Countdown to Christmas 14 - Fruitcake Capital

I would love to know if any reader can suggest an Australian city of town which could claim to be this nation's fruitcake capital. In USA, Claxton, a small town in Georgia with a population of only 2740, claims to be the Fruitcake Capital of the World.

Claxton Water Tower

There are two bakeries in Claxton and between them, they bake more than 4 million pounds (approximately 2 million kilograms) of fruitcake per year. Claxton Bakery, the larger bakery run by Dale Parker produces a light cake which begins with a blend of olden and natural raisins and then candied (glace) pineapple, cherries, lemon, orange peel and nuts ( almonds, walnuts and local Georgia pecans) are added. Batches of cake batter are mixed in relatively speaking small quantities at a time - 375 pounds ( 183 kilograms approximately). This is done a fairly low speed in a mechanical stainless steel mixer, not dissimilar to a cement mixer and the speed is low so as not to pulverise the fruit. The thick batter is levelled into the pans by hand. This method goes back to the bakery's origins a century ago when Italian immigrant, Savino Tos relocated his bakery from New York to Claxton. The current owner's father, Albert Parker was once a young apprentice who went on to buying the business.

Original Claxton Bakery

The second bakery, the Georgia Fruitcake Company makes a darker, richer cake spiked with bourbon. John Womble, the current bakery owner, claims that the fruitcake is making a comeback as a popular outdoor, energy giving food to hikers, walkers and campers because their recipe will not spoil when its opened. the rich tasting fruitcake has allegedly even been taken by one mountain climber to the top of Mt Everest!

It is interesting to note that Claxton considers tourism associated with fruitcake sales essential to its economic survival, unless of course you take into account the popularity of its only other claim to fame, the annual Rattlesnake and Wildlife festival!
Of course, there is another contender for the title on the horiazon . Corsicana in Texas, dismisses Claxton's claim, and promotes itself as the Fruitcake Captial. The Corsicana bakery, the Collin Street bakery claims to be older, making delectable fruitcake from a traditional recipe from Wiesbaden, Germany and introduced to USA by Gus Weidmann. This is another story, and If I have a spare day, I might delve into this part of fruitcake history a little more.
Tomorrow, I hope to introduce you to a woman whose life was devoted to fruitcake.
* Information in the post came from www.npr.org and company websites.

Too Precious to Waste

Stitched tea bags/ old doily "tea lights" - Wilma Simmons More than a year ago, a decision was made. The annual exhibition of NCEATA ( Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) 2015-2016 will have the theme "Mottainai". Mottainai in Japanese refers to more than just physical waste (resources). It is even used to refer to thought patterns that give rise to wasteful action. Grammatically, it can be used in Japanese as an exclamation ("mottainai!") or as an adjective phrase ("it feels mottainai"). There is no plural form. The collection of mottainai things could be called mottainai koto ( もったいない事 ? ). As an exclamation ("mottainai!") it means roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste." [2] A simple English equivalent is the saying "waste not, want not." A more elaborate meaning conveys a sense of value and worthiness and may be translated as "do not destroy (or lay waste to) that

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as wrapping str

Wednesday's Child /2

Work in Progress - 3 of the 193 for "Stitched Up"- Wilma Simmons The work for the "Stitched Up " Project continues. See the previous "Wednesday Child" post for the background to this art project celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Newcastle Industrial School. I have been documenting the progress of my work, so I thought it might be interesting to share some of the early stages of the "stick dolls" ... Here are some of the beginning steps.. Sticks collected while walking the bushland in my neighbourhood Drying and getting rid of any insects - oven heat 75 degreesC for approx 1-2 hours. Trimmed and cut if necessary Ends sealed with matte sealing solution. Drying - solution goes on white but dries clear. First wrapping - foil to create a body shape Second wrapping - stretch fabric. Third wrapping - fabric strips Some stitching - more stitching and embellishment to come. Follow thi

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Search This Blog