Antarctica is not exactly a place that is known for its cuisine. Not like the spicy Sichuan Province or the flavorful tagines from Morocco. But while we were there we ate some fantastic food and couldn’t help but to compare our delicious meals with what the early explorers would have eaten on their adventures in the south. In the early 1900s, men in the Antarctic would have been cooking in extreme situations, eating seal blubber and penguin breasts in order to prevent scurvy (as the animals produce their own vitamin C), with no spices. None. Ick.
On many expeditions in the early 20th century, the standard form of cuisine was hoosh. Hoosh, a thick stew made from pemmican (a mix of dried meat, fat, and cereal) or other meat, a thickener such as ground biscuits, and water. Sounds appealing, right?
Today, it’s still difficult for the scientists in research stations to eat terribly well – they are at the very end of the Earth, after all. While we were visiting the museum at Port Lockroy, we were able to view the kitchen restored to what it would’ve been like in the 1950s and look at a book with recipes by Gerald T Cutland, a cook on the Argentine Islands in 1956-7, produced by the Antarctic Heritage Trust: Fit for an “FID”.
On many expeditions in the early 20th century, the standard form of cuisine was hoosh. Hoosh, a thick stew made from pemmican (a mix of dried meat, fat, and cereal) or other meat, a thickener such as ground biscuits, and water. Sounds appealing, right?
Today, it’s still difficult for the scientists in research stations to eat terribly well – they are at the very end of the Earth, after all. While we were visiting the museum at Port Lockroy, we were able to view the kitchen restored to what it would’ve been like in the 1950s and look at a book with recipes by Gerald T Cutland, a cook on the Argentine Islands in 1956-7, produced by the Antarctic Heritage Trust: Fit for an “FID”.
Seals
So we’ll start with some of the seal recipes. Today it is illegal to kill them, but in the 1950s they were still used for fresh meat in the Antarctic. Instructions were included on the choosing and the method of killing the seal, but we’ll get straight to the Roast Seal recipe, shall we?
Roast Seal Meat
- Season your joint with salt and pepper and place in a baking dish.
- Cover with about 4oz of beef suet and, if available, a few strips of bacon.
- Sprinkle liberally with reconstituted onions.
- Bake in a hot oven until the outside is nice and crisp.
- Remove to a moderate oven and cook until done.
- Serve meat with whole tinned potatoes roasted and Yorkshire pudding.
Seal Brain Fritters
“An excellent breakfast dish”
2 Seal Brains (prepared)
4 Reconstituted Eggs
2 tablespoons Butter (melted)
Flour, Salt & Pepper, Mixed Herbs
“An excellent breakfast dish”
2 Seal Brains (prepared)
4 Reconstituted Eggs
2 tablespoons Butter (melted)
Flour, Salt & Pepper, Mixed Herbs
- “Mash the brains until soft and light, a fork is best for this purpose.”
- Make a batter with the eggs and flour, beating well.
- Add brains to the melted butter, the mixed herbs, and the salt & pepper. Mix together.
- Drop tablespoons of this mixture into boiling fat and fry until golden brown.
- Drain well and serve.
Penguins
The chapter on penguins was short; due to the fact that Gerald does “not like the stuff” and has “an awful feeling … that [he] is cooking little men who are just that little too curious and stupid.” The only part of the penguin that was used in recipes was the breast (thankfully). We weren’t too interested in a recipe for fried penguin feet.
Roulades of Penguin Breast
Penguin Breast, as required
2 tablespoons of Vinegar
Parsley or mixed herbs
1 cup reconstituted Onion
Rashers of Bacon
Water
Beef Suet (the hard white fat on the kidneys and loin of the animal)
1 tablespoon Flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
Penguin Breast, as required
2 tablespoons of Vinegar
Parsley or mixed herbs
1 cup reconstituted Onion
Rashers of Bacon
Water
Beef Suet (the hard white fat on the kidneys and loin of the animal)
1 tablespoon Flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
- Cut the meat into rectangles and season with salt and pepper, lay a rasher of bacon on each, sprinkle with parsley, roll each up and tie with thread.
- Melt fat in a pan and fry the rolls lightly until brown all over, remove from fat and place in baking dish. Fry the onions and toss over the rolls in the baking dish.
- Add water and vinegar to the fat in the pan, bring to a boil, and thicken with flour.
- Pour over meat rolls and cook in moderate oven until meat is cooked, approximately 2 hours.
- Remove dish from oven, remove thread from rolls, place rolls on a dish, cover with the gravy, and serve with baked (or mashed) potatoes.
Also included were a few sample dinner menus:
Braised ham and apple sauce. Roast and boiled potatoes, Brussel sprouts and haricot beans. Fruit trifle and cream, Cheese and biscuits. | Roast seal meat and Yorkshire pudding. Roast and creamed potatoes, Spring cabbage. Queen of puddings, Welsh rarebit. | Pot roast seal hearts, sage & onion. Stuffing, creamed turnip and steamed beetroot. Raspberry crumble and custard sauce, cheese and biscuits. |
This is just a taste of what the scientists in the middle of the 20th century would’ve eaten, having been cooked by an experienced chef – now imagine 50 years in the past to how Shackleton’s men would’ve eaten hoosh while stranded on Elephant Island or 50 years in the future to how the scientists are eating today. Yuck. None of these choices are to our liking and we’ll stick to our delicious gourmet meals from Chef Lothar Grenier and dessert twice a day.