Arctic roll
British dessert
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An Arctic roll is a British ice cream cake made of vanilla ice cream wrapped in a thin layer of sponge cake to form a roll, with a layer of raspberry flavoured sauce between the sponge and the ice cream.[1]
A couple of slices of Arctic roll, with strawberries | |
| Course | Dessert |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Main ingredients | Sponge cake, vanilla ice cream, raspberry sauce |
History
The dessert was invented in the 1950s by Ernest Velden, an immigrant from then Czechoslovakia.[2] He set up a factory in Eastbourne producing Arctic roll in 1958, and the dessert soon became a successful product.[2] During the 1980s, more than 40 kilometres (25 mi) of Birds Eye Arctic Roll[3] were sold each month.[2][4] However, sales slumped during the 1990s and eventually the manufacturer of Arctic roll, Birds Eye, stopped producing the dessert.[2] The Great Recession that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009 saw the reappearance of the Arctic roll as consumers increasingly looked for low-cost foods.[2]
While some consumers view the Arctic roll as a comfort food, others view it as old fashioned and the food writer, journalist and broadcaster Nigel Slater has even described it as tasting of "frozen carpet".[5] Nonetheless, Birds Eye reported "overwhelming consumer demand" for the dessert.[6] Indeed, from when Birds Eye started marketing Arctic rolls again in December 2008 until April 2009, sales of the product were estimated at £3.5 million, or 3 million boxes (around 400 kilometres (250 mi) of Arctic roll).[7] Commentators suggest that aside from the Arctic roll's low price, many consumers buy the dessert out of feelings of nostalgia.[7] A number of UK supermarkets sell their own brand versions of the Arctic roll, both chocolate and raspberry variants, and did so even when Birds Eye were not marketing the product.
