Kendal Mint Cake is a sugar-based confection flavoured with

peppermint Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.Euro+Med Plantba ...

. It originates from Kendal in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

, England. Kendal Mint Cake is popular among climbers and

mountaineers Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbin ...

, especially those from the United Kingdom, as a source of energy.

History

Kendal Mint Cake is based on a traditional recipe known as ''mint cake'', ''peppermint tablet,'' and various other names. Three companies still produce Kendal Mint Cake. The origin of the cake is allegedly a batch of glacier mint sweets that went wrong. In 1869 Joseph Wiper, who married into the Thompson family of confectioners based in Kendal, supposedly left the boiled solution for glacier mints overnight and it turned cloudy and solidified. The resulting 'mint cake' was discovered in the morning. Wiper began producing mint cake, with several other confectioneries following suit. After Joseph Wiper emigrated to Canada in 1912 his great-nephew, Robert Wiper, took over the family business. Robert marketed Kendal mint cake as an energy snack used on famous expeditions, including the

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing ...

led by Sir

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...

, which largely led to its rise in international popularity amongst mountaineers and hikers.

Quiggin's

Quiggin's Kendal Mint Cake is the oldest surviving mint cake company. The Quiggin family has been making confectionery since 1840 in the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. When one of the four sons, Daniel Quiggin, moved to Kendal in 1880, the mint cake company was formed.The Quiggin's Story from the home of Kendal Mint Cake
In the BBC TV programme ''

Great British Menu ''Great British Menu'' is a BBC television series in which top British chefs compete for the chance to cook one course of a four-course banquet. Format Series one and two were presented by Jennie Bond, the former BBC Royal correspondent, whe ...

'', series 5, Lisa Allen visited Quiggin's factory and used Quiggin's Kendal Mint Cake in her Strawberries with Meringue & Kendal Mint Cake Water Ice dessert. In the BBC TV programme ''Great British Railway Journeys'' (Series 7, Episode 2), Michael Portillo visited Quiggin's factory.

Romney's

Romney's was founded in 1918, and used an old recipe to create mint cake. This mint cake was sold in Kendal and sent by

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

to other areas of the north-west for sale. In 1987, Romney's bought Wiper's Mint Cake from Harry Wiper, who had inherited ownership of Wiper's in 1960 when his father Robert Wiper died.George Romney's – Kendal Mint Cake
In 2016 Romney's collaborated with fashion site Lyst to create a limited run of "Kendall Mint Cakes" to celebrate Kendall Jenner's 21st birthday on 3 November. 200 limited edition cakes were given away on social media. More recently Romney's have appeared on the hit BBC programm
'Inside The Factory'
and Gold UK's Ricky & Ralf'
Great Northern Road Trip
2020 also saw the launch o
Monopoly - The Lakes Edition
where Romney's feature on the board, a dedicated chance card and the front of the box alongside other iconic Lake District companies.

Wilson's

Wilson's Mint Cake was founded in 1913, when James Wilson purchased a factory in the Stricklandgate area of the town. He had previously made and distributed types of

toffee Toffee is a confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses (creating inverted sugar) along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of . While being prepared, toffee ...

, but he decided to instead concentrate on mint cake. In 1966, the firm moved to a location in the Cross Lane area of Kendal. Wilson's was licensed to sell a

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was ...

range of

sweets Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, i ...

. As of 2007, the factory was run by the grandson of James, Andrew Wilson, and mint cake was no longer the major product of the company as chocolate confectionery took up 90% of orders. After moving from Kendal to Holme in 2013, it was reported in 2016 that the company had closed down. However, the company actually changed hands and is now run by W McClures Ltd, a family-run business that was established in Windermere in 1945, and Kendal Mint Cake is still for sale from their website.

Manufacturing process

Kendal Mint Cake is made from sugar, glucose, water and peppermint oil. Although the exact recipe and method of manufacturing mint cake is kept secret, it is known that it is created in the following way: #The sugar, glucose, water and

peppermint oil Peppermint extract is an herbal extract of peppermint (''Mentha × piperita'') made from the essential oils of peppermint leaves. Peppermint is a hybrid of water mint and spearmint and was indigenous to Europe and the Middle East before it became c ...

are boiled in a copper pan. #The mixture is continuously stirred (without stirring, the resultant product would be clear). #The mixture is then poured into moulds and allowed to set, after which it is broken into individual bars. Numerous types of mint cake are now available. Mint cake made with

white sugar White sugar, also called table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, is a commonly used type of sugar, made either of beet sugar or cane sugar, which has undergone a refining process. Description The refining process completely removes ...

, mint cake made with

brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

, and mint cake enrobed in

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

are the most popular varieties.

Notable uses

Kendal Mint Cake has been used on many expeditions around the world as a source of energy: *Wiper's Kendal Mint Cake was provided for the

of 1914–1917, which was led by Sir

. *Sir

Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reache ...

and his team carried Romney's Kendal Mint Cake with them on the first successful ascent of Mount Everest in 1953. The packaging currently includes the following: “'We sat on the snow and looked at the country far below us … we nibbled Kendal Mint Cake.' A member of the successful Everest expedition wrote – 'It was easily the most popular item on our high altitude ration – our only criticism was that we did not have enough of it.'” *

Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...

also used Quiggin's Kendal Mint Cake on his 1975

Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...

expedition. *

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...

and Charley Boorman included mint cake in their supplies for their 2004 motorcycle trip around the world in ''

Long Way Round ''Long Way Round'' (''LWR'') is a British television series and book documenting the journey of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman from London to New York City on motorcycles. They travelled eastwards through Europe and Asia, flew to Alaska, ...

''.

References

External links

{{commonscat
The Story of Kendal Mint Cake
(spoof)
Quiggin's Mint CakeRomney's Mint CakeWilson's Mint Cake
(archived October 2019) Food brands of the United Kingdom British confectionery Candy bars Kendal Cumbrian cuisine