Julekake
- 1 quart milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 yeast cakes
- Flour
- 1 cup raisins
- A little candied citron
Boil and cool the milk. Mix the dough as for bread, mixing in the raisins and citron. Bake in loaves like bread.
Submitted by Oct 14, 2009
15 min
30 min
45 min
Citron
- It is difficult to find citron in USA grocery stores but is sometimes sold during the holidays to complement fruitcake recipes
- The Buddha's hand variety of citron is named after it's finger-like shape and is often used in fruit cake
- Candied citron peel is commonly found in marmalade
- Citron rind produces oil that is often used in liquor and fragrances
- The citron rind is the most commonly used part of the fruit
- Asian cultures use the citron to add fragrance to a room and to wash clothing
- Citron grows in a variety of shapes but is usually oblong or oval
- Citron was used to cure people experiencing seasickness
- Bakers often use candied fruit or lemon peel as a citron substitute
- A citron is a fruit similar to the lemon with less acid, a thicker rind, and less pulp
Yeast
- Professional bakers often use fresh compressed cake yeast which is more predictable and easy to dissolve
- Rapid-rise yeast has a different baking behavior from other types of yeast and will have a flavor that is more bland and texture that is more simple
- Active dry yeast and instant yeast can be used interchangably
- Test your yeast before baking: Add to a small cup of warm water and then add a Tbsp of sugar - If it foams, it's ready
- Yeast and the leavening process create the air pockets and sponge-like texture in bread
- Yeast activates the fermentation process, turning carbohydrates into gas (carbon dioxide) and alcohol
- Yeast is a single tiny cell nearly the same size as a human red blood cell
- Yeast is a type of fungus in the same family as the mushroom
Raisins
- Raisins are high in antioxidants which are considered by many scientists to slow the aging process and prevent cancer
- Raisins are gluten-free
- A serving of raisins (1.2 ounces) contains 110 calories
- Raisins were dropped by "Raisin Bombers" in Berlin during WWII to feed children
- The first written reference to rasisns was in the Old Testament during the reign of King David, 1000 B.C.
Sugar
- The American Heart Association recommends the following for daily sugar intake: 9 Tsp (Men), 5 Tsp (Women), 3 Tsp (Children)
- The average american consumes over 20 teaspoons of sugar per day
- Most sweeteners including sugar and fruit extracts, cane juices, honey, syrup, etc. have a fructose/glucose ratio of approximately 50/50
- Fructose is found in sugar and most sweeteners and is unhealthy because it goes straight to the liver causing diabetes and heart disease
- Sugar is sometimes referred to as "evaporated cane juice"
- Many people choose sugar over high fructose corn syrup because sugar is not as highly processed
- Consumption of sugar increases insulin levels, increases energy, but then leads to a drop in both and likely a craving for more food
- Sugar is a carbohydrate with about 9 calories per sugar cube
- About 40% of the world's sugar production comes from Brazil
- The fully mature sugar cane stem can grow as tall as five meters
- Sugar cane and sugar beet are the most common sources of refined sugar
- Sugar is sucrose which can is found naturally in many plants
- Christopher Columbus is credited with bringing sugar to the Americas
- The process of creating sugar through evaporation of the sugar cane juice began in India
- The earliest known production of sugar dates back to 9000 BC in the southwest Pacific island of New Guinea