# Fruit Cake, Buy Fruit now



## Meerkat

We make several fruit cakes for Holidays we don't celebrate but family does. Our fruit cakes are fantastic. We mail some bring some to others and keep some for ourselves in freezer so that is a lot of fruits and nuts. Brandy isn't cheap either and I soak all nuts and fruits at least a couple days in brandy.And brush brandy on the cake before tightly wrapping it in parchment paper then freezer bag or Food Saver Wrap.

This is a good time to start buying up the expensive fruits and nuts when on sale, freeze them if needed. 

We buy all kinds of fruit dried, candied and even fresh and frozen. Also nuts are bought if on sale when possible.


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## crabapple

We (by we I mean DW) do the same, right after Christmas is a good time too.


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## oldasrocks

Meerkat said:


> We make several fruit cakes for Holidays we don't celebrate but family does. Our fruit cakes are fantastic. We mail some bring some to others and keep some for ourselves in freezer so that is a lot of fruits and nuts. Brandy isn't cheap either and I soak all nuts and fruits at least a couple days in brandy.And brush brandy on the cake before tightly wrapping it in parchment paper then freezer bag or Food Saver Wrap.
> 
> This is a good time to start buying up the expensive fruits and nuts when on sale, freeze them if needed.
> 
> We buy all kinds of fruit dried, candied and even fresh and frozen. Also nuts are bought if on sale when possible.


So how do I become a close friend or forgotten uncle?


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## bbqjoe

If a fruitcake doesn't work as a doorstop, or it doesn't have enough booze in it to burn for at least six days, it isn't really a fruitcake.


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## weedygarden

I was around 12 or 13 when I ate fruitcake for the first time. It was followed by my first migraine. Yep, and I have never eaten it since.


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## LastOutlaw

I have never liked fruitcake... the fruit doesnt taste like fruit at all. Every time I hear the word fruitcake I think of the Peewee Herman Christmas special where he kept getting fruitcake from party guests and he would hand it through a door to a guy who was cementing them into a wall of a room addition.


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## Meerkat

crabapple said:


> We (by we I mean DW) do the same, right after Christmas is a good time too.


 Yes it is also a good time to buy. And fruit cake is very healthy and will last a long time if stored correctly.:wave:


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## Meerkat

weedygarden said:


> I was around 12 or 13 when I ate fruitcake for the first time. It was followed by my first migraine. Yep, and I have never eaten it since.


 Oh sorry about your migraine sweety. Last time I ate shrimp I got sick and in fight with an alligator when tying up boat. I haven't liked shrimp since.:wave:


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## Meerkat

oldasrocks said:


> So how do I become a close friend or forgotten uncle?


 They are heavy so you have to help with postage,but yes I'll send ya one. :wave:


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## Meerkat

LastOutlaw said:


> I have never liked fruitcake... the fruit doesnt taste like fruit at all. Every time I hear the word fruitcake I think of the Peewee Herman Christmas special where he kept getting fruitcake from party guests and he would hand it through a door to a guy who was cementing them into a wall of a room addition.


  I know dumpters use to be full of fruit cakes. :wave:


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## marlas1too

I llllooooovvveee fruit cake in fact at christmas i stock up and put lots of them in the freezeer


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## bbqjoe

marlas1too said:


> I llllooooovvveee fruit cake in fact at christmas i stock up and put lots of them in the freezeer


Everyone knows that no ones actually eats them, you just save them up, and gift them off next year.


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## marlas1too

then send the all to me I will eat them


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## Sentry18

I am not a carb eater so I have not eaten fruit cake in some time, but I do like it. When I was younger my parents would receive a pile of homemade fruit cakes as gifts around the holidays, they wouldn't eat them so me and my siblings would dig in. As an adult the only fruit cakes I see are store bought. Glad people are still making them.


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## Meerkat

Sentry18 said:


> I am not a carb eater so I have not eaten fruit cake in some time, but I do like it. When I was younger my parents would receive a pile of homemade fruit cakes as gifts around the holidays, they wouldn't eat them so me and my siblings would dig in. As an adult the only fruit cakes I see are store bought. Glad people are still making them.


 Some carbs are good for you. I put as many non GMO as possible and order my flour from King Author and the taste is so much different than store bought, no more bitter after taste in biscuits or pastries. And the 6 or 8 eggs in each cake are veggie fed free range. So our cakes cost a little more to make. Brush it real good with brandy then wrap it up. 
I also add as much non GMO fruits as possible and lots of blue berries and cranberries berries. Don't use near the candied fruit instead put dried fruit soaked in brandy. It still taste like fruit cake just heathier. :wave:


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## Meerkat

Time to make the fruit cakes. About $100 spent so far. But we like them and they are perfect snack inbetween meals.
Just put fruit and nuts into brandy. Will start on them in next couple days.


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## weedygarden

Meerkat said:


> Time to make the fruit cakes. About $100 spent so far. But we like them and they are perfect snack inbetween meals.
> Just put fruit and nuts into brandy. Will start on them in next couple days.


How many will you make? I think they found a fruit cake in the Arctic circle that was old, maybe 100 years old, and still edible, but probably because it was frozen. 
Maybe fruitcake is a true prepper food. I wonder how long they last? What is the shelf life for a fruitcake? Maybe we should all save them in our preps for bartering. I know I won't be able to eat one, today, tomorrow or ever, but maybe some will survive another day or two because of a fruitcake.


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## Tank_Girl

I use to make a chocolate and drambuie fruit cake out of an Australian Women's Weekly cook book.

Tried and tested recipes that work every single time.
The only thing I did different from the recipe is omit the peel.
UGGHHHHHH...I HATE peel!!!
I doubled up on the red cherries though which made me happy!

I love it sliced and served warm like a plum pudding and served with hot banana custard and hard sauce.


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## RedBeard

Meerkat said:


> Some carbs are good for you. I put as many non GMO as possible and order my flour from King Author and the taste is so much different than store bought, no more bitter after taste in biscuits or pastries. And the 6 or 8 eggs in each cake are veggie fed free range. So our cakes cost a little more to make. Brush it real good with brandy then wrap it up.
> I also add as much non GMO fruits as possible and lots of blue berries and cranberries berries. Don't use near the candied fruit instead put dried fruit soaked in brandy. It still taste like fruit cake just heathier. :wave:


Lucky for me im allergic to nuts so no fruit cake for me. King Arthur is great flour! They are a 45 minute drive from me. I have a buddy who works there so i buy all my non gmo grains from them and grind my own flour. Fresh flour is so awesome.


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## Meerkat

weedygarden said:


> How many will you make? I think they found a fruit cake in the Arctic circle that was old, maybe 100 years old, and still edible, but probably because it was frozen.
> Maybe fruitcake is a true prepper food. I wonder how long they last? What is the shelf life for a fruitcake? Maybe we should all save them in our preps for bartering. I know I won't be able to eat one, today, tomorrow or ever, but maybe some will survive another day or two because of a fruitcake.


 Weedy, not sure how long they last but we saw a movie 'true story' about a kid in the race and all he brought with him was fruit cake. He said it has everything he needed to perform in the -70 degree weather and terrain of the 7 day, 1050 miles trip of The Alaskan Indirod.
I forgot the name of the movie.


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## ClemKadiddlehopper

Meerkat said:


> Some carbs are good for you. I put as many non GMO as possible and order my flour from King Author and the taste is so much different than store bought, no more bitter after taste in biscuits or pastries. And the 6 or 8 eggs in each cake are veggie fed free range. So our cakes cost a little more to make. Brush it real good with brandy then wrap it up.
> I also add as much non GMO fruits as possible and lots of blue berries and cranberries berries. Don't use near the candied fruit instead put dried fruit soaked in brandy. It still taste like fruit cake just heathier. :wave:


Like yourself, I don't use candied stuff from the store. I use homegrown chemical free dehydrated berries, dried cranberries soaked in orange juice, and pumpkin seeds; nothing gmo and eggs from out back. Although I don't do the alcohol thing, people still scarf my cakes and no one has had a bad reaction other than over-eating syndrome.

I canned up some squash chutney with pineapple and other fruits and spices a few years ago, it did have brandy as well which was a bust as a chutney but makes a killer alternative fruit cake for the alcohol crowd.


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## Meerkat

ClemKadiddlehopper said:


> Like yourself, I don't use candied stuff from the store. I use homegrown chemical free dehydrated berries, dried cranberries soaked in orange juice, and pumpkin seeds; nothing gmo and eggs from out back. Although I don't do the alcohol thing, people still scarf my cakes and no one has had a bad reaction other than over-eating syndrome.
> 
> I canned up some squash chutney with pineapple and other fruits and spices a few years ago, it did have brandy as well which was a bust as a chutney but makes a killer alternative fruit cake for the alcohol crowd.


 Mine does have some store bought ingredientes and I'd love to be able to grow like you do though.
I buy organic and dried fruit that is probably not organic but we try to be a natural as possible. 
I bet your cakes are fantastic too.


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## Meerkat

We have 3 in the oven now. will bake at least 3 more tomorrow.


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## ClemKadiddlehopper

Meerkat said:


> Mine does have some store bought ingredientes and I'd love to be able to grow like you do though.
> I buy organic and dried fruit that is probably not organic but we try to be a natural as possible.
> I bet your cakes are fantastic too.


 It is not a sin to buy from a store. The trick is to reduce the amount of chemicals one ingests as much as possible for our individual situations. I have a bridge for sale if anyone believes anything can be grown chemical free these days, including organics.

Most of us, will also only die once. I for one, don't intend to die with the taste and smell of bacon (OMG nitrates), hot buns with butter, chicken soup with rosemary/tyme dumplings in the winter, fresh cherry pie, rhubarb cake and yes, the odd homemade christmas cake only a distant memory of something eaten in the long long ago.

Oops, I think I just went all preachy. So sorry.


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## RedBeard

ClemKadiddlehopper said:


> It is not a sin to buy from a store. The trick is to reduce the amount of chemicals one ingests as much as possible for our individual situations. I have a bridge for sale if anyone believes anything can be grown chemical free these days, including organics.
> 
> Most of us, will also only die once. I for one, don't intend to die with the taste and smell of bacon (OMG nitrates), hot buns with butter, chicken soup with rosemary/tyme dumplings in the winter, fresh cherry pie, rhubarb cake and yes, the odd homemade christmas cake only a distant memory of something eaten in the long long ago.
> 
> Oops, I think I just went all preachy. So sorry.


I make all my own bacon. Nitrate free. And we use zero chemicals in our garden and animals. Maybe im just misunderstanding you....


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## SheepdogPRS

Life requires chemistry. Dihydrogen Oxide, Sodium Chloride, Hydrochloric Acid, Potassium Nitrate. Monosaccharide, and a host of other chemicals are spread throughout your body. Plants and animals absorb chemicals from their environment and excrete others that they don't use. There are some man-made chemicals that fool the natural processes and build up to toxic levels. Avoid those and you are good to go.


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## Meerkat

I just raked up lots of leaves yesterday for our compostor. Plus we much with leaves when and if the forest are any evidence of what leaves do for vegetation than we are good.
I rake the leaves on a Trump size aka huuuuge piece of plastic then drag the plastic to the compostor. Or hubby will vaccum the up with a leaf grinder but mostly I rake them. 
We try to stay organic but we are too old to be totally organic.


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## Meerkat

Baked 6 cakes, and have leftover fruit for cookies later on. Brandy and nuts are what cost the most.


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## weedygarden

Meerkat said:


> Baked 6 cakes, and have leftover fruit for cookies later on. Brandy and nuts are what cost the most.


How long does it take for them to soak in the brandy? When will they be ready to eat?


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## SheepdogPRS

It all depends on how long you soak the fruit in vodka or moonshine first...
We soak our fruit in vodka for about 11 months but we don't use it in fruitcakes.


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## oldasrocks

Meerkat said:


> They are heavy so you have to help with postage,but yes I'll send ya one. :wave:


Don't forget your long lost Scottish uncle. (me)


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## ClemKadiddlehopper

RedBeard said:


> I make all my own bacon. Nitrate free. And we use zero chemicals in our garden and animals. Maybe im just misunderstanding you....


Yep, I was about as clear as mud. I was not referring to what one personally does or does not apply to our gardens and animals but rather what is already in the soil and floating overhead and from adjoining properties. My farm hasn't had a deliberate dose of what have you in close to 30 verified years now with no close farmer doing the latest and greatest, but fork out for a non standard soil test in a chem. lab, and the results are quite eye opening. Clean water is getting rarer than hen's teeth and water gets spread all over everything.

Bacon without nitrates is just not pink. Salami and other dry sausages however, need to have it to prevent botulinum such is their nature. However, celery is heavy in nitrates (pink salt substitute) and every one is eating that happily enough. We all pick the our own poison which is the way I like my world to turn.


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## SheepdogPRS

Salt substitute is potassium chloride. Canning and brining salt has sodium nitrate and potentially potassium nitrate. You can make bacon using standard table salt (sodium chloride) without any nitrates. It doesn't store as easily but when you are making it yourself you can use the smoking process to make up for the lack of nitrates.


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## RedBeard

SheepdogPRS said:


> Salt substitute is potassium chloride. Canning and brining salt has sodium nitrate and potentially potassium nitrate. You can make bacon using standard table salt (sodium chloride) without any nitrates. It doesn't store as easily but when you are making it yourself you can use the smoking process to make up for the lack of nitrates.


That's what i do except i use sea salt. My bacon brine only contains 5 ingredients. I would put it in a taste test against any bacon. But that's why i make my own maple syrup.


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## RedBeard

ClemKadiddlehopper said:


> Yep, I was about as clear as mud. I was not referring to what one personally does or does not apply to our gardens and animals but rather what is already in the soil and floating overhead and from adjoining properties. My farm hasn't had a deliberate dose of what have you in close to 30 verified years now with no close farmer doing the latest and greatest, but fork out for a non standard soil test in a chem. lab, and the results are quite eye opening. Clean water is getting rarer than hen's teeth and water gets spread all over everything.
> 
> Bacon without nitrates is just not pink. Salami and other dry sausages however, need to have it to prevent botulinum such is their nature. However, celery is heavy in nitrates (pink salt substitute) and every one is eating that happily enough. We all pick the our own poison which is the way I like my world to turn.


Ah read you loud and clear. It is scary isn't it. They are finding all kinds of medications in drinking water too. Gross!


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## Meerkat

weedygarden said:


> How long does it take for them to soak in the brandy? When will they be ready to eat?


 At least 24 hours. I like to soak them 2 days but this time only one day, and they taste good.
We already on cake number 2. We ate one the same day we made it.
It is good cake so imo it can be eaten when its done.


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