STARTER FOR FRIENDSHIP FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• In a 1-gallon glass jar with a wide mouth and lid, combine the peaches, pineapple, maraschino cherries, sugar and yeast (make sure the yeast is well mixed with syrup).
• Stir mixture two times the first day.
• Stir once a day afterward.
• Do not refrigerate this mixture.
• Keep loosely covered.
• Two weeks after starting the starter, add 1/2 cup peaches and 1/2 cup pineapple with syrup.
• Wait for several days, stirring daily, and drain 2 cups of mixed fruit and use to make cake as directed in the cake recipe.
• Reserve 1 1/2 cups starter juice and leave in glass gallon jar.
• Count this as Day One, and start the process for renewing the starter and making the cake.
• DAY 1: To reserved 1 1/2 cups starter juice (or to starter juice given you by a friend), add 2 1/2 cups sugar and a 2-lb can of peaches with syrup.
• Stir daily.
• Keep loosely covered.
• Do not refrigerate.
• DAY 10: Add 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, a 2 pound can pineapple chunks with juice.
• Stir daily.
• Keep loosely covered.
• Do not refrigerate.
• DAY 20: Add 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar and 8 to 10 oz drained and halved maraschino cherries.
• Stir daily.
• Keep loosely covered.
• Do not refrigerate.
• DAY 30: Drain fruit, reserving 1 1/2 cups juice for renewing starter.
• Use drained fruit to make 3 cakes (see recipe), give excess starter juice to friends, and start a new batch of fruit (repeat aforementioned process).
• At the end of 30 days, you will have enough excess starter juice to give to about four friends.
• Be sure to keep enough juice (1 1/2 cups) for your own starter.
• At the end of 30 days, there will be enough fruit to use 1 3/4 cups fruit in each cake, which makes the cake better and doesn't waste the fruit.
• The cakes can be frozen.
• It is not necessary to bake all three cakes the same day, but stir the remaining fruit mixture every day until it is used (this fruit mixture can be refrigerated until used).
• The drained fruit can be frozen until you are ready to bake the cakes.