Edible Antarctica

Follow these instructions to make your own edible model of Antarctica and learn a bit about icebergs.

• 20 April 2007 | Updated 14 October 2011

• What you need
• What to do

Antarctica is a huge island covered with ice and snow, surrounded by icebergs floating in the ocean. Here’s how you can make an edible model of Antarctica (which is always the best kind).

Before you begin, it might be helpful to learn a bit about icebergs as there are many different types. For example, not all icebergs are white.

Here is a list of the different types of icebergs, their colours and their features:

• Blue Icebergs are made of old ice packed so tightly that all the air is squeezed out. They are actually clear, but light scattering inside the ice makes them look blue. This is similar to the way the sky looks blue.
• White Icebergs are formed when big chunks of ice break off the ice sheet.
• Brown Icebergs contain organic matter, such as dirt, and rocks that have been carried from the land.
• Tabular icebergs have steep sides and a flat top.
• Dome icebergs are rounded on top.
• Pinnacle icebergs have tall spires.
• Wedge icebergs have a steep edge on one side and a slope on the opposite side.

What you need

To do this activity you will need the following:

• your favourite round-shaped cake, home-made or bought
• white icing
• blue jelly crystals
• blue food colouring
• 3 egg whites
• 90 grams of sugar
• egg whisk or electric beater.

What to do

1. Make the jelly according to the packet directions. Before it sets completely, mush it up well with a fork.
2. Whisk or beat the egg whites until they form peaks. While still whisking, gradually add the sugar. Once the sugar is mixed in, separate some of the mixture into a clean bowl and add a drop or two of blue food colouring to make some blue icebergs.
3. Spoon different shaped blobs of white and blue meringue onto some oiled baking paper on a flat tray. Shape them into a mixture of tabular, dome, pinnacle and wedge-shaped icebergs. Bake at 140 ºC for about 40 minutes.
4. Cut the edges of your cake so it is shaped a bit like the continent of Antarctica (see our picture).
5. Put the cake on a large plate and cover the cake with icing – this is snow and ice.
6. Surround the cake with the mushed up jelly – this is the ocean.
7. Place the different icebergs in the ocean around Antarctica.
8. Share your edible Antarctica with your friends and family. Yum!

Fun fact: Did you know that Antarctica is surrounded by ocean but also has three seas - the Ross Sea (closest to Australia), the Weddell Sea (closest to South America) and the Amundsen Sea?

For more hands-on activities, join CSIRO's Double Helix Science Club.