I tend to look at certain brands in terms of a product hierarchy. In the realm of food items, there are first the premium brand-name goods, then the stuff the Soviet communists ate, and then there’s Equality.
I’m naturally suspicious of any food that lists eggs after a series of suspicious sounding additives. I am, therefore suspicious of this fruitcake. All decked out in clear cellophane and the typical blue label, this stuff does not put on airs. It wasn’t even included in the front display at A&P, and was instead relegated to the shelf across from the hamburger buns.
The density of the Equality dark fruitcake is ok, clearly there’s a fair bit of hydrogenated something-or-other in it, and it tends to fall apart really easily. The cake also sticks to the package mercilessly, so get your fingernails ready.
One thing I was surprised about- the candied fruit/nuts to cake ratio is actually pretty high. Traditionally, the more stuff you crammed into a fruitcake, the more luxurious it was. I would give the ‘luxuriousness’ of this fruitcake a 7/10 – but that doesn’t mean it’s all that good.
At a low price point ($3.49 or thereabouts) you can’t expect much from this fruitcake- it is fruitcake after all. But, if your budget is low, and your craving for something traditional is high, go right ahead. You may have a stomach ache afterwards- plus a bitter taste from the candied peel. With Equality, I imagine it’s more like candied pith.
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I always joke that the main store brands at A&P and Loblaws represent the social hierarchy of a communist country: you either get Equality, or you get the President’s Choice.