WHEN BERTA LOU SCOTT WAS A LITTLE GIRL IN THE 1930s, SHE LOVED ALL THE THINGS her mother baked for Christmas-except fruitcake. Too dry, too filled with candied things, not enough nuts. Today, Berta Lou is North Carolina's queen of fruitcake.
Yes, we know-a lot of you think you don't like this dessert, but that means you haven't had Southern Supreme fruitcake. It's not made like any other version, and it doesn't taste like the others either. The cake part is moist with a caramelized flavor, and it has a lot more nuts than fruit.
Berta Lou's family (including two of her four children and three of their spouses, plus a good number of her eight grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren) has turned fruitcakes into a booming business. The Scotts ship them all over the country and across the globe, even to France. People come by the thousands to the Southern Supreme factory and retail shop in Bear Creek, North Carolina, which isn't an easy journey. It's down a long country road, 10 miles southeast of Siler City and 49 miles from Raleigh-Durham International Airport. If you can't make the trip, the cakes are carried at The Fresh Market during the holiday season, at some specialty stores, and by mail order. Her son Randy Scott says, "When we started, we sold them out of Mama's living room. You can't plan this. It just evolves." Berta Lou was 17 when she married her late husband, Hoyt Scott, who spent all his life in three houses within a mile or so of their factory on the stretch of pavement named for him, Hoyt Scott Road, in Bear Creek. She was "a foreigner," her family jokes: She grew up 3 or 4 miles away. They raised their kids (Randy, Ricky, Belinda, and Sandy) on Hoyt Scott Road. Hoyt worked for a company making iron stoves, while Berta Lou set up a beauty salon in their garage, where she cut and styled women's hair for 30 years.
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Denne historien er fra December 2022-utgaven av Southern Living.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Three twists on the classic chocolate-filled cookie
SUPPERTIME: Elegant Made Easy
Tender braised short ribs are fancy enough for Christmas dinner or any special occasion. Bonus: They're even make-ahead
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Let the good times roll in New Orleans
TIMELESS DECOR: Good as Old
Natural elements and folksy finds infuse this 1886 Georgia cottage with warm-fuzzy charm
Classic Pattern, New Spirit
Four tastemakers put their fanciful spins on an old-faithful Spode collection
MEET HER IN ST. LOUIS
Trimmed with ribbon and wrapped in wallpaper, designer Amy Studebaker's 1950s Missouri home proves there's no such thing as too much of a good thing especially this time of year
A TENNESSEE TREASURE
For nearly 115 years, The Hermitage Hotel has been Nashville's holiday mainstay
The Powerg Poinsettias
A little while back, a neighbor knocked on my door, hoisting up a ruby red plant so enormous it concealed her completely from midriff to head. I was new to the area, and this was her way of welcoming me. A poinsettia, vividly colored, overflowing its pot, and endearingly ill-timed-it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet. But the plant seemed to brighten up the whole world just a bit, as if daring anyone to reject the early holiday spirit. You could say it kick-started my love for the leafy shrub and what it seems to represent: a simple kind of goodwill.
WRAPPED WITH CARE
In San Antonio, Christmas isn't complete without a plate of steaming tamales on every family's table
PARTY LIKE IT'S 1984
Entertaining now is quite different than it was 40 years ago, but our recipes stand the test of time
