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The World's Largest Fruitcake Weighs Almost 10,000 Pounds

世界上最大的水果蛋糕重达近10000磅

For some, the compound word ‘Fruitcake’ makes their mouths water in anticipation. For others, it makes them cringe in utter revulsion. Love it or hate it, this polarizing cake has one significant thing going for it: It lasts a long time. As late-night host Johnny Carson once joked, "There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other" (via PBS). Thanks to this holiday dessert's high-proof alcohol content, dry ingredients, and trusty sugar, it takes longer than most baked goods to expire.

对一些人来说，看到“水果蛋糕”这个复合词就会让他们垂涎三尺。对其他人来说，它却会让他们在极度厌恶中退缩。爱也好，恨也罢，这款喜好两极分化的蛋糕有一个重要的优点：它能保存很长时间。正如深夜主持人约翰尼·卡森曾经开玩笑说的那样，“全世界只有一个水果蛋糕，人们不断地互相赠送这个蛋糕”（来自美国公共电视网）。由于这种节日甜点的酒精含量高，成分干燥，糖含量适中，它的过期时间比大多数烘焙食品都长。

Think about it. The National Geographic revealed that in 2017, a group of scientists uncovered a centenarian fruitcake that had likely belonged to a member of Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic exploration team from around 1910. And, according to The Detroit News, one specimen that was baked in Ohio in 1878 has been handed down from one generation to another ever since. Yes, the fruitcake was built to last. In fact, it is so tough that the people of Manitou Springs, Colorado, host an annual festival called the Great Fruitcake Toss, an event that encourages visitors to "let your fruitcake fly." Not many baked goods were built for hurling - especially not one that weighs 10,000 pounds. This is just about the weight of the world's largest fruitcake, whipped up in 2014.

想想看。据《国家地理》透露，2017年，一群科学家发现了一个百岁水果蛋糕，它很可能属于1910年左右罗伯特·法尔肯·斯科特南极探险队的一名成员。据《底特律新闻》报道，1878年在俄亥俄州烘焙的一个样本蛋糕得以代代相传下来。是的，那个水果蛋糕当初制作时就是为了能够长时间保存的。事实上，这个蛋糕是如此之硬，以至于科罗拉多州马尼图斯普林斯市的人们举办了一个名为“大水果蛋糕投掷赛”的年度节日，鼓励游客们“放飞你的水果蛋糕”。没有多少烘焙食品是为投掷而生的，尤其是重达10000磅的烘焙食品。这只蛋糕相当于2014年制作的世界上最大的水果蛋糕的重量。

When the Serengeti Park in Germany decided to mark its 40th anniversary, they did it in a very big way. The managing director, Dr. Fabrizio Sepe, and his team set out to bake the largest fruitcake in the world - and they did it. According to the folks at Guinness World Records, they managed to whip up a cake that weighed in at over 9,596 pounds, beating out the previous record held by India's Just Bake by roughly 1,164 pounds (via Guinness).

当德国塞伦盖蒂公园决定纪念其成立40周年时，他们做了一件大事。总经理法布里齐奥·塞佩博士和他的团队开始烘焙世界上最大的水果蛋糕，而且他们做到了。据吉尼斯世界纪录的人说，他们成功地制作出了一个重达9596磅的蛋糕，以大约1164磅的优势击败了印度的Just Bake保持的前一纪录（来自吉尼斯）。

Guinness adds that it took 250 working hours to prepare this mammoth confection, plus 440 baking trays worth of cake. The pile of ingredients used to make this creation was gargantuan as well. For example, the fruitcake recipe used 1,000 eggs, over 3,527 pounds of strawberries, roughly 1,521 cups of milk, and at least 1,102 pounds of butter. The endeavor was well worth all this effort, though, as it earned the free-roaming zoo significant media attention and attracted 200 notable guests, including a former German president.

吉尼斯补充说，制作这种巨大的糖果需要250个工作小时，外加440个烤盘的蛋糕。用于制作这件作品的原料堆也是巨大的。例如，水果蛋糕配方使用了1000个鸡蛋、超过3527磅的草莓、大约1521杯牛奶和至少1102磅的黄油。尽管如此，这项努力还是值得的，因为它为这家野生动物园赢得了媒体的极大关注，并吸引了200位著名客人，其中包括一位德国前总统。

It isn't known what happened to this massive fruitcake. It is, perhaps, still lurking in closets, being used as doorstops, or waiting for next year's fruitcake toss. Some, likely, made its way into the tummies of happy fruitcake lovers.

如今不知道这个巨大的水果蛋糕后来怎么了。也许，它仍然藏在壁橱里，被用作门挡，或者等待明年的水果蛋糕投掷赛。其中一些很可能已经进入了快乐的水果蛋糕爱好者的肚子了。

【Source】www.thedailymeal.com

【Translated by】Spark Liao (廖怀宝)

【Illustration】From Bing

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