What is the most bizarre thing that you've ever eaten? Nothing as weird as the recently discovered 106-year old, untouched fruitcake that is believed to be still edible. Yes, you read that right. Apparently, the fruitcake found in an old explorer hut in Antarctica actually looks and smells good enough to be eaten. The Antarctica Heritage Trust conservators found this century-old fruitcake amongst the artifacts from Cape Adare (East Antarctica). Made by Huntley & Palmers, a British Firm of biscuit makers launched in 1822, the fruit cake was wrapped in paper and kept in the remains of a tin-plated iron alloy tin.Researchers from the Antarctica Heritage Trust recently found the fruitcake to be is in excellent condition and almost edible. The cake is dated to the Cape Adare-based Northern Part of Scott's Terra Nova expedition (1910-13) and was found in Antarctica's oldest building, which was constructed by a Norwegian explorer's team in the year 1899. The fruitcake was found wrapped in a crumpled, dirty paper and packed in its original 'tin plated iron alloy box'.
The Antarctica Heritage Trust also posted a couple pictures on social media captioning it as, "No doubt this will spark debate about who likes fruit cake...@InspireExplore conservators find 106 yr old fruit cake in hut in #antarctica". This tweet has received about 966 Retweets, 1,870 Likes and more than 50 Comments. Take a look at the pictures.
On the official website of the Antarctica Heritage Trust (AHI), Program Manager Lizzie Meek states, "With just two weeks to go on the conservation of the Cape Adare artifacts, finding such a perfectly preserved fruitcake amongst the last handful of unidentified and severely corroded tins was quite a surprise. It's an ideal high-energy food for Antarctic conditions, and is still a favourite item on modern trips to the Ice." She further added, "The fruitcake is believed to have a very, very slight rancid butter smell to it, but other than that the cake looked and smelled edible. There is no doubt the extreme cold in Antarctica has assisted its preservation."
The fruitcake was found amongst 1,500 artifacts collected from the huts by the team of conservationists that have been working in the area since May 2016. As this bizarre fruitcake came into limelight, the twitterati had quite some interesting reactions too. Have a look.
The Antarctica Heritage Trust also posted a couple pictures on social media captioning it as, "No doubt this will spark debate about who likes fruit cake...@InspireExplore conservators find 106 yr old fruit cake in hut in #antarctica". This tweet has received about 966 Retweets, 1,870 Likes and more than 50 Comments. Take a look at the pictures.
On the official website of the Antarctica Heritage Trust (AHI), Program Manager Lizzie Meek states, "With just two weeks to go on the conservation of the Cape Adare artifacts, finding such a perfectly preserved fruitcake amongst the last handful of unidentified and severely corroded tins was quite a surprise. It's an ideal high-energy food for Antarctic conditions, and is still a favourite item on modern trips to the Ice." She further added, "The fruitcake is believed to have a very, very slight rancid butter smell to it, but other than that the cake looked and smelled edible. There is no doubt the extreme cold in Antarctica has assisted its preservation."
The fruitcake was found amongst 1,500 artifacts collected from the huts by the team of conservationists that have been working in the area since May 2016. As this bizarre fruitcake came into limelight, the twitterati had quite some interesting reactions too. Have a look.