Back to the Traditions Page Fruitcake Food scholars say fruitcake started when the ancient Romans added raisins, pine nuts and pomegranate seeds to barley mash to make granola bars. During the Middle Ages, fruits, honey and spices were added to the list of ingredients to turn them into a dessert. The big advantage of fruitcakes was that they wouldn't spoil. Once they were soaked in alcohol to prevent mold and buried in powdered sugar in tightly closed tins, they could be eaten as many as 25 years after they were baked. During the Crusades, fruitcakes were carried in saddlebags and backpacks across Europe. Panforte, a thin, chewy fruitcake made in Italy more than a thousand years ago and taken on the Crusades, is still baked today. Many countries have their own version of fruitcake, but the modern fruitcake we know came from England. It developed out of their recipe for plum cake which contained dried fruits. How fruitcakes became a Christmas tradition is a mystery, but we do have a few clues. In all countries, it was a "make ahead" dish since it could be baked after the harvest and saved to eat during the holidays. In England, it was a common treat to pass out to the poor women singing Christmas carols in the streets. And during the late 1700's, an English law was passed restricting the eating of plum cakes to holidays. For whatever reason, fruitcake is part of Christmas tradition today. Fruitcake Legends Queen Victoria once received a fruitcake for her birthday. She stored it in the closet for a year before eating it as a sign of restraint, moderation, and good taste. If you put a piece of fruitcake under your pillow, you will dream of the person you're supposed to marry.

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