Let's Celebrate The Holidays With Eggnog / Fruitcakes / Candy CanesToast the Holidays with a Cup of Egg NogEgg nog is a type of milk-based beverage popular in North America during the winter. Historically, it comes from posset, a hot curdled milk drink popular in the Middle Ages purported to have medicinal purposes. The name is a combination of egg and nog, where nog derives either from noggin, which is ale or a small wooden cup. It could also stem from grog, an alcoholic beverage made from rum. It's even been said that George Washington was himself an egg nog enthusiast and developed his own recipe that included rye whiskey, rum and sherry. Legend has it that it was a very strong drink and either only the most courageous or those with little sense were willing to try it. It's highly likely that egg nog originated in Europe, although some believe it originated in the original American colonies who added rum. Therefore it's not strictly just a holiday drink, but more of winter time drink. However, it is mostly served during both Christmas and New Year's Eve. Modern eggnog typically consists of milk, eggs, and sugar mixed together and may be served with or without added spirits. Other ingredients include spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, or allspice, and frequently the substitution of cream for some portion of the milk, making a much richer drink. Whiskey, rum, brandy, or cognac can be added to eggnog. Originally served warm, egg nog has been served cold and without alcohol since the mid 1960s, both of which are significant departures from its historical origins. It's even available in a soy-based formula for those with dairy allergies or who are vegan. Egg nog has long been the drink of choice to toast the holiday season. So hoist a cup and have a happy holiday season! Feast on Festive Fruitcakes for the HolidaysWe all have our favorite Christmas goody that we love to eat. Fruitcake, a heavy cake made from dried or candied fruits and nuts that are marinated in rum or brandy, has origins in ancient Rome. It is often used in both wedding and Christmas celebrations. The earliest Roman recipe lists pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into a barley mash.In the Middle Ages, honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added and the name fruitcake was first used. When it was later discovered that fruits could be preserved using a high amount of sugar, they naturally found their way into fruitcakes. In the 18th century, Europeans were baking fruitcakes using nuts from the harvest for good luck in the following year. The tradition was to save the cake then eat it later before the next harvest. They were in abundant supply across Europe until a law was actually passed banning them at any time other than weddings, Christmas and a couple of other holidays. However, it was still popular during tea time in Victorian England in the 19th century. The birth of the mail ordered fruitcake can be attributed to the Ringling Brothers Circus back in 1913. The circus management enjoyed the fruitcake from a small local bakery in Corsicana, Texas so much that they ordered them for friends and family members across the country. Collin Street Bakery has shipped their fruitcakes around the world ever since. The main ingredient in the modern day fruitcake is butter cakes with just enough dough to bind the fruit. The cakes are saturated with liqueurs or brandy, and covered in powdered sugar, both of which prevent mold. Brandy or wine-soaked linens are used to store the fruitcakes. Many people feel fruitcakes improve with age. Some cakes have been eaten 25 years after baking. Its heaviness and long shelf life probably also accounts for its legendary place as the focus of many jokes and comedy sketch routines. Candy Canes for ChristmasA candy cane is a hard cane-shaped candy stick. It is traditionally white with red stripes and flavored with peppermint; however, it is also made in a variety of other flavors and colored stripes, and has long been a symbol associated with Christmas.The candy cane dates back over 300 years and was originally a straight, hard, and all-white candy stick. Around the seventeenth century, Christians in Europe began to adopt the use of Christmas trees as part of their Christmas celebrations. They made special decorations for their trees from foods like cookies and sugar stick candy. The first historical reference to the familiar cane shape goes dates as far back as 1670 when the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany, bent the sugar sticks into canes to represent a shepherd's staff, then handed them out to children during nativity services. This custom of handing out candy canes during Christmas services spread throughout Europe and later to America. The peppermint candy with red stripes first appeared in the mid-19th century in the Swedish town of Granna, and striped candy canes in the early 20th century. The first historical reference to the candy cane being in America goes back to 1847, when August Imgard, a German immigrant, decorated the Christmas tree in his Ohio home with candy canes. It's not clear who came up with the idea of striping candy canes, but it's known that Christmas cards prior to the year 1900 showed only all-white candy canes, where Christmas cards after 1900 showed illustrations of striped candy canes. It's about that same time that candy makers began adding peppermint and wintergreen flavors to their candy canes, which grew to become traditional favorite flavors. In the 1950's a Catholic priest named Gregory Keller invented a machine to automate candy cane production. | ||||||
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