Just What is Fruitcake Anyway? Myths & Origin Story

There is this thing called 'Fruitcake' and it only comes out once per year at the Christmas holidays. But what is it?

Fruitcake is a 'cake' in a loaf or round form, that is a mixture of dried and candied fruits and nuts surrounded by a dense sweet cake batter. Fruitcakes are usually known for the following things:

The candied fruit that no one can tell what it is. BTW, what's with the green cherries?
Their weight. Fruitcakes are notorious for being super heavy. There are even Fruitcake Chucking Competitions in January.
Homemade Fruitcakes also known for their abundance of alcohol.
No one actually eats the fruitcake when it is left out.

Are you familiar with any of the above? When doing some research, I stumbled upon the following as to the origins of fruitcake from one of the US companies that sells thousands of them each year (Swiss Colony), they call fruitcake 'the original energy bar.' Here is what they say about its origins:

To sustain their troops in battle, the ancient Romans concocted a sort of energy bar called satura, which consisted of pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, raisins, barley mash and honeyed wine. Eventually becoming popular as a dessert for special occasions, it was packed with calories in the form of healthful carbs and beneficial fats, and lasted long enough to fortify a soldier through a long, exhausting campaign.

Do you think you'll try fruitcake this year or just pass and head straight to the eggnog? Do you like fruitcake?

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