From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
A sweet, dense cake made with dried fruits, spices, and brandy or rum. The earliest version was made in ancient Rome. Honey and additional spices were added during the Middle Ages. During the 18th century in Europe, fruitcake was made following the nut harvest and saved until the following year, when it was eaten to herald another good harvest. It became a Christmas favorite during the same century, when the use of dried fruits was restricted to Christmas, Easter, weddings and funerals. Dark fruitcake is made with dark-color ingredients, such as brown sugar, dark corn syrup, molasses, brown liquors (such as bourbon), walnuts, raisins and currants. Light fruitcake is made with light-color ingredients, such as granulated sugar, light corn syrup, colorless liquors (such as rum), blanched almonds, dried apricots and golden raisins. Many fruitcake haters have only tried the dark versions of the cake and are surprised to find that the lighter versions are extremely tasty and not as heavy as their dark counterparts.
