The cake was discovered in the ancient Egyptian necropolis of Meir.
Cake is perhaps one of humanity’s greatest inventions. According to IFLScience, cake has been around for thousands of years.
However, there is one that has survived all that time.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this cake has been made for about 4,200 years, making it the oldest known in the world.
“It consists of two 10-centimeter-wide wheat cakes,
which are believed to be filled with milk, honey and sesame seeds, making it more like a pita than a bread. It sounds pretty delicious until you realize how old it is,” the article notes.
To bake the cake, the dough was first placed between two copper pans that were designed to be joined together, which allowed the cake to heat up from the inside and seal well after baking.
“The molds were preheated over a fire and placed on the wet dough, which led to the formation of air bubbles inside. As the cakes cooled, these air bubbles escaped, creating a vacuum in the mold. This ensured that the dough would adhere to the metal and would keep for a long time,” explains the Swiss food museum Alimentarium, where the cake is on display.
Why was it prepared in such a way that it would keep for a long time?
According to IFLScience, such a cake was prepared for members of aristocratic families in ancient Egypt.
“The cake was discovered in the Meir necropolis in the tomb of Pepiankh the Middle, a vizier (the highest position one could attain in the ancient Egyptian royal court, other than pharaoh), who served during the reign of Pepi II, considered by some to be the longest-reigning monarch in history,” the article says.
It notes that pastries and breads like this one were intended to accompany ancient Egyptians into the afterlife.
They served as a symbol of the rebirth of life and provided those who had passed on to eternity “something to eat on their journey to the celestial reed field.”
