A couple of slices of Arctic roll, with strawberries

An Arctic roll is a British dessert made of vanilla ice cream wrapped in a thin layer of sponge cake to form a roll, with a layer of jam between the sponge and the ice cream.^[1] The dessert was invented in the 1950s by a Czech lawyer, Ernest Velden, who had emigrated to England in 1939.^[2] He set up a factory in Eastbourne producing Arctic Roll in 1958, and the dessert quickly became very popular.^[2] During the 1980s more than 25 miles of Birds Eye Arctic Roll was sold each month.^[2] However, sales slumped during the 1990s and eventually the manufacturer of Arctic Roll, Birds Eye, stopped producing the dessert.^[2] The 2008 economic downturn saw the reappearance of Arctic Roll as consumers increasingly looked for low-cost foods.^[2]

While some consumers view the Arctic Roll as comfort food, others view it as old fashioned and the food writer Nigel Slater has even described it as tasting of "frozen carpet".^[3] Nonetheless, Birds Eye reported "overwhelming consumer demand" for the dessert.^[4] Indeed, since Arctic Roll's reintroduction in December 2008, sales of the product are estimated at £3.5m ($5.1m), or 3m boxes (around 250 miles of Arctic Roll).^[5] Commentators suggest that aside from Arctic Roll's low price, many consumers buy the dessert out of feelings of nostalgia.^[5]

[edit] Flavours

The original Arctic Roll features vanilla ice cream and raspberry jam; Birds Eye also produce a variant using chocolate ice cream.^[1]

[edit] Similar desserts

Americans have similar desserts, sometimes called Icebox Cake, though the Arctic Roll name is not widely used. The ice cream may be replaced by whipped cream. The name comes from that of another dessert, the Swiss roll (known in the United States as jelly roll.) Arctic Log refers to the same dessert dipped in chocolate.

[edit] References

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