February. 1 BAKED ALASKA DAY

Baked Alaska Day is celebrated yearly on February 1st.

It’s National Baked Alaska Day! Baked Alaska is a decadent sweet made with ice cream, sponge cake, and toasted meringue. A similar dessert in Hong Kong is known as flame on the iceberg. Though the name “Baked Alaska” did not emerge until the 19th century, this dish is part of a long culinary tradition.

In the United States 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”.

The Chinese were the first nation to prepare pastry over an ice cream filling, which results in a delicious combination of hot and cold components. Credit is also due to the American physicist Benjamin Thompson, who experimented with the heat resistance of beaten egg whites and discovered how to make meringue.
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