THE RESILIENCE OF FRUITCAKE. It’s fruitcake season. December 27 is National Fruitcake Day, and yesterday I began eating a Christmas fruitcake (made by Trappist monks) that Mary Jane gave me.
Because we both think highly of fruitcake, Jane sent me last summer an article from the New York Times (August 10) by Yonette Joseph about the recent find of fruitcake that is over 100 years old at the site of Robert Falcon Scott’s doomed expedition to Antarctica. Here is an article by Christine Dell’ Amore from the National Geographic website (August 13). Dell’ Amore says: “…the fruitcake is in ‘excellent condition,’ according to the trust, and looks and smells almost edible.” (Yes, I know what people who are not admirers of fruitcake will say.)
I posted here about how bog butter seems to preserve a buttery smell after being buried for over a thousand years.
The fruitcake along with other finds from the excavation will be returned to where it was found.