WHENEVER people mention Kendal they immediately think of mint cake, Kendal’s famous sweet.
It is a simple sweetmeat made principally from boiled sugar with a mint flavouring, but the actual recipe has always been kept a guarded secret, with more than one maker claiming to be the originator.
Wilson, Quiggin and Romney became competitors. Whoever it was, RW Wiper was the first to make and market the sweet in quantity.
There is an art in making mint cake. When the mixture begins to bubble there are only seconds to pour it into the moulds.
Mint cake has been carried to the very top of the world, Hilary and Sherpa Tensing enjoying its taste and energy-giving properties on Mount Everest in 1953. Their only criticism was that they didn’t have enough of it!
It has been taken by explorers all over the world, including the Everest expeditions of 1922 and 1924 and The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-17.
It has been carried by soldiers in the Boer and Great Wars and, in the present day, by walkers and climbers on our own fells for instant energy.
Our own Kendalian, Dr Howard Somervell, took Kendal mint cake with him when he accompanied Mallory on their ill-fated attempt to conquer Everest in 1924. He gave well-attended lectures on his return and was granted the Freedom of the Borough.
Whether you like the plain white, the brown or the chocolate covered variety, Kendal mint cake is the luxury taste for Kendal – the only place where you can buy authentic mint cake.
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