Baked Alaska Was Created In NYC By Delmonico’s Chef – 122 Years Ago.

National Baked Alaska Day is observed annually on February 1st.

An elaborate dessert that is also known as “Omelette Norvegienne,” Baked Alaska is made with hard ice cream on a base of sponge cake and covered in a shell of toasted meringue.

In 1867 there was earnest debate over the potential purchase of Alaska from Russia. Secretary of State William Seward agreed to a purchase price of $7 million, and Alaska became a United States territory in 1868. Those who were of the opinion the purchase was a giant mistake referred to the purchase as “Seward’s Folly.”

Enter Charles Ranhofer, the chef at Delmonico’s Restaurant in New York City in 1896, notorious for naming new and renaming old dishes after famous people and events. Capitalizing on the heated controversy surrounding the purchase in the frozen north, Baked Alaska fit the bill. It was cold, nearly frozen and quickly toasted in a hot oven before serving.

Thank you, American physicist Mr. Benjamin Thompson, for discovering how to make meringue back in the early 1800’s! For meringue is a key component of Baked Alaska, the spotlighted dish being celebrated on Baked Alaska Day!

As part of its “Lick Global Warming” campaign, in 2005, Ben & Jerry’s protested the drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by whipping up the world’s largest Baked Alaska. The dessert weighed 1,140 pounds and measure 4 feet tall and 4 feet around, with the help of 3,600 four-ounce scoops of Ben & Jerry’s Fossil Fuel ice cream, 90 pounds of cake and 150 pounds of marshmallow cream.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

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