Kendal Mint Cake is a

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

-based confection flavoured with

peppermint Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a Hybrid (biology), hybrid species of Mentha, mint, a cross between Mentha aquatica, watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in m ...

. It originates from

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England. Kendal Mint Cake is popular among climbers and

mountaineers Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

, 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 Ernest Shackleton, Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the ...

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 Antarcti ...

, 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 Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...

since 1840 in the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. 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, where ...

'', 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 series 7 of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

TV programme ''

Great British Railway Journeys ''Great British Railway Journeys'' is a 2010–present BBC documentary series presented by Michael Portillo, a former Conservative MP and Cabinet Minister who was instrumental in saving the Settle to Carlisle line from closure in 1989. The d ...

'', presenter

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo ( ; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Jou ...

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 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 Kendall Nicole Jenner (born November 3, 1995) is an American model, socialite and media personality. She rose to fame in the reality television show ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians,'' in which she starred for 20 seasons and nearly 15 years ...

's 21st birthday on 3 November. 200 limited edition cakes were given away on social media. Romney's appeared on the BBC programme ''Inside the Factory'' and ''Ricky & Ralf's Very Northern Road Trip'' on

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in 2020. The same year also saw the launch of

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

- The Lakes Edition, in which Romney's features on the board, a dedicated chance card and the front of the box, alongside other well-known

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

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 an English 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 prepar ...

, 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 Heelis (; 28 July 186622 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( ), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' ...

range of

sweets Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum, and sugar can ...

. 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 extract of peppermint (''Mentha × piperita'') made from the essential oil of peppermint leaves. Peppermint is a hybrid of water mint and spearmint. The oil has been used for various purposes over centuries. Peppermint ...

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. It is nearly pure sucrose. Description The refini ...

, mint cake made with

brown sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...

, and mint cake enrobed in

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

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 mountaineering, mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa people, Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the Timeline of M ...

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 (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at its ...

expedition. *

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and ...

and

Charley Boorman Charley Boorman (born 23 August 1966) is a British television presenter, travel writer and actor. A motorbike enthusiast, Boorman has made four long-distance motorcycle rides with his friend Ewan McGregor, documented in '' Long Way Round'' (20 ...

included mint cake in their supplies for their 2004 motorcycle trip around the world in '' Long Way Round''.

References

External links

The Story of Kendal Mint Cake

(spoof)
Quiggin's Mint Cake

Romney's Mint Cake

Wilson's Mint Cake
(archived October 2019) {{Mint Food brands of the United Kingdom British confectionery Energy food products Kendal Cumbrian cuisine Mint food