Hundred-year-old fruitcake found in Antarctica is in "excellent condition"

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/08/11/hundred-year-old-fruitcake-fou.html

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There’s an obvious joke here, I’m sure of it…

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How well would it pair with a 1650 year old bottle of wine?

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Hundred-year-old fruitcake found in Anarctica in “excellent condition”

Sure, but what did he say about the failed expedition?

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Evidently they preferred cannibalism over eating the fruit cake. :grinning:

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I thought it was the north pole/northwest passage expeditions that resorted to cannibalism in the end…

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I was joking

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What, exactly, does “almost edible” mean? Who tested that, and what is their condition now?

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So continentalist of him. There is cannibalism in Antarctica. It’s everywhere.

“Oh, there’s no cannibalism HEEEEEERRRRRREEEEE…”

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It means it’s a fruit cake.

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Hey intern, do you want to try some fruitcake?

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Pretty sure it’s something to do with the LD50

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No cannibalism… Yet

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The words “excellent” and “fruitcake” are two mutually exclusive terms that should never be used in the same sentence, regardless to the age of said fruitcake.

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I am sometimes baffled by this attitude toward fruitcakes. Then I eat a typical fruitcake (from a random bakery or bake sale) and am reminded that most people really have never been exposed to a good fruitcake.

Truly - the abominations that get served as “fruitcake” are horrifying. Just because the wrong answer is so common, however, doesn’t mean there are no right answers.

A full month before you wish to eat fruitcake, soak a pound of dried fruit in booze.
Sherry is good. Brandy is good. Port is good. Allow half a bottle or more.
Do not interpret “dried fruit” as the candied dyed rutabaga that shows up in lots of commercial “fruit” cakes.
Do not interpret “dried fruit” as candied dyed maraschino cherries, or indeed candied anything.
Dried. Fruit. Raisins and dried apricots and dates and figs and such.
OK good, you have dried fruit. There is no booze in your shopping cart. Buy the booze. No really, you can’t skip this step.

Make a nice spice cake batter.
Nice spice cakes can be bought, so this part is not a lost art.

Mix the boozy fruit in the batter and bake it.

No, don’t serve it yet. Get a bottle of rum.
No you will not get to drink any of the rum. Buy another bottle for drinking.
Pour the rum over the cake, one ounce per day.
Yes, you have to spend the whole 26 days.
No, you can’t just sprinkle a few teaspoons of rum on the thing and serve it the same day you baked it…
One. Bottle. Of rum. Per cake.

26 days after baking, it is ready to ice. A layer of marzipan before icing it is nice. I use ouzo instead of water in my marzipan but not everyone likes ouzo.

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It means that it is exactly like any other fruitcake, regardless of brand or age.

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Nice stealth edit.

:slight_smile:

Therein lies the problem, and considering that it’s not a major game-changing aspect of my life, I’m fine with maintaining my negative connotations, and just avoiding the so called dessert completely.

I also feel the same way about such foods as:

  • Liver
  • Meatloaf
  • Beets
  • Tofu

No matter how they may be prepared, I just don’t want them in my mouth… ever.

Life will still go on just fine, even though I choose to never consume these items.

OMG ARE FRUIT N NUT ENERGY BARS JUST MODERN DAY FRUITCAKES?

image

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I love fruitcake.

This just makes me love it more.

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It says something about my attitude towards fruitcake that my first thought was “oh man, after 100 years that thing must have aged amazingly.” I adore the stuff and can’t imagine how anyone could dislike a rich, dense, buttery, nut-and-fruit filled cake flavored with rum or brandy or whisky.

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