilder and this Rosalind's costume was pretty fantastic and 492 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:19,760 Speaker 1: spot on absolutely and hiding golden tickets around. Oh that's great. Yes, 493 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:23,880 Speaker 1: So thanks to both of them for writing to us. 494 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:26,320 Speaker 1: You can write to us as well. Our email is 495 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:29,920 Speaker 1: hello at saber pod dot com. We're also on social media. 496 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:32,920 Speaker 1: You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at 497 00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:35,560 Speaker 1: saber Pod. We do hope to hear from you. Thank 498 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,440 Speaker 1: you as always to our super producer Dylan Fagan, thank 499 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:40,000 Speaker 1: you to you for listening, and we hope that lots 500 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:41,320 Speaker 1: of our good things are coming your way