Fruit Cake & Eggnog
So, it occurred to me the other day that I've never had fruit cake or eggnog. I don't know a single person who has anything kind to say about either of those things, but I've never understood what's to dislike. I like fruit, I like cake, I like eggs and I like booze, what could be so bad?
Anyone want to fill me in as to why these holiday favorites get a bad wrap?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
16 Comments:
I don't like fruitcake. But I love some egg nog. I make coquito which is egg nog with coconut milk (I buy the lite one at TJ's) sprinkle wit cinnamon and add some good dark rum (Bacardi black bat)
OMG so damn good you will make it again and again.
JerzeeTomato at 10:23PM on 12/21/08
I'm with Jerzee. Love eggnog (local dairy), but haven't met a fruitcake I like yet. I find them dry and the "fruit" is weird. With coffee, I'd rather have a coffeecake, scone, sticky bun, donut........almost anything is better than fruit cake, so why bother?
PerkyMac at 10:30PM on 12/21/08
I've heard that there are good fruitcakes, but I've never met one. I don't like the weird fruit that goes into them, and if you take that away, the cake part isn't appealing to me, either.
Honestly, I've considered tweaking fruitcake recipes and coming up with my own version using dried apples and modifying the batter to make it less dense and cloying, but then I'd end up with something that was no longer fruitcake. Might as well drink the booze and make an apple pie instead.
As for eggnog, some people are squeamish about the egg part, but the commerical stuff isn't raw, so that's not an issue. But it's a pretty thick drink. Maybe a third of the way to being a pudding. I drink mine with a lot of ice and a decent amount of booze, so it's a lot thinner by the time I get to sipping.
Until I tried the one made by a local dairy, I wasn't all that fond of the stuff. Some of it is weirdly spiced, to my taste. And I found that the nonfat stuff (picked it up without realizing I'd grabbed nonfat) is really vile.
dbcurrie at 10:36PM on 12/21/08
Hey db, your comments reminded me of a Jewish Apple Cake. Haven't had one in awhile. Anybody have a good recipe? Now that's a good "fruit" cake!
PerkyMac at 10:42PM on 12/21/08
If you call it fruitcake, it has fruit in it and it's cake - then it's fruitcake. Mine has no wierd fruits. It's the rare eggnog that gets me excited. But for heavens' sake, not together! Too much of a sameness, not enough contrast.
lemons at 10:57PM on 12/21/08
I adore fruit cake. Don't really understand its bad rap...if you use real fruit instead of fake/neon ones and the right recipe, the flavor is great and satisfying. It's more of a breakfast food than a dessert, as it is primarily "mix-ins" instead of a sweet batter. I recommend trying it!! :)
teenagefoodie at 11:00PM on 12/21/08
I love both egg nog and fruitcake.
Oddly, I get diarrhea drinking regular milk, but never from egg nog and organic milk. *shrug* I suppose if people don't like spiced or thick, textured milk (nutmeg, etc.), egg nog won't work. I drink absolutely no alcohol.
Fruitcake is awesome when it's moist. If people don't care for cakes that are rich and spiced, or if they like fluffy cakes, they probably won't like fruitcake. The best fruitcake in somewhat recent history were the Gethsemani Farms Kentucky bourbon fruitcakes I bought as gifts and for ourselves - mentioned this in a different thread...and I don't work for them.
Cassaendra at 11:07PM on 12/21/08
I don't care for either but will eat it if a get cornered.
pjracz10 at 11:23PM on 12/21/08
Fruitcake is not for me since, as I've said repeatedly, I do not eat any cooked, dried or candied fruit. So there is no chance that I would ever even take a single bite of fruitcake, let alone like it.
I've tried eggnog twice, on both sides of the pond, and just didn't care for the taste either time. I'm still willing to give it a try though, because it's possible I simply haven't come across a really good one yet.
@Perky - I still have several boxes unpacked in the basement (on the 31st it will have been a year since we moved, but you know how it happens, there are always boxes you never get to), one of them has a folder with my Gran's recipes and I know there's one for the Apple Cake there (my Gran was a brilliant cook and baker, so it's definitely good). I promise, once I open it, I'll post the recipe for you!
brooke29 at 11:34PM on 12/21/08
I adore Alton Brown's eggnog recipe. It's lovely and not too thick and sweet like the commercially made stuff and not too difficult to make.
I've already made it twice this year!
Fruitcake, I can do without.
andshewas at 11:57PM on 12/21/08
I love fruitcake. I love everything about it, the nuts, the brightly-colored dried fruits, the strange brown cake. I just love it and can't get enough.
I love eggnog, too. I can pass on the booze, but a good eggnog is a thing of joy.
I love fruitcake so much that my wedding cake was a white fruitcake, and it was gorgeous.
Womandingo at 1:02AM on 12/22/08
To answer your question--I'm 34 years old, and remember first having both when I was around 3 or 4.
I bring up my age because you're younger and I think one of the reasons you've never 'had the pleasure' of either, and both tend to be very heavy, very calorific foods that have gone out of fashion to some extent--a bit like very alcoholic cocktails like Rob Roys, Chicken Cordon Bleu, or Beef Bourgogne, and so forth--it's not that no one eats them, but it's a style of food that people don't eat much. The reason eggnog and fruit cake have survived because during the holidays, foods tend to take longer to 'die' because of the nostalgia factor.
Eggnog provokes a similar reaction in me that candied fruit does for brooke29--I have trouble even looking at it, and I've tried it enough "ooh, you'll really like this version" to say that I hate it--but I hate cream sauces too. I loved fruitcake as a kid, especially the bright red and green candied fruit, but my palate is less sweet now, and frankly most fruitcakes are very high in calories (usually about 400+ per portion) and I'd rather have something I like just as much that is a bit less heavy.
HeartofGlass at 5:16AM on 12/22/08
I think the operative phrase 'weird fruit' sums up the reason most people (at least in the US) don't like fruitcake. The fruit in most fruitcakes (including plum puddings) consists of low-grade candied citrus peel and cherries. Sometimes, candied pineapple shows up, too. Yes, this goes for a surprising number of the expensive, ones, too.
Unless you unreservedly like this sort of candied fruit, fruitcake is not going to thrill you.
The fruitcake recipe I use does use a bit of candied citrus peel, but I make it myself, and it doesn't have the consistency and flavour of chewy plastic. I also include crystallized ginger, golden raisins, unsweetened dried cherries and cranberries, diced dried apricots, and diced whole dates (the kind without added sugar). There is a lot of fruit, and not much batter; obviously, this not likely to be popular with those who dislike dried fruit.
Given the ingredient list, it SHOULD be heavy, but isn't. It is dark and sort of spongy (as in sponge cake; it isn't the least rubbery), and not unusually sweet. The flavour is complex, fruity and spiced.
I really recommend making one yourself from a recommended recipe, before trying a commercially made one. Some of the latter aren't bad, but most seem to consist of plastic-y fruit entombed in either a dry or a pasty/gummy cake-substance. Eating that often stops people from ever trying anything labelled or resembling 'fruitcake' ever again.
As for eggnog, I have to admit that I wasn't aware that it's widely disliked; I think it's okay, but a bit heavy. Works best if the booze in it has a definite presence. Booze-free eggnog makes me wonder why I'm drinking unbaked custard. The presence of less than top-notch ingredients shows up glaringly. Store-bought eggnog is usually vile, and tastes of cardboard carton.
mongoose at 9:07AM on 12/22/08
I never had fruitcake growing up around 2001 I received one from my landlord for Christmas, along with a poinsettia. My roommate informed me that one doesn't actually eat fruitcake. It's not for eating.
I've since tried it and found it dry and bland.
When I was a child my mother made me eggnog when I was sick but I think it was different than your typical holiday season eggnog. I sort of like festive eggnog. I feel somewhat refreshingly trashy when I drink the stuff from the carton, especially if I don't pour it into a glass first.
@PerkyMac: Funny you should mention Jewish apple cake (which to me I guess is just "apple cake"). I think that fruitcake is like Jewish honey cake, because it's traditional during a specific holiday time, it's cake, and can be very dry and disappointing.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 9:22AM on 12/22/08
The only fruitcake I really like is Caribbean Black Cake, and I have to have my eggnog thinned out, either with plenty of booze and ice, or even added milk. I love the taste, but have a hard time with the thickness. I like using egg nog (the commerical stuff) as "creamer" for my coffee. Yummy.
I think the reason that things like Egg Nog or fruitcake either such a strong fan following or definite haters is that both things are such BOLD and strong tasting things...even texture-wise they are not for the faint of heart. With both items, there's no halfway.
juliebugsmama at 11:12AM on 12/22/08
I never liked it either until our neighbors had us try their homemade eggnog. Like most other things, a good homemade version is better than anything you can possibly get pre-made in a grocery or even gourmet store. I posted the recipe at www.odetoeverythingfood.blogspot.com. Hope you will enjoy it too!
odetoeverythingfood at 11:23PM on 12/27/08