Summary Despite being a hundred years old the cake still appears to be edible. Photo:Antartic Heritage
(Web Desk) - It seems as if some desserts can truly withstand nature’s even most terrifying weather. A 106-year-old British era fruitcake was found in the Antarctica - one of world’s most inhospitable regions.
According to the BBC, the fruitcake was found by the Antarctic Heritage Trust and conservators said that the ancient cake, found on Cape Adare, was believed to have belonged to the famous British explorer Robert Falcon Scott – more commonly known as Scott of the Antarctic.
Scott was said to have been fond of this particular cake, which had been made by the British biscuit company Huntley & Palmers. During his expedition to the South Pole Scott had no doubt brought along the cake as according to Lizzie Meek, conservation manager for artifacts at the Trust, fruitcake was a highly popular item in England at the time and “working in Antarctica tends to lead to a craving for high-fat, high-sugar food, and fruitcake fits the bill nicely, not to mention going very well with a cup of tea."
Captain Robert Falcon Scott (seated centre, back) seated with members of his ill-fated expedition to Antarctica. Photo: AP
According to the excavation team, the cake was in an "excellent condition”, despite the fact that its tin was rusted, and even more strangely smelled edible.
The cake had been found in the oldest building in Antarctica, a hut originally built by the Norwegian explorer Carsten Borchgrevink s team in 1899 which was later used by Capt Scott during his 1911 Terra Nova expedition.
The survival of the cake is ironic since the people who were supposed to have eaten it had all perished in their mission. Scott and his team had successfully reached the South Pole but had found upon their arrival that a Norwegian team had beaten them to the finish line by more than a month. The team had then turned back and had lost all its members in the journey to the base.
Starving and frostbitten, Scott s team reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, 34 days after Amundsen s team. Left to right: Captain Lawrence Oates, Lieutenant Henry Bowers, Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Dr Edward Wilson, Petty Officer Edgar Evans. (Image Credit: University of Cambridge)
Conservators have been searching for artifacts in the hut since May 2016, and have to date managed to unearth some 1,500 items including some well-preserved jams and some "badly deteriorated" meat.
No doubt this will spark debate about who likes fruit cake...@InspireExplore conservators find 106 yr old fruit cake in hut in #antarctica pic.twitter.com/2RdvgTJ8BB
— Antarctic Heritage (@InspireExplore) August 10, 2017
