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For many Filipino families, Christmas isn’t Christmas without a loaf of fruitcake baking in the oven. I did a little research on the history of the fruitcake and apparently, this pastry dates back all the way to the time of the Ancient Romans and Egyptians. Back then, their recipe included pomegranates, raisins, and pine nuts. During the Middle Ages, honey and preserved fruits were added to the mixture and the Crusaders were said to carry fruitcake with them during their journey to the East.The fruitcake gained more popularity in Europe when a ceremonial cake developed in the 1700s. At the end of the nut harvest season, farmers would mix the newly-harvested nuts into a fruitcake batter. The baked cake would be preserved and eaten at the start of the next harvest season, in the hopes that this would bring them a bountiful harvest. It’s not sure how the fruitcake became associated with the holidays and Christmas, but food scholars believe that it probably came from the English. During the Victoria era, people would give out fruitcakes to poor women who sang Christmas carols in the streets.

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