Early explorers to Antarctica suffered greatly because they did not understand in extreme conditions, people need more energy from their food, to keep warm and undertake heavy physical work, like the manhauling of heavy sledges.
When Ernest Shackleton and his team went on the British Antarctic Nimrod Expedition in 1907, his list of provisions included:
2,784 lb of assorted cuts and types of meat in tins
450 tins Heinz Baked Beans in Pork and Tomato sauce
300 lb Quaker Oats
150 lb Coleman's Mustard
38 lb Marmalade
1 ton of Garibaldi and Gingernut biscuits
300 bottles of Lime juice
Everything from plum jam to champagne, tomato ketchup and custard powder was taken on an expedition - even Birthday cakes from Fortnum and Mason in London! Just by looking at the few examples on our list here, you'll see that explorers gave lots of emphasis to taking meat, while carbohydrates, essential for energy, were mostly ignored.
When they were in "the field", early explorers relied heavily on rations that were tinned or dried, which meant that the food was low in vitamins. Explorers also used Pemmican.
Pemmican was made from beef fat and pounded dried beef and was supposed to be the breakfast of heroes. When simmered with melted snow, it produced a porridge type mixture, which was then eaten with sledging biscuits (hard tack biscuits) and butter. Although nutritious, it was pretty unappetizing and as a result, explorers lived off a diet that was high in fat and low in vitamins. Not surprisingly, Scurvy was a real problem again for the early explorers in Antarctica.
When for example, Scott and his party made their attempt on the South Pole in 1912, their rations consisted only of pemmican, sledging biscuits, butter, sugar, cocoa and tea. A decision was made to rely on the sledging biscuits for calories, which was catastrophic as there is a lot of evidence to suggest that Scott and his party were suffering from Scurvy before they ran out of food.
Scott at the Pole - L to R Wilson, Evans, Scott, Oates, Bowers
However, thanks to scientific research and developments in modern technology, the food now consumed in Antarctica is varied, nutritious and efficient to take on an expedition.
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A Balanced Diet in Antarctica