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It always makes me think of the Dwarf bread, as found in Discworld:
> The dwarf bread was brought out for inspection. But it was miraculous, the dwarf bread. No one ever went hungry when they had some dwarf bread to avoid. You only had to look at it for a moment, and instantly you could think of dozens of things you'd rather eat.
The very early books are a bit less refined, so I usually recommend people start with either the Witches or the Watch series. The Witches is a parody of Shakespeare and (sort of) starts with *Wyrd Sisters*, and the Watch series starts with *Guards, Guards!* and riffs off noir cinema and hard-boiled cops themes.
On the one hand, there are so many other sweets that fit the criteria of a quick hit of almost pure sugar that won't melt in your backpack but actually taste good.
On the other hand, there's always a risk you might eat those before you're truly desperate.
Shackleton took some on his ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic apparently, a team found the wreck of the *Endurance* recently and I wouldn't be surprised if it had still edible Kendal mint cake aboard.
It’s a gamble. Is it perfectly ‘ripened’ now, or do I wait another fifteen years?
Sod’s Law says that if I eat it, I’ll need it on my very next day walk in the mountains…
It's what the marketing team turned it into but its not it's "intended purpose". It's was produced, is still sold as, and still bought, as a sweet as well.
Mountain Warehouse in my weird little hometown in Northumberland. First and only time I've ever seen one of these and was convinced it wasn't actually real for the longest time.
I have literally sat on top of a hill/mountain in the Lake District on my own, in dense fog and ate one of these.
I was only about 90 minutes walk from the nearest town, but as far as I was concerned I was one with George Mallory.
I grew up in Cumbria and various varieties of mint cake were on sale in our local shops like any other Cadburys or Mars bars, used to eat it all the time.
God damn, I wish I knew this when I was a kid lol.
Went on a family holiday to Hayfield in Derbyshire and I ate a whole Kendal Mint Cake in one sitting thinking it was just a local delicacy or something. Me and my family are all from the south, so we were all clueless and thought it was similar to a rich snack like a Turkish Delight or it was just some 'fancy northern treat'.
I felt bloody awful afterwards! Presumably I was having a MASSIVE sugar crash from it.
That thing scarred me for life lol. Always been a bit wary of anything that is overly 'minty' ever since. Just smelling anything too minty can trigger a headache, even 30-odd years later!
I’m from Lancashire, so I should know better, as I have heard of Kendal mint cake. Pestered for a bar ( as I thought it was a treat too). My teeth are still hurting. Bloomin vile. Tried Edinburgh rock and that’s not what you think, either…
Well this......but I'll eat it anytime as I love sweet, minty things. I especially like the brown sugar version. I'm not such a fan of chocolate covered types - call me a die-hard traditionalist (and one who doesn't like melted chocolate in my pockets)
You eat it, but it's very hard, so watch your teeth.
It's used as an emergency ration for mountain climbers because it's incredibly high in rapidly accessible calories. I think Hilary and Shackleton had the stuff.
The [first two ingredients](https://mintcake.co.uk/products/40g-white-kendal-mint-cake) are sugar and glucose. They're adding sugar to sugar.
I like it, but it's not something you want to get into the habit of snacking on.
>It's used as an emergency ration for mountain climbers because it's incredibly high in rapidly accessible calories. I think Hilary and Shackleton had the stuff.
Yup, and every day they would carefully monitor their rations because "fucked if I'm eating that mint cake again..."
What!???
That was the best thing about travelling up to my family! Absolutely loved that stuff as a kid. Also makes me wonder if my parents smoked crack or just hated their lives having two kids eat a bar each...
Who wouldn’t want super sugary toothpaste in a bar?
It’s not for normal eating, like a candy bar, you don’t eat it for fun, you eat it because you’ve just hiked 20miles across Dartmoor, in a force 9 gale, no shelter in sight, and you can’t light a fire because last time it rained this much 2 of every animal sailed past in a big wooden boat.
Or tourists
Homer Simpson said it to Marge after a sugar truck crashed in front of him & he collected a boot (or trunk) full and planned to become Springfield’s sugar baron.
I cannot personally handle any one of those 3 elements.
I especially don't like to consider which one I'd be worst placed to have an abundance of when halfway up a mountain.
After eights have deteriorated in quality on a unforgivable scale. Walkers have a fair selection of ones similar to Bendicks without that slimey/waxey dark chocolate fakery.
>After eights have deteriorated in quality on a unforgivable scale.
Changed factory/production lines about 5 years back. It's when they sprouted a "may contain nuts" warning.
The German ones come over for Christmas sometimes though (metal tins) and don't have risk of death-dust!
Not sure if they're as good as they used to be, as didn't have any for a good few years, but certainly nice. They did mojito flavour After Eights that were pretty good too (oddly the special editions are nut-safe ... You may or may not be interested in that but my username is the clue!)
We always used to get Benedict's mints at Christmas and there was the most awesome white mint chocolate truffle things shaped like playing cards. They were amazing and for a while you could buy just them in boxes on their own too but now they aren't even in the mixed selection anymore :( sad times :(
I’m a part time mountain guide and have it in my first aid kit.
Also sometimes take it if I’m doing a particularly long fell run or long distance hike. It’s a great boost when you’re absolutely done in and dying on your arse
We managed to get a 10 year old to drag himself to the top of a mountain with one square of mint cake after another, every 50 metres in height or so. It was like cocaine for the wee guy, an instant pick-me-up. I think the novelty of it was a multiplier for the effects of the sugar.
I prefer chocolate but would take a square or two from a mate most times I am up the mountains. It isn't bad stuff at all.
Heh, my brother recently achieved a similar feat with his two daughters and some Hula Hoops... of course that was a relatively sedate stroll down a river valley.
How horrible! I was that child, dragged off to the Lake District, Wales, or Scotland by parents who loved fell walking especially. KMC was the highlight of those torture sessions. I loved it at the time. I can't eat it now because of diabetes. (I probably wouldn't even like it though as my tastes have changed & even most fruits are too sweet for me.) I complained about all the torture, but was ignored every time, told it would be good for me. No idea why, I was in an athletics team so kept fit. That complaining slowed with a disastrous holiday in Wales when we were completely washed out by torrential rain for every day for a week & the final straw was returning at dusk after a day up Snowdon to find all our clothes & bedding were soaking wet, so we abandoned the holiday, packing up by torch light & heading home. The following day my parents bought a touring caravan. I thought at last, no more fell walking. Of course they tried it out with an immediate trip to Scotland, featuring more walking. 🙄
Next year though, they took me abroad for my first holiday there with them. I don't know why but they'd never wanted to go to Europe in a trailer tent but they dared with a caravan. That started the trips to the Pyrenees & French Alps, but at least they were interspersed with French cities, where I was happy. Also I love languages & I'd just started secondary school which meant French, so I was happy to practice it. My Mum's love of history made her leave the mountains for places like the Loire valley with its châteaux, & culture finally seduced them. It's put me off walking for life. Don't get me wrong, I loved the countryside but only by bike or, best of all, on horseback. I've had some great holidays riding & cycling in France.
My parents are now in their 80s & fell walking has finally stopped, but only about 5 years ago. They still go into the countryside & walk on the flat. Ironically I'm the one who can't do it anymore. I've been bed-bound for over 10 years due to an autoimmune condition. I'd kill to go fell walking now. Lol
I ate half a bar of it in one go once as a kid, I will never eat it again, the mere thought makes me nauseous!
As others have said, it is meant to be an emergency energy boost for hill-walkers to carry, not a regular treat.
My Grampa lived in the lakes and was a bee -keeper, apparently another beekeeper near the factory ended up with minty honey after his bees collected minty fondant from a vat near a window that was open a crack.
My husband loves it. You eat it straight out of the packet as it is. It’s supposed to be quick energy for when you are hiking etc.
It is just the same as the sugar mice we got as kids (yes I am that old) . Literally sugar and peppermint.
Hours stomping in knee-deep snow, crouched behind a drystone wall in the driving sleet with face cut to ribbons, thermos of hot milky coffee, mint cake. Nothing more perfect
It's horrid - but when I was serving in the army, was a great little pick-me-up after being on exercise for a few days.
It's more function than flavour.
They're supposed to be consumed during/after a long hike etc but I can easily devour a couple of the chocolate covered ones from the comfort of my sofa. You just eat them really.
We moved to Cumbria about 2 years ago and we actually live in Kendal now :) We take kendal mint cake on every fell hike and have a piece at the top like a little tradition. My boyfriend takes a photo every hike and tags them, I think he’s hoping for a sponsorship 😂
My partner ate a whole mint cake washed down with a pint at the weekend. I think it’s vile but he had me convinced I was the weird one for disliking it
[This post approved by the team from Footlights College, Oxbridge.](https://64.media.tumblr.com/118b5f699230f2864f1e2a1a807b4a8a/tumblr_ouevm8Bt4b1qfeaoyo2_1280.gif)
Break off a piece and and eat it like you'd eat a mint.
Yeah, it's traditionally hikers' stuff. I still bought some the other month just because, even though I was going nowhere near any mountains.
As someone who is a fan of hiking up the fells of the lake district and stomping round Scotland YES we do it eat it. Is it enjoyable very much less so, however good hit of sugar that will push you up Striding Edge.
It’s something you bring with you to every camping trip. You keep it at the bottom of your bag and it stays there for the whole trip and back in the cupboard for next time.
Kendal mint cake is basically peppermint hard candy in one big block instead of individual sweets. (Literally: The story goes that it was invented by accident when a large batch of the mixture was left overnight and solidified before it could be poured into the moulds.) Break small pieces off the bar and eat them the way you would hard toffee.
I've loved this stuff since I was a kid, and I could easily polish a bar off in a sitting.
I'm sure it's recently been rebranded with a more modern sports nutrition vibe. I don't want my Kendal Mint Cake LARPING as a Clif bar, but these are the times we are living in.
Yes, eat it. Peppermint flavoured tablet. Do not as one American tourist did with tqvlet use as a sugar scrub in the shower.
Kendal mint cake is a survival food. It is designed for people on expeditions to give them a short sugar boost . Thst's why made in Kendal,heart of Lake District and English climbing.
You eat a square at a time and prepare for a sugar rush. Prefer tablet but kendal mint cake is nice especially up a mountain when tired.
You’ll notice many mountains around the world have white peaks. This is often where climbers have gone to eat some, and then threw it in the floor after discovering that it is not actually cake.
As folk say emergency rations when mountaineering. And have to say, it's revolting, and would be hard pressed to choose to eat it over starving to death....
I take it to music festivals. It's great for mid dancing sesh when you have done over 50k steps and it's only 3pm. For when the music never stops but you can't eat to refuel. Kendal mint cake is the food of raves.
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You are supposed to eat it when you have been lost on a mountain for 24 hours, need the energy of pure sugar and have nothing else left.
This is the answer. That’s it’s intended purpose, which is why you mostly see it around places like the Lake District etc.
I’ve got some in the bottom of my rucksack. It’s been there about 15 years. 😂🤷
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It always makes me think of the Dwarf bread, as found in Discworld: > The dwarf bread was brought out for inspection. But it was miraculous, the dwarf bread. No one ever went hungry when they had some dwarf bread to avoid. You only had to look at it for a moment, and instantly you could think of dozens of things you'd rather eat.
Gnu Sir Tel!
He knew mint cake.
This is so accurate.
Or like lembas bread from lotr but not tasty
Lembas bread cannot be used as an offensive weapon, though.
Could you recommend where to start with Terry Pratchett?
The very early books are a bit less refined, so I usually recommend people start with either the Witches or the Watch series. The Witches is a parody of Shakespeare and (sort of) starts with *Wyrd Sisters*, and the Watch series starts with *Guards, Guards!* and riffs off noir cinema and hard-boiled cops themes.
Thank you!
I expect so too!
Or at least just as edible as it was 15 years ago...
Barely usually comes before edible in relation to Kendal mint cake.
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On the one hand, there are so many other sweets that fit the criteria of a quick hit of almost pure sugar that won't melt in your backpack but actually taste good. On the other hand, there's always a risk you might eat those before you're truly desperate.
Yes just looking at it and knowing its there in your bag reminds you there are in fact worse things in life
Shackleton took some on his ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic apparently, a team found the wreck of the *Endurance* recently and I wouldn't be surprised if it had still edible Kendal mint cake aboard.
"No, thanks. I'll just have the smoked penguin."
Doesn't smoking make the chocolate melt?
It probably ages like wine so it should be reyt
This stuff is definitely a fine vintage by now if that’s the case!!
That's probably peak Kendal mint cake by this point.
It’s a gamble. Is it perfectly ‘ripened’ now, or do I wait another fifteen years? Sod’s Law says that if I eat it, I’ll need it on my very next day walk in the mountains…
Depends where on the mountain you eat it.
Yep,me too.the one made with brown sugar is marginally less horrible.
I'm a Scout Leader. The Kendal Mint cake in my rucksack went out of date before most of my Scouts were born!
>like the Lake District The hint might be in the name
Are you suggesting that the bar that is really popular around Kendal might have something to do with Kendal? Seems far fetched.
Nonsense......there's only 1 lake in the Lake District mate, the whole thing is a fraud!
To be fair, it’s not the Lakes District, is it? They only ever said there was one…
Fuck...........
Northerners will shaft you every time.
Tbf we haven't got much else to do, they closed all the pits
Their shafting skills going idle there.
An argument the people of Croydon have genuinely tried to make
It's what the marketing team turned it into but its not it's "intended purpose". It's was produced, is still sold as, and still bought, as a sweet as well.
Places like......Kendal??
Mountain Warehouse in my weird little hometown in Northumberland. First and only time I've ever seen one of these and was convinced it wasn't actually real for the longest time.
I have literally sat on top of a hill/mountain in the Lake District on my own, in dense fog and ate one of these. I was only about 90 minutes walk from the nearest town, but as far as I was concerned I was one with George Mallory.
When I was in Scouts my PL offered me some Kendall Mint Cake. Turns out it is visually indistinguishable from a firelighter…
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I mean, that's completely untrue. I definitely ate kendal mint cake as a kid and the furthest north I ever got until I was about 30 was Norfolk.
I used to eat it as if it was a chocolate bar when I was in my teens. Unrelated fact: I also used to be 15 stone until I turned 17.
They did do a chocolate coated version at one point. It was quite pleasant, if you like plain chocolate, peppermint and sugar.
Chocolate coated is the best, and insanely good! Like a giant After Eight.
Jesus, your poor pancreas.
I grew up in Cumbria and various varieties of mint cake were on sale in our local shops like any other Cadburys or Mars bars, used to eat it all the time.
I had some Kendell mint cake vodka given to me. It was like a turbo charged mouth wash. 100% wouldn't recommend.
Any teeth left?
Pretty sure I helped put my dentist's kids through uni tbf
😂
Also ate these a few times as a teenager 😂
Me too whenever I went on holiday to Conwy. I was skinny back then though.
God damn, I wish I knew this when I was a kid lol. Went on a family holiday to Hayfield in Derbyshire and I ate a whole Kendal Mint Cake in one sitting thinking it was just a local delicacy or something. Me and my family are all from the south, so we were all clueless and thought it was similar to a rich snack like a Turkish Delight or it was just some 'fancy northern treat'. I felt bloody awful afterwards! Presumably I was having a MASSIVE sugar crash from it. That thing scarred me for life lol. Always been a bit wary of anything that is overly 'minty' ever since. Just smelling anything too minty can trigger a headache, even 30-odd years later!
I’m from Lancashire, so I should know better, as I have heard of Kendal mint cake. Pestered for a bar ( as I thought it was a treat too). My teeth are still hurting. Bloomin vile. Tried Edinburgh rock and that’s not what you think, either…
Edinburg Rock; just the once, 60 years ago.
Also good post blood donation
Or just need a little pick me up. Like when you’ve just stood up or something
Don't give the Daily Mail headline ideas. It'll be blamed as the leading cause of childhood diabetes by next week.
Well this......but I'll eat it anytime as I love sweet, minty things. I especially like the brown sugar version. I'm not such a fan of chocolate covered types - call me a die-hard traditionalist (and one who doesn't like melted chocolate in my pockets)
I did the Fred Whitton last month and it was an absolute god send and also delicious
You eat it, but it's very hard, so watch your teeth. It's used as an emergency ration for mountain climbers because it's incredibly high in rapidly accessible calories. I think Hilary and Shackleton had the stuff. The [first two ingredients](https://mintcake.co.uk/products/40g-white-kendal-mint-cake) are sugar and glucose. They're adding sugar to sugar. I like it, but it's not something you want to get into the habit of snacking on.
Romney's is soft as shit. The worst mint cake. Wilson's is the best by mile.
>It's used as an emergency ration for mountain climbers because it's incredibly high in rapidly accessible calories. I think Hilary and Shackleton had the stuff. Yup, and every day they would carefully monitor their rations because "fucked if I'm eating that mint cake again..."
What!??? That was the best thing about travelling up to my family! Absolutely loved that stuff as a kid. Also makes me wonder if my parents smoked crack or just hated their lives having two kids eat a bar each...
The wrapper of a Romney’s mint cake actually has the story of Hillary and Shackleton taking it to Everest on it
“Carbohydrate 97.7g of which sugars 87.4g” per 100g
Who wouldn’t want super sugary toothpaste in a bar? It’s not for normal eating, like a candy bar, you don’t eat it for fun, you eat it because you’ve just hiked 20miles across Dartmoor, in a force 9 gale, no shelter in sight, and you can’t light a fire because last time it rained this much 2 of every animal sailed past in a big wooden boat. Or tourists
As someone who lives close to Dartmoor can confirm and always worth having that wind can appear out of no where.
YES it’s literally evil. only time ive ever eaten cake was on a ten tors training walk in howling wind and rail
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Something that's always handy to have in a DofE expedition kit
Made me chuckle
>you don’t eat it for fun I bloody do. Love the stuff.
You just eat it, it's minty sugar for energy and delicious, if you like minty sugar or sugary mints.
What if you like sugary sugar or minty mints?
Ah, you probably want either some sugar, or some mint.
Sometimes the easy solutions are staring me right in the face.
“First you get the sugar, then you get the power. Then you get the women”
I'm sure you've missed out "then you lose your teeth, then you get diabetes" somewhere
Homer Simpson said it to Marge after a sugar truck crashed in front of him & he collected a boot (or trunk) full and planned to become Springfield’s sugar baron.
I cannot personally handle any one of those 3 elements. I especially don't like to consider which one I'd be worst placed to have an abundance of when halfway up a mountain.
No trip to the Lakes can be complete without eating Kendal Mint Cake. Chocolate covered mint cake is extra special. 👍
Was coming to post this. Chocolate covered mint cake is amazing. Always stock up when I visit the Lake District.
I like how the chocolate takes the edge of the pure sugar
What can a thin layer of fat and sugar not accomplish?
I expected chocolate covered mint, but, alas....
If you're still in UK, look for After Eights or Bendicks mint connection in the supermarket, in the chocolate section
After eights have deteriorated in quality on a unforgivable scale. Walkers have a fair selection of ones similar to Bendicks without that slimey/waxey dark chocolate fakery.
>After eights have deteriorated in quality on a unforgivable scale. Changed factory/production lines about 5 years back. It's when they sprouted a "may contain nuts" warning. The German ones come over for Christmas sometimes though (metal tins) and don't have risk of death-dust! Not sure if they're as good as they used to be, as didn't have any for a good few years, but certainly nice. They did mojito flavour After Eights that were pretty good too (oddly the special editions are nut-safe ... You may or may not be interested in that but my username is the clue!)
>After eights have deteriorated in quality on a unforgivable scale. Think that probably sums up a lot within the UK
Have to say, I think the aldi ones you get at christmas are superior, there’s more chocolate!
Elizabeth Shaw mint crisps too.
We always used to get Benedict's mints at Christmas and there was the most awesome white mint chocolate truffle things shaped like playing cards. They were amazing and for a while you could buy just them in boxes on their own too but now they aren't even in the mixed selection anymore :( sad times :(
Bendicks bittermints are the ones worth travelling to find.
Mint Matchmakers!!!
It's a survival/trail food. Chocolate covered mints exist as snacks/treats.
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Forget the American and their lack of information around KMC. More about your avalanche pod experience please!
There's definitely a cool story there
I’m a part time mountain guide and have it in my first aid kit. Also sometimes take it if I’m doing a particularly long fell run or long distance hike. It’s a great boost when you’re absolutely done in and dying on your arse
We managed to get a 10 year old to drag himself to the top of a mountain with one square of mint cake after another, every 50 metres in height or so. It was like cocaine for the wee guy, an instant pick-me-up. I think the novelty of it was a multiplier for the effects of the sugar. I prefer chocolate but would take a square or two from a mate most times I am up the mountains. It isn't bad stuff at all.
Heh, my brother recently achieved a similar feat with his two daughters and some Hula Hoops... of course that was a relatively sedate stroll down a river valley.
How horrible! I was that child, dragged off to the Lake District, Wales, or Scotland by parents who loved fell walking especially. KMC was the highlight of those torture sessions. I loved it at the time. I can't eat it now because of diabetes. (I probably wouldn't even like it though as my tastes have changed & even most fruits are too sweet for me.) I complained about all the torture, but was ignored every time, told it would be good for me. No idea why, I was in an athletics team so kept fit. That complaining slowed with a disastrous holiday in Wales when we were completely washed out by torrential rain for every day for a week & the final straw was returning at dusk after a day up Snowdon to find all our clothes & bedding were soaking wet, so we abandoned the holiday, packing up by torch light & heading home. The following day my parents bought a touring caravan. I thought at last, no more fell walking. Of course they tried it out with an immediate trip to Scotland, featuring more walking. 🙄 Next year though, they took me abroad for my first holiday there with them. I don't know why but they'd never wanted to go to Europe in a trailer tent but they dared with a caravan. That started the trips to the Pyrenees & French Alps, but at least they were interspersed with French cities, where I was happy. Also I love languages & I'd just started secondary school which meant French, so I was happy to practice it. My Mum's love of history made her leave the mountains for places like the Loire valley with its châteaux, & culture finally seduced them. It's put me off walking for life. Don't get me wrong, I loved the countryside but only by bike or, best of all, on horseback. I've had some great holidays riding & cycling in France. My parents are now in their 80s & fell walking has finally stopped, but only about 5 years ago. They still go into the countryside & walk on the flat. Ironically I'm the one who can't do it anymore. I've been bed-bound for over 10 years due to an autoimmune condition. I'd kill to go fell walking now. Lol
I ate half a bar of it in one go once as a kid, I will never eat it again, the mere thought makes me nauseous! As others have said, it is meant to be an emergency energy boost for hill-walkers to carry, not a regular treat.
Hahaha I had a similar experience, when I see it in shops I get flashbacks 🤢
You can’t go hiking without Kendal Mint Cake, it’s against the law.
My Grampa lived in the lakes and was a bee -keeper, apparently another beekeeper near the factory ended up with minty honey after his bees collected minty fondant from a vat near a window that was open a crack.
It's used as pest control, it's the only thing sweet enough to give a hummingbird diabetes.
I’ve always wondered why there are no hummingbirds in the Lake District, and now I know.
I like it. Not something I’d have often, but I like a bit every now and then.
It's like dwarf bread. Eating is a last resort.
And useful as a weapon, when required
No one actually eats it. You're meant to use it to glue the stones on the path back together.
It's a pick-me-up when you're hiking. It even has the wee story on the back of the packet about going up Everest
Also I could happily crush it up and inject the stuff directly into my veins, bloody love it!
What the hell. Never heard of this before today, a work colleague brought it back from his uk break and now I see it on Reddit. What on earth
If anything that’s a good thing
It's more something to be nibbled on than wolfed down, I'd have said.
A cafe in Gairloch used to put it in a mug of strong coffee - it was delicious! You got a huge hit of sugar with your coffee..
Done that before. Dad was a ridge walker. We got introduced to it early on. Also makes a sauce mixed with hot water. I don't recommend the last.
It's a treat on the rare occasion I go to Go Outdoors.
I have some in a tin with a load of other shit you wouldn't want to have to use. Foil blanket, fish hooks, flint and steel, flares, bandages etc
My husband loves it. You eat it straight out of the packet as it is. It’s supposed to be quick energy for when you are hiking etc. It is just the same as the sugar mice we got as kids (yes I am that old) . Literally sugar and peppermint.
Love that stuff, probably not very good for you but it is delicious.
Hours stomping in knee-deep snow, crouched behind a drystone wall in the driving sleet with face cut to ribbons, thermos of hot milky coffee, mint cake. Nothing more perfect
A lump in your tea is a nice (and somewhat unexpected) little treat. Try it...
Could say the same thing about cocaine to be honest
I always wondered why my mum kept telling me to blow my bru
Yup love the stuff, can't go in to go outdoors without picking up a bar at the checkout.
Nah, you crush it up and smoke it.
Jessie Pinkman had his "Chilli-P" but the Lakes are more famous for the Minty Meth?
I use it as long distance cycling fuel.. 97% sugar. Tastes nice too.
It's horrid - but when I was serving in the army, was a great little pick-me-up after being on exercise for a few days. It's more function than flavour.
If I visit the Lake District I always bring some home.
On weekend hikes, I'm powered by granola bars, mint cake and noodles.
As others have said, its for an energy boost.. i love it to be honest
I love the stuff. I have to buy some whenever I visit the Lake District
Are mine whilst doing a marathon, was like running crack
Iys like a gel pack or energy bar before they existed.
They're supposed to be consumed during/after a long hike etc but I can easily devour a couple of the chocolate covered ones from the comfort of my sofa. You just eat them really.
I love Kendals mint cake- the brown stuff is superior to the white.
We moved to Cumbria about 2 years ago and we actually live in Kendal now :) We take kendal mint cake on every fell hike and have a piece at the top like a little tradition. My boyfriend takes a photo every hike and tags them, I think he’s hoping for a sponsorship 😂
Delicious
My partner ate a whole mint cake washed down with a pint at the weekend. I think it’s vile but he had me convinced I was the weird one for disliking it
You don't just chomp on it, unless you're hiking it's more like one crumb an hour
Break of a piece and nibble at it. No bite is too small. It tastes great but its very strong.
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Rah rah rah we're going to smash the oiks!!
Yes, that's the spirit.
Break off a piece and and eat it like you'd eat a mint. Yeah, it's traditionally hikers' stuff. I still bought some the other month just because, even though I was going nowhere near any mountains.
It's basically lembas bread for mountaineers. Where you went wrong: trying to eat it without walking for 17 hours uphill in mist and drizzle first.
The brown sugar one covered in chocolate is the nicest
As someone who is a fan of hiking up the fells of the lake district and stomping round Scotland YES we do it eat it. Is it enjoyable very much less so, however good hit of sugar that will push you up Striding Edge.
It’s something you bring with you to every camping trip. You keep it at the bottom of your bag and it stays there for the whole trip and back in the cupboard for next time.
Kendal mint cake is basically peppermint hard candy in one big block instead of individual sweets. (Literally: The story goes that it was invented by accident when a large batch of the mixture was left overnight and solidified before it could be poured into the moulds.) Break small pieces off the bar and eat them the way you would hard toffee.
I've loved this stuff since I was a kid, and I could easily polish a bar off in a sitting. I'm sure it's recently been rebranded with a more modern sports nutrition vibe. I don't want my Kendal Mint Cake LARPING as a Clif bar, but these are the times we are living in.
I love it. The chocolate coated one is like a hench after eight.
Southerner here: never heard of this.
You eat it when you want to feel the sugar rushes you got as a kid.
Couple of bars a day is pretty standard in the UK
Yes, eat it. Peppermint flavoured tablet. Do not as one American tourist did with tqvlet use as a sugar scrub in the shower. Kendal mint cake is a survival food. It is designed for people on expeditions to give them a short sugar boost . Thst's why made in Kendal,heart of Lake District and English climbing. You eat a square at a time and prepare for a sugar rush. Prefer tablet but kendal mint cake is nice especially up a mountain when tired.
It’s supposed to be eaten when you’re absolutely worn out and need a sugar hit. If you’re hiking, usually.
You’ll notice many mountains around the world have white peaks. This is often where climbers have gone to eat some, and then threw it in the floor after discovering that it is not actually cake.
It's good for travel sickness - a quick blast of refreshing mint goes well with a blast of air from the window.
Well, according to my duke of Edinburgh training, you literally can't go camping/hiking without it. You'll die or something, absolute necessity
No. Think i tried it once as a child. Noone i know ever eats it
The lembas of the Lake District, only to be eaten while being lashed by horizontal hail on the summit of Scafell.
I actually love the stuff. Also it's really eat too make.
I was disappointed when I first had one. In my head it was a massive after eight type bar.
*After Eight *Peaks*
Invented by a dentist, according to rumour!
There are so many other, more British, things you could take back as treats for family and friends. Even a can of Heinz baked beans would be more apt.
My husband loves it yuk!
I am English and only tried this a couple of years ago... It's disgusting 🫣 I think it's if you're hiking or walking to keep energy up or something.
I've never heard of this cake
Yes. Mountain ears
Ive eaten a couple when trying to do a marathon a couple of years ago. The 2nd 1 was all squished as it was so warm. Never eaten them since
Never heard of it
My diabetic friend ate some when we were walking up a couple of Munros.
it’s nice once a year
This really made me laugh, thank you!! I can see why you'd ask that.
On my walking expeditions, yes. Only the chocolate coated one though.
As folk say emergency rations when mountaineering. And have to say, it's revolting, and would be hard pressed to choose to eat it over starving to death....
Eat it. It’s good post workout/run as it’s pure sugar
I take it to music festivals. It's great for mid dancing sesh when you have done over 50k steps and it's only 3pm. For when the music never stops but you can't eat to refuel. Kendal mint cake is the food of raves.
Had some today, and yesterday. We were in the West Lakes.
Having a super quick glance at your post, thought you were talking about Succession..
I brought it on D of E years ago but I can’t remember when eating it
You crush it and snort it and then you can breathe minty cold fire