There is nothing like fruitcake for Christmas, and many people are
thankful for that fact. The hapless holiday dessert has fallen out of
favor over the past few decades. New ideas have come up for what to do
with the unfavorable baked good, including using it as a building
material and launching it from a specially designed Traditional Christmas Fruitcake (Photo by Jonathunder/Creative Commons via Wikimedia)cannon just for fun.
There have even been rescue organizations set up to take in unwanted
fruitcakes and find them new homes.
One such organization in Denver has been rescuing fruitcakes for seven years now. Denver Fruitcake Safe Haven and Rescue takes in unwanted or regifted fruitcakes, offering them sanctuary while finding them homes where they are truly wanted.
The organization is dedicated to keeping fruitcakes being left to fend for themselves in landfills, being buried in backyards, or, worst of all, being shoved down garbage disposals. Oh, the horror!
A safe drop-off location has been set up where people can anonymously deposit the unwanted cakes. In 2012 a record number of fruitcakes — six — and a couple of bran muffins were rescued and given new homes.
The drop-off is located in the 2400 block of Columbine Street and is open 24/7 for discreet deposit. A lighted sign and box are clearly visible to those wishing to give up their fruitcakes for adoption.
If you do not live in the Denver metropolitan area and have a fruitcake that you wish to put up for adoption, please check out the Fruitcake Rescue website. There you will find information on how to put your unwanted fruitcake up for adoption.
Among the legends about fruitcake is the ability of fruitcake to last for many, MANY years. Indeed, if a fruitcake has been soaked in alcohol it may last for years. In one amazing story, a family in Michigan kept a fruitcake as an heirloom, handed down from one generation to another. It had been baked in 1878 and in 2003 the 125-year-old cake was sampled by Jay Leno on The Tonight Show
That was one fruitcake that had seriously found a forever home!
Sources: 9News, Wikipedia
