Monday, December 19, 2011

An interesting thought

I finally made my grandfather's fruitcake recipe the way he sometimes did--soaking the candied fruit with a touch of rum--and when my wife tasted it, she wondered whether the modern disdain for fruitcake might have some of its origins in Prohibition. 

Now, my granddad's fruitcake is still pretty good (it's about 75% fruit and nuts, just like California) even "teetotaler style," but I had to admit she had a point.  It's also worth noting that a key ingredient for baking, diastatic malt (look at the side of your bag of flour), comes from breweries.   One doesn't need to be a lush to see what nasty things legally enforced sobriety can do even to the teetotalers of the world.

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