A 100-Year-Old Fruitcake Was Found 'Perfectly Preserved' in Antarctica

[jpak]

http://time.com/4896847/antarctic-trust-fruit-cake/

The Antarctic Heritage Trust has recovered a 100-year-old fruit cake on Cape Adare in Antarctica, where famed explorer Robert Falcon Scott's team was likely based for the Terra Nova expedition.

Conservators for the trust said the tin was rusted, but the cake (made by British biscuit company Huntley & Palmers) still looked and smelled edible, Lizzie Meek, the manager of the program's artefacts, said in a statement. It's been documented that Scott liked this particular brand of cake.

"Finding such a perfectly preserved fruitcake in amongst the last handful of unidentified and severely corroded tins was quite a surprise," Meek said. "It’s an ideal high-energy food for Antarctic conditions, and is still a favorite item on modern trips to the ice."

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[Coventina]

1. I think we have some in our family around that vintage!

[Initech]

2. Whatcha makin??? FRUITCAKE!!!

[csziggy]

18. Oh my - that was oddly satisfying

Almost as bad as the toast song.

[COLGATE4]

3. Looks like the one I 're-gifted' last Xmas. nt

[Binkie The Clown]

4. I know of one fruitcake that should be SENT TO Antarctica!!!!!

[politicat]

11. There are very nice scientists and penguins who do not deserve that.

May I suggest instead South Georgia Island, St Helena, Tristan da Cunha, Diego Garcia, Pitcairn?

I'm partial to asking the U.K. for a lease of St Helena. It's got historical resonances I relish, but Diego is considered a shit duty station.

[csziggy]

19. Send him to Heard Island

It's about as far away from everywhere as you can get.

[Historic NY]

5. Well did they try it?

[Submariner]

6. It's too bad they found it and removed it

It should have been left in place so an Archaeologist could find it as a fossil in a couple of million years as evidence of humans great achievement in culinary delicacies.

[herding cats]

8. It'll still be around for future archeologists to discover.

There's one that's been making the re-gift circuit in my family since before I was born, or at least I'm pretty sure it's been that long. Last I saw of it it looked the same in it's cellophane wrapping inside the tin. I'm pretty sure they're ageless.

[procon]

7. I love good, homemade fruitcake!

I make several every year because it's an old family tradition and the recipe has been passed down for over 100 years. Unlike the nasty store bought fruitcake that are made with citron and are as dry and unappetizing as cardboard, a great fruitcake is a decadent treat that will keep for a long time.

Made with with an assortment of sweet, dried fruits soaked in fine liquors, crunchy nuts and seeds, and with just enough batter to hold it all together, the fruitcake is more like a rich, soft and chewy power bar. I can see why early explorers would want to stock up on fruitcakes.

Baking is only the first step, next comes the aging process, the secret of a really good fruitcake, where each fruitcake gets doused with a jigger of whiskey, bourbon or rum, then wrapped in a square of linen and covered with foil before getting sealed in a storage tin. The fruitcakes are unwrapped once a week for the next 2 months, flipped over and dribbled with more fine whiskey. After that the fruitcakes will keep indefinitely and stay moist and chewy as long as you add a jigger of whiskey at least once a year.

The plan is to have the fruitcakes all done by Thanksgiving so we can serve little slices with coffee, and then finish them at Christmas time. A couple of times when I've had a fruitcake last past the holiday season, it stayed very moist and tender, and most definitely tasty and enjoyable for several more months.

[herding cats]

9. That actually sounds delicious!

I've never had 'real' fruitcake I guess. Yours sounds amazing and like something I'd love to do for my own family.

What a beautiful family tradition!

[procon]

10. You should try it at least once.

I'll be baking 4 fruitcakes next month to have them ready in time for the holidays. Its a bit expensive to lay in all the dried fruits and nuts, but that's what puts the "fruit" in the fruitcake. Once you taste the decadent richness of a real fruitcake that you made from the best ingredients, you'll be a convert.

[politicat]

12. Are you willing to post your recipe to Cooking and Baking?

I have very old (late 18th-early 19th century) recipes that I haven't done much with, because sourcing the ingredients is difficult. (As in, I own a dehydrator for the purpose, and learned to make marzipan from almond flour.)

Yours sounds delicious.

[procon]

13. Sure thing, my family has copied the recipe and shared it from the beginning.

Before I get much farther into it, you will need at least a 6qt. pressure cooker to make this fruitcake recipe. That's the secret of keeping it moist. Baking in the oven is not an option as it will make the cake dry and turn all those succulent bits of fruit tough and hard.

If you have a pressure cooker I'll copy off my recipe this weekend and post it in the cooking forum. If you don't have one yet, I can tell you which ones are good and the ones to avoid. I've published two cookbooks of pressure cooker recipes, so I'm a huge fan. Anyway, let me know.

[politicat]

16. Got a 22 quart. I can.

Speaking of, I should be stemming green beans...

I don't use it for much other than canning, because it's aluminum, we have an induction cooktop, and I can't keep it at 6,000 foot pressure with the conversion disk. If we lived at lower altitude, it would work fine. I set up a propane stove in the garage for canning (which keeps the heat out of the house anyway). I go back and forth on picking up a smaller one, but if I do, it's going to be an electric because I don't think anyone makes a stainless steel version, or if they do, they're painfully expensive.

Thanks, and if you've got an electric/stainless recommendation, I am all ears...

[procon]

17. Okay, I've got plans for this weekend, but I'll post the recipe as soon as I can.

Yes, I can definitely give you some pointers on buying a new, modern SS pressure cooker so you can save your canner just for canning purposes. Let's talk later when I post that recipe.

[Leith]

15. I Like It, Too

But it has to be made right.

Years ago, I was housemates with a woman from England. Her sister mailed her a homemade fruitcake for Christmas. It was good on its own, but what made it memorable was the tablespoon or two of whiskey you dabble over it.

[Leith]

14. Xenu Left It There

nt

[whistler162]

20. I thought he was in New Jersey

for 17 days!

[Yavin4]

21. Even in the harsh elements of Antarctica where there's little food around....

No one ate the fruitcake for 100 years.

[UTUSN]

22. Funny, a media news yakker said, "Fine, but don't send it to me!1" (I like 'em)

[lastlib]

23. Been in the deep-freeze for a century, why wouldn't it be good?