Canned cake

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Serving a 36-year-old government-issue cake at an Army retirement ceremony sounds like a classic bureaucratic mistake, but there was no mistake about it.
Retiring Army Col. Henry Moak served it up himself -- at his own ceremony.
Moak had saved the cake since 1973, when he got it while serving in Vietnam, and had long-standing plans to open it upon his retirement.
Pound cake served in a can was standard fare in military C rations back then. Moak said it was his favorite, and he could not get enough of it.
"I would eat it any chance I could get, but not all of the meals came with pound cake," he said before opening it.
In front of friends and family who attended his retirement ceremony Friday at the Pentagon, Moak eagerly opened the can.
Answering the question of whether the anticipation was the same now as back then, Moak said, "Yes, even more!"
"I won't eat it if it's black and moldy," he told onlookers.
"You can hear the pop of the air coming out," he said referring to the vacuum seal on the can.
To most people's surprise, the opened can revealed a still-edible yellow cake. The ceremonial sword used to cut Moak's real retirement cake was also used to dig into the can and cut out the cake.
Moak took a bite and put up his thumb, "It's good, it's still kind of moist," he declared.
 
 
So, would you eat 36 year old cake?

AP video on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SHohZ2ljC4

After that recent episode with the Nestle Toll House raw cookie dough, my answer is not without testing. Another news report quoted the Defense Supply Center as saying that some of the risks of eating old canned foods are mold and botulism.

I'd eat a bite of THAT one!  Congrats Col Moak, enjoy your cake and your retirement---and thanks!
PS--when i was a kid our local scout troop got a lot of goodies from Natick Labs---the army field testing and R&D depot in Mass--we got plenty of preWW2 rations and we twelfe yr old LOVED the cake---but our favorite iten from them was the 4pack ciggeretts!

Wow--how timely. I just recently bought a canned fruitcake from the Georgia Fruitcake company (I review fruitcakes on my blog). It seemed so strange to be whipping out the can opener to get to the cake--but the reason they can their fruitcakes is because they supply (or supplied) army stores. The cake, by the way, is really good (I tried the one called Womble's, which contains bourbon, but they also have a non-alcoholic version which I also have in the fridge, ready to be unsealed).

isabelle


Wow--how timely. I just recently bought a canned fruitcake from the Georgia Fruitcake company (I review fruitcakes on my blog). It seemed so strange to be whipping out the can opener to get to the cake--but the reason they can their fruitcakes is because they supply (or supplied) army stores. The cake, by the way, is really good (I tried the one called Womble's, which contains bourbon, but they also have a non-alcoholic version which I also have in the fridge, ready to be unsealed).

ISABELLE--glad to meet another fruit cake lover!!!Seems we are few and far between---so they say---but if it was really true that people hate fruitcake---then where the heck are all those fruitcakes going and why have they been around so long!

Pound cake was the very best C-rat desert!

Like the article says it didn't come with every C-rat, so it was always a treat when you were issued one of the meals with pound cake! If I remember right beef stew, another of my favorites, came with pound cake......not that was some good eating!!!...LOL!

I'd be honored to have a slice with col. Moak anytime any place!

tiki

isabelle


Wow--how timely. I just recently bought a canned fruitcake from the Georgia Fruitcake company (I review fruitcakes on my blog). It seemed so strange to be whipping out the can opener to get to the cake--but the reason they can their fruitcakes is because they supply (or supplied) army stores. The cake, by the way, is really good (I tried the one called Womble's, which contains bourbon, but they also have a non-alcoholic version which I also have in the fridge, ready to be unsealed).

ISABELLE--glad to meet another fruit cake lover!!!Seems we are few and far between---so they say---but if it was really true that people hate fruitcake---then where the heck are all those fruitcakes going and why have they been around so long!

Welcome, kindred spirit!! I so agree with you--do you know that I've reviewed EIGHTEEN fruitcakes so far, and still have at least as many to get to? I ask you, if no one likes fruitcakes, how can AT LEAST 36 different companies be making them?!?

Isabelle---just checked out your blog---killer!---that Robert Lambert cake looked wonderful---but $50!!! Sounds like a one time Holiday treat to me!

tiki


That Robert Lambert cake looked wonderful---but $50!!! Sounds like a one time Holiday treat to me!

Indeed, indeed. It was delicious but I don't know if it was $50 worth of delicious. Once in a lifetime, maybe.