fruitcakes
since christmas is fast approaching (and Karen was bored enough to send this story to me from ABC at 345 in the morning), i thought i might post a lil bit of this story for your reading pleasure...

And even though it may be detested by many, the fruitcake holds many advantages over other baked varieties. All those pieces of dried fruit act like sentries — grabbing water molecules that might otherwise escape by evaporation.

Fruitcake also has high sugar content and since sugar is highly acidic, it blocks or weakens any invading bacteria that might try to form moldy layers. If the cake is spiked with brandy, all the better, since alcohol is also highly acidic and also an effective preservative.

Some even argue an old fruitcake ages and improves like a good wine over time. Barham explains the tannins inside the fruit (which are also part of the aging process of wine) eke out and mix chemically with the rest of the cake, creating new flavor compounds.

These flavor compounds, he says, become more intense and varied with time — and are all the more reason to pull that ancient fruitcake out of the freezer and reheat it.

Or ... give it to someone else.

although the thought is nice (i think), i hope i dont get any fruitcake for christmas...so for those of you reading this, dont get any ideas about getting me fruitcake for christmas, or else u know what you'll be getting next christmas...stay tuned, we'll be back after these messages =)