Century-Old Fruit Cake Found in Antarctic Hut

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