Century-Old Fruit Cake Found in Antarctic Hut

[left-of-center2012]

A well-preserved 106-year-old fruit cake has been found in a hut on Cape Adare, Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica. The Cape Adare huts were built by Norwegian Carsten Borchgrevink’s British Antarctic (Southern Cross) Expedition in 1899 and later used by the Northern Party of Captain Scott’s Antarctic Expedition in 1911.

The well-preserved fruit cake was found by a team of researchers from the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust (AHT). “The cake probably dates to the Cape Adare-based Northern Party of Scott’s Terra Nova expedition,” the experts said.

Made by Huntley & Palmers, the cake is in excellent condition: it’s still wrapped in paper and encased in the remains of a tin-plated iron alloy tin. “The fruit cake itself looked and smelt (almost) edible,” the AHT researchers said.

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

http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/century-old-fruit-cake-05119.html

[RHMerriman]

1. Beats the 72-year-old fruit cake found in a large home in Washington, DC

Beats the 72-year-old fruit cake found in a large home in Washington, DC...

[left-of-center2012]

2. And probably smells better.

[RHMerriman]

5. We should ask Melania...

We should ask Melania...

[Takket]

23. DUZY!!!!!!!!!!

[JDC]

31. Good one!

[Squinch]

3. LOL! That is awesome! No one EVER ate those things!

I got a blowup one. Just blow it up every year and put it on a plate. People love it.

[RHMerriman]

6. Inflatable fruitcake or Trump?

Inflatable fruitcake or Trump?

[link:http://abc7.com/politics/baby-trump-balloon-floats-above-downtown-la/4517319/|]

[Squinch]

8. Fruitcake. I would never have an image of that turd in my house.

[RHMerriman]

11. But just think ... you could inflate it, and then

pop the damn thing!

[Squinch]

14. I like how you think. Welcome to DU!

[Brother Buzz]

15. I love fruitcake

And I actually consider myself a connoisseur of them. Some are alright, some good, some are really bad, and some are exceptional. I suspect one really, really bad one gave the wonderful fruitcake a bum reputation.

The jury is still out on Army C ration fruitcake; one baker was so-so, one was really good. That date might have made a difference because there was they were canned twelve years apart.

[woodsprite]

17. My BIL loves those things. What do you consider your favorite or one of the best you've tasted? nt

[Brother Buzz]

20. The ones my grandmother made were the best

I believe she made them from a Victorian era family recipe.

She didn't drink, but she purchased a fifth of whisky a year just for them, and had enough whisky left over to make a wicked sauce for her famous carrot pudding.

I lost the fruitcake recipe, but I have the one for carrot pudding, including a pair of Lipton tea tins she boiled them in.

?

[malaise]

45. Then you'd love the Caribbean at Christmas

The fruit in soaked in rum for weeks before these cakes are made.

[Brother Buzz]

46. I'm game, sign me up!

[Squinch]

19. You are one of the few, the proud! I love plum pudding, so I can't judge.

[Brother Buzz]

24. Carrot pudding was the thing in our family - To die for!

I can't say I've ever had plum pudding.

[Squinch]

25. It has no plums and it isn't pudding. Go figure.

[Brother Buzz]

28. I looked around, and it looks like my carrot pudding is simply a variation of plum pudding

[2naSalit]

30. I was thinking that might be the case.

There was a time when my family did family things and one of them was to make antiquated recipes during the holidays. I learned to make plum pudding but it was so involved, at least our recipe, now I'd rather make wicked carrot cake and be doe with it. Carrot pudding sounds interesting.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

37. OMG !! C-Rats !!

That might qualify as an archaeological find.

Please don't eat it !

When I was stationed in Texas, we had a hurricane and some of us had to stay on base. Well, all that time on our hands . . . digging through old boxes in storage, we stumbled upon a case of old C-Rats. One of the braver among us - literally a guy who would eat anything - did the unthinkable and opened a can of corned beef hash (yechhhh) and ate it. About 10 minutes later, he was as green as a shamrock ! Fortunately we had a huge supply of Pepto from the base clinic.

[Blue_true]

42. I ate plenty of it as a child.

The stuff then was better than now, but so was chicken, bacon and pork from back then (steak was too pricey for my family)

[trueblue2007]

44. hubby and i love fruitcake. here is recipe i'm gonna use this year

i will make it next month..... give it a month to age.

I LOVE FRUITCAKE !!! ~~~ Southern Girlz Country Cooking
Old fashioned Fruitcake

1 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs
2 teaspoons brandy flavoring
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds ready mix candied fruit
1 pound seedless raisins
3/4 pound candied pineapple
3/4 pound whole candied cherries
2 cups pecan halves
Garnish: light corn syrup and pecan halves
Directions

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and eggs with an electric mixer until fluffy, adding eggs one at a time until yolk dissapears. Stir in flavoring.

Sift together next 4 ingredients and mix thoroughly with butter and egg mixture. Work the fruit and nuts into batter with hands. Grease and flour a 19" tube pan.

Fill pan 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 275° for 3 hours. One-half hour before cake is done, brush top with corn syrup. Decorate with pecan halves and finish baking. Cool. If desired, place cake, wrapped in a wine-soaked cloth, in an airtight container. Store in a cool place for several weeks; this blends and mellows the cake.

[Ilsa]

49. I love fruitcake. I'd eat more if it wasn't so

fattening. I look forward to having some every year.

[Demovictory9]

4. a big giant one. growing up, we always seemed to have part of a loaf size one in

the back of the fridge. only one family member liked fruit cake. I hated those
rubbery bits of "fruit"

[left-of-center2012]

10. "only one family member liked fruit cake"

I like fruitcake and buy at least one each Christmas.

[Hortensis]

7. :) Perhaps it was made with honey. That honey found

in a tomb in a pyramid in Egypt is almost 3000 years old and still good.

[LakeSuperiorView]

9. "The fruit cake itself looked and smelt (almost) edible,"

Obviously fake news... Who has ever heard of edible fruit cake?

[Kaleva]

35. If it looks and smells almost edible, then it's as good as if it was made yesterday.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

38. "Who has ever hear of edible fruit cake ?"

[Blue_true]

43. I had plenty when I was young.

The modern stuff is garbage. Grew up on fruitcake, loved it. Always looked forward to Christmas because of it.

[jmowreader]

12. I really like fruitcake...

Given that, 106-year-old ones is where I draw the line.

[ProudLib72]

13. Blech!

I have never liked that stuff, and being over a century old is not going to convince me to eat it now.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

16. alcohol content?

Should have had time to make its own wine, by now.

[lapfog_1]

18. hey... an opportunity for

re-gifting... that's what I always do with fruitcake!

[SaintLouisBlues]

21. Decisions, decisions...cold raw blubber or fruitcake? They went with the blubber.

[krispos42]

32. LOL

[Takket]

22. oh.... some duzys are coming..........

[California_Republic]

26. Aren't they all that old?

[Kali]

27. !

edit to add - you mean aren't they both that old? because there are only 2 of them, they just get passed around.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

40. My sister actually used one as a doorstop. https://www.democraticunderground.com/emoticons/rofl.gif

When I visited her, I asked her how long she'd been doing that. She said, "Oh, it was there when we bought the house."

[TwistOneUp]

29. I don't think it's done.

Put it back in for another 100 and we'll check on it then.

[Hoyt]

33. You save them until you are hungry and have nothing else to eat.

Then, they are really good.

[JI7]

34. IS anyone going to actually taste it ?

[diva77]

36. Finally, something that outlasts a twinkee!

Hostess fruitcakes, anyone?

[Texasgal]

39. Proof!

Proof this shit lasts forever!!!

[Blue_true]

41. I remember my Mom having plenty of that around the house at Christmas time.

Sweet, nutty, fruity, chewy.

[lindysalsagal]

47. Yet one more reason to never eat fruitcake: you never know how old it is. Downton Abbey Lives!!!

Seriously, I hope some nutritional scientist tests it to get the ingredients.

[octoberlib]

48. Fruitcake are like cockroaches ;

they both can survive anything.