'{{short description|Sweet baked product}} {{for multi|the North American variant|Biscuit (bread)|other uses|Biscuit (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox food | name = Biscuit | image = Crackers and Oreo.jpg | image_size = | caption = An [[Oreo]], a brand of sweet [[sandwich cookie|sandwich biscuit]], and two [[cracker (food)|crackers]], a type of savoury biscuit | alternate_name = | country = | region = | creator = | course = | type = | served = | main_ingredient = | variations = | calories = | other = }} A '''biscuit''',<!-- Do not add pronunciation here, per WP:LEAD. --> in most English speaking countries, is a [[flour|flour-based]] baked and shaped [[food]] item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and [[Unleavened bread|unleavened]]. They are usually sweet and may be made with [[sugar]], [[chocolate]], [[icing (food)|icing]], [[jam]], [[ginger]], or [[cinnamon]]. They can also be savoury, similar to [[Cracker (food)|crackers]]. Types of biscuit include [[sandwich biscuit]]s, [[digestive biscuit]]s, [[ginger biscuit]]s, [[shortbread]] biscuits, [[chocolate chip cookie]]s, [[chocolate-coated marshmallow treats]], [[Anzac biscuit]]s, ''[[biscotti]]'', and ''[[speculaas]]''. In most of North America, nearly all hard sweet biscuits are called "[[cookie]]s" and savoury biscuits are called "crackers", while the term "[[Biscuit (bread)|biscuit]]" is used for a soft, leavened [[quick bread]] similar to a less sweet version of a ''[[scone]]''. But biscuit basically same thing as Cookieeeeeeeee and chocolate cheese. ==Variations in meaning of ''biscuit''== [[File:BiscuitsAmerican&British.png|thumb|North American biscuit (left) and British biscuits of the [[bourbon biscuit|bourbon]] variety (right). The North American biscuit is soft and flaky like a [[scone]], whereas the British biscuits are smaller, drier, sweeter, and crunchy like [[cookie]]s.]] [[File:Biscuits in Ghana.jpg|thumb|Biscuits of [[Ghana]]]] * In most of the English-speaking world, a "biscuit" is a small, hard baked product that would be called either a "[[cookie]]" or a "[[cracker (food)|cracker]]" in the United States and sometimes in [[Canada]]. "Biscuits" in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and Ireland are usually hard and may be savoury or sweet, such as [[chocolate]] biscuits, [[Digestive biscuit|digestives]], [[hobnob biscuit|hobnobs]], [[ginger nuts]], [[rich tea]], [[shortbread]], [[bourbon biscuit|bourbons]], and [[custard cream]]s. The term "cookie" typically refers to only one type of biscuit (the sweeter baked dough typically containing chocolate chips or raisins); however, it may also locally refer to specific types of biscuits or breads.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |entry=cookie |dictionary=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |quote=In Scotland the usual name for a baker's plain bun; in U.S. usually a small flat sweet cake (a biscuit in U.K.), but locally a name for small cakes of various form with or without sweetening. Also S. Afr. and Canad.}}</ref> * In the United States and some parts of Canada, a [[Biscuit (bread)|"biscuit"]] is a [[quick bread]], somewhat similar to an unsweetened [[scone]], but with a texture more 'fluffy and flaky' vs. 'sturdy and crumbly'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What's the Difference Between Scones and Biscuits? |url=https://www.allrecipes.com/article/scone-vs-biscuit/ |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=Allrecipes |language=en}}</ref> Biscuits may be referred to as either "baking powder biscuits"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theodora.com/recipies/breads_and_sweet_doughs/baking_powder_biscuits.html |title=Baking Powder Biscuits Source: U.S. Department of Defense |work=Theodora's Recipes[sic] |access-date=2013-12-20}}</ref> or "buttermilk biscuits" if [[buttermilk]] is used rather than milk as a liquid, as buttermilk is not only flavorful but acidic (allowing use of [[baking soda]] vs. [[baking powder]] which is a mixture of baking soda with an acidifier and buffer). A Southern regional variation using the term "[[beaten biscuit]]" (or in New England "sea biscuit") is closer to [[hardtack]] than soft dough biscuits.<ref name="FTL">{{cite web |last1=Olver |first1=Lynne |author1-link=Lynne Olver |title=history notes{{mdash}}cookies, crackers & biscuits |url=http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcookies.html |website=[[The Food Timeline]] |access-date=January 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804134845/http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcookies.html |archive-date=August 4, 2012 |date=June 24, 2012 |url-status=dead}}{{cbignore|bot=InternetArchiveBot}}</ref> * In Canada, the term "biscuit" can simultaneously refer to what is commonly identified as a biscuit in either the United Kingdom or the United States. The ''[[Canadian Oxford Dictionary]]'' describes each word in reference to the other; "biscuit" can mean "Brit. a cookie", whilst "cookie" can mean "N. Amer. a small sweet biscuit". "Tea biscuit" is also a standard [[Canadian English|Canadianism]] for the "North American" biscuit.<ref>Jet McCullough (2020) {{cite web |url=https://www.queensu.ca/strathy/great-canadian-baking-show-and-biscuitcookie-question#:~:text=We%20have%20a%20clear%20picture,to%20the%20North%20American%20biscuit. |title=The Great Canadian Baking Show and the 'Biscuit/Cookie' Question}} Retrieved 2022-04-29. ''Queen's University''</ref> <gallery widths="300" heights="200"> File:Flickr stuart spivack 8254492--Beaten biscuits.jpg|[[Beaten biscuit]]s (southern US) File:Wheat biscuit.jpg|Wheat and cream biscuits (northern England) </gallery> ==Etymology== The modern-day difference in the English language regarding the word "biscuit" is remarked on by British cookery writer [[Elizabeth David]] in ''[[English Bread and Yeast Cookery]]'', in the chapter "Yeast Buns and Small Tea Cakes" and section "Soft Biscuits". She writes, <blockquote>It is interesting that these soft biscuits (such as scones) are common to [[Scotland]] and [[Guernsey]], and that the term biscuit as applied to a soft product was retained in these places, and in America, whereas in England it has completely died out.<ref>Elizabeth David (1977) ''English Bread and Yeast Cookery'', [[Penguin Books]] Ltd., London {{ISBN|0-7139-1026-7}}</ref></blockquote> [[File:Spekulatius four pieces of.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Dutch people|Dutch]] [[speculaas]] biscuit in various shapes: ship, farmhouse, elephant, horse.]] The [[Old French]] word ''bescuit'' is derived from the [[Latin language|Latin]] words ''bis'' (twice) and ''coquere'', ''coctus'' (to cook, cooked), and, hence, means "twice-cooked".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Biscuit | encyclopedia = [[Oxford English Dictionary]] | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2009 }}</ref><ref group="n">See, for example, [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s use of "Twice-sod simplicity! ''Bis coctus!''" in ''[[Love's Labour's Lost]]''. ({{Cite web|url=http://www.shakespeareswords.com/Plays.aspx?Ac=4&SC=2&IdPlay=28#213776|title=Love's Labour's Lost|website=Shakespeare's Words|publisher=Penguin Books|editor1=David Crystal|editor2=Ben Crystal|access-date=2016-04-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315041715/http://www.shakespeareswords.com/Plays.aspx?Ac=4&SC=2&IdPlay=28#213776|archive-date=15 March 2017|url-status=dead}})</ref> This is because biscuits were originally cooked in a twofold process: first baked, and then dried out in a slow oven.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/biscuit?view=uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041229112333/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/biscuit?view=uk|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 December 2004|title=Biscuit|publisher=askoxford.com|access-date=14 January 2010}}</ref> This term was then adapted into English in the 14th century during the [[Middle Ages]], in the [[Middle English]] word ''bisquite'', to represent a hard, twice-baked product<ref name=MWBiscuit>{{cite dictionary|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biscuit|title=Biscuit|dictionary=[[Merriam-Webster]]|access-date=14 January 2010}}</ref> (see the German [[Zwieback]]). It finally evolved into ''biscuit'' to follow the modern french spelling.<ref name="MWBiscuit" /> The [[Dutch language]] from around 1703 had adopted the word ''koekje'' ("little cake") to have a similar meaning for a similar hard, baked product.<ref name=MWCookie>{{cite dictionary|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cookie|title=Cookie|dictionary=[[Merriam-Webster]]|access-date=14 January 2010}}</ref> The difference between the secondary Dutch word and that of Latin origin is that, whereas the ''koekje'' is a [[cake]] that rises during baking, the biscuit, which has no [[leavening agent|raising agent]], in general does not (see [[gingerbread]]/[[ginger biscuit]]), except for the expansion of heated air during baking.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} Another cognate Dutch form is beschuit, which is a circular and brittle grain product usually covered by savoury or sweet toppings and eaten at breakfast. When continental Europeans began to emigrate to colonial North America, the two words and their "same but different" meanings began to clash. The words ''cookie'' or ''cracker'' became the words of choice to mean a hard, baked product. Further confusion has been added by the adoption of the word biscuit for a small leavened bread popular in the United States. According to the American English [[dictionary]] [[Merriam-Webster]], a cookie is a "small flat or slightly raised cake".<ref name=MWCookie/> A biscuit is "any of various hard or crisp dry baked product" similar to the American English terms cracker or cookie,<ref name=MWBiscuit/> or "a small quick bread made from dough that has been rolled out and cut or dropped from a spoon".<ref name=MWBiscuit/> In a number of other European languages, terms derived from the Latin ''bis coctus'' refer instead to yet another baked product, similar to the [[sponge cake]]; e.g. Spanish ''bizcocho'', German ''Biskuit'', Russian ''бисквит'' (''biskvit''), Polish ''biszkopt''. In modern Italian usage, the term ''biscotto'' is used to refer to any type of hard twice-baked biscuit, and not only to the ''[[biscotto|cantuccini]]'' as in English-speaking countries. It is the same for the modern french term ''biscuit.'' ==History== ===Biscuits for travel=== [[Image:Oldest ship biscuit-Kronborg-DK.JPG|thumb|Ship's biscuit from c. 1852 on display in [[Kronborg]], [[Denmark]]]] {{Main|Hardtack}} The need for nutritious, easy-to-store, easy-to-carry, and long-lasting foods on long journeys, in particular at sea, was initially solved by taking livestock along with a butcher/[[cook (profession)|cook]]. However, this took up additional space on what were either horse-powered treks or small ships, reducing the time of travel before additional food was required. This resulted in early armies' adopting the style of hunter-[[foraging]]. The introduction of the [[baking]] of processed cereals, including the creation of flour, provided a more reliable source of food. [[Egypt]]ian sailors carried a flat, brittle loaf of [[millet]] bread called ''dhourra'' cake while the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] had a biscuit called ''buccellum''.<ref name=RoyNavyMus/> Roman cookbook ''[[Apicius]]'' describes: "a thick paste of fine wheat flour was boiled and spread out on a plate. When it had dried and hardened, it was cut up and then fried until crisp, then served with honey and pepper." Many early physicians believed that most medicinal problems were associated with [[digestion]]. Hence, for both sustenance and avoidance of illness, a daily consumption of a biscuit was considered good for health. Hard biscuits soften as they age. To solve this problem, early bakers attempted to create the hardest biscuit possible. Because it is so hard and dry, if properly stored and transported, navies' [[hardtack]] will survive rough handling and high temperature. [[Baking|Baked]] hard, it can be kept without spoiling for years as long as it is kept dry. For long voyages, hardtack was baked four times, rather than the more common two.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia| url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/HistSciTech/HistSciTech-idx?type=turn&entity=HistSciTech.Cyclopaedia01.p0255&id=HistSciTech.Cyclopaedia01| access-date=2013-05-03| title=Bisquet |encyclopedia=[[Cyclopaedia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences]]| volume=I | pages=105| publisher=Ephraim Chambers| year=1728}}</ref> To soften hardtack for eating, it was often dunked in [[brine]], coffee, or some other liquid or [[cooking|cooked]] into a skillet meal. The collection ''[[Sayings of the Desert Fathers]]'' mentions that [[Anthony the Great]] (who lived in the 4th century AD) ate biscuits and the text implies that it was a popular food among monks of the time and region.<ref>page 23, paragraph 20: "At one time Abba Agathon had two disciples each leading the anchoretic life according to his own measure. One day he asked the first, 'How do you live in the cell?' He replied, 'I fast until the evening, then I eat two hard biscuits.' He said to him, 'Your way of life is good, not overburdened with too much asceticism.' Then he asked the other one, 'And you, how do you live?' He replied, 'I fast for two days, then I eat two hard biscuits.' The old man said, 'You work very hard by enduring two conflicts; it is a labour for someone to eat every day without greed; there are others who, wishing to fast for two days, are greedy afterwards; but you, after fasting for two days, are not greedy.'" http://www.g4er.tk/books/sayings-of-the-desert-fathers.pdf</ref> At the time of the [[Spanish Armada]] in 1588, the daily allowance on board a [[Royal Navy]] ship was one pound of biscuit plus one gallon of beer. [[Samuel Pepys]] in 1667 first regularised naval victualling with varied and nutritious rations. Royal Navy hardtack during [[Queen Victoria]]'s reign was made by machine at the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard at [[Gosport]], Hampshire, stamped with the Queen's mark and the number of the oven in which they were baked. When machinery was introduced into the process the dough was thoroughly mixed and rolled into sheets about {{convert|2|yd}} long and {{convert|1|yd|1}} wide which were stamped in one stroke into about sixty hexagonal-shaped biscuits. This left the sheets sufficiently coherent to be placed in the oven in one piece and when baked they were easy to separate. The hexagonal shape rather than traditional circular biscuits meant a saving in material and was easier to pack.<ref>''The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge'', Vol III, (1847), London, Charles Knight, p.354.</ref> Biscuits remained an important part of the Royal Navy sailor's diet until the introduction of [[canned food]]s. Canned meat was first marketed in 1814; preserved beef in tins was officially added to Royal Navy rations in 1847.<ref name=RoyNavyMus>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org/info_sheet_ship_biscuit.htm|title=Ship's Biscuits – Royal Navy hardtack|publisher=[[National Museum of the Royal Navy]]|year=2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091031064002/http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org/info_sheet_ship_biscuit.htm|archive-date=31 October 2009|access-date=14 January 2010}}</ref> ===Confectionery biscuits=== [[Image:PL gingerbread from Torun.jpg|thumb|right|Traditional Polish [[Toruń gingerbread|''Toruń'' gingerbread ''pierniki toruńskie'']]]] Early biscuits were hard, dry, and unsweetened. They were most often cooked after bread, in a cooling bakers' oven; they were a cheap form of sustenance for the poor. By the 7th century AD, cooks of the [[Persian empire]] had learnt from their forebears the techniques of lightening and enriching bread-based mixtures with eggs, butter, and cream, and sweetening them with fruit and honey.<ref name=FTL/> One of the earliest spiced biscuits was [[gingerbread]], in French, ''pain d'épices'', meaning "spice bread", brought to Europe in 992 by the [[Armenians|Armenian]] monk Grégoire de [[Nicopolis]]. He left Nicopolis Pompeii, of [[Lesser Armenia]] to live in [[Bondaroy]], France, near the town of [[Pithiviers]]. He stayed there for seven years and taught French priests and Christians how to cook gingerbread.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.logis-de-france-loiret.com/gastronomie_dans_loiret/confrerie_pain_epices.htm |title=La Confrérie du Pain d'Epices |access-date=4 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100322220814/http://www.logis-de-france-loiret.com/gastronomie_dans_loiret/confrerie_pain_epices.htm |archive-date=22 March 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ville-pithiviers.fr/specialite/specialite.php Le Pithiviers] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061230220854/http://www.ville-pithiviers.fr/specialite/specialite.php |date=30 December 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.monastere-saintgregoire.net/fr/histoire/presentation-du-monastere.htm |title=Monastère orthodoxe des Saints Grégoire Armeanul et Martin le Seul |publisher=Monastere-saintgregoire.net |access-date=2013-08-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110224346/http://www.monastere-saintgregoire.net/fr/histoire/presentation-du-monastere.htm |archive-date=10 January 2014}}</ref> This was originally a dense, [[molasses|treaclely]] (molasses-based) spice cake or bread. As it was so expensive to make, early [[ginger biscuits]] were a cheap form of using up the leftover bread mix. [[File:Huntley & Palmers Biscuits tin, pic3.JPG|thumb|left|[[Huntley & Palmers]] [[biscuit tin]]. Formed in [[Reading, Berkshire]] in 1822, the biscuit company became one of the world's first global [[brands]].<ref>{{cite news |title=A new neighbourhood in Reading: former biscuit factory to become 765-home district alongside the River Kennet |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/buying-mortgages/new-homes-reading-crossrail-river-kennet-a140456.html |access-date=19 August 2021 |work=Evening Standard}}</ref>]] With the combination of knowledge spreading from [[Al-Andalus]], and then the [[Crusades]] and subsequent spread of the [[spice trade]] to Europe, the cooking techniques and ingredients of Arabia spread into Northern Europe.<ref name=FTL/> By [[mediaeval]] times, biscuits were made from a sweetened, spiced paste of breadcrumbs and then baked (e.g., gingerbread), or from cooked bread enriched with sugar and spices and then baked again.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greenchronicle.com/regional_recipes/biscuits.htm|title=Biscuits|publisher=greenchronicle.com|access-date=14 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503103140/http://www.greenchronicle.com/regional_recipes/biscuits.htm|archive-date=3 May 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[King Richard I]] of England (aka Richard the Lionheart) left for the [[Third Crusade]] (1189–92) with "biskit of muslin", which was a mixed corn compound of [[barley]], [[rye]], and [[bean]] flour.<ref name=RoyNavyMus/> [[File:McVitie's chocolate digestive biscuit.jpg|thumb|190px|The milk chocolate coated side of a [[McVitie's]] [[chocolate digestive]]. It is routinely ranked the UK's favourite snack.<ref name="Wales Online">{{cite news |title=McVitie's chocolate digestives voted the most popular snack for people working from home |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/mcvities-chocolate-digestives-voted-most-17995653 |access-date=19 August 2021 |work=Wales Online}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Britain's top 20 favourite types of biscuit ranked|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/britains-top-20-favourite-types-18883376 |access-date=22 August 2021 |work=Wales Online|quote=the Chocolate Digestive is the best biscuit in the whole of the United Kingdom with more than two thirds of Brits picking}}</ref><ref name="YouGov">{{cite news |title=Britain's top five biscuits revealed |url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/food/articles-reports/2018/12/17/britains-top-five-biscuits-revealed |access-date=19 August 2021 |agency=YouGov|quote=YouGov Ratings data shows McVities, [[Cadbury]]'s and [[Walkers Shortbread|Walkers]] products dominate the list of Britain's favourite biscuits}}</ref>]] As the making and quality of bread had been controlled to this point, so were the skills of biscuit-making through the [[craft guild]]s.<ref name=FTL/> As the supply of sugar began, and the refinement and supply of flour increased, so did the ability to sample more leisurely foodstuffs, including sweet biscuits. Early references from the [[Vadstena monastery]] show how the Swedish [[nun]]s were baking gingerbread to ease digestion in 1444.<ref>[http://www.annas.se/artikel.asp?artikelId=34&strukturId=55 Pepparkakans historia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310035724/http://www.annas.se/artikel.asp?artikelId=34&strukturId=55 |date=10 March 2010}} Annas Pepparkakor [http://www.annas.se/artikel.asp?artikelId=82&strukturId=34 The history of gingerbread] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812061254/http://www.annas.se/artikel.asp?artikelId=82&strukturId=34 |date=12 August 2010}} Annas Pepparkakor</ref> The first documented trade of gingerbread biscuits dates to the 16th century, where they were sold in monastery pharmacies and town square farmers markets. Gingerbread became widely available in the 18th century. The [[Industrial Revolution]] in Britain sparked the formation of businesses in various industries, and the British biscuit firms of [[McVitie's]], [[Carr's]], [[Huntley & Palmers]], and [[United Biscuits|Crawfords]] were all established by 1850.<ref>{{cite book|title=Oxford Companion to Food|author=Alan Davidson|author-link=Alan Davidson (food writer)|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=1999|title-link=Oxford Companion to Food}}</ref> {{quote|Chocolate and biscuits became products for the masses, thanks to the Industrial Revolution and the consumers it created. By the mid-19th century, sweet biscuits were an affordable indulgence and business was booming. Manufacturers such as [[Huntley & Palmers]] in Reading, [[Carr's]] of Carlisle and [[McVitie's]] in Edinburgh transformed from small family-run businesses into state-of-the-art operations.|[[Polly Russell]] in the ''[[Financial Times]]'', 2018.<ref name="FT"/>}} British biscuit companies vied to dominate the market with new products and eye-catching packaging.<ref name="FT">{{cite news |title=History Cook: the rise of the chocolate biscuit |url=https://www.ft.com/content/5f890020-bba6-11e8-8274-55b72926558f |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/5f890020-bba6-11e8-8274-55b72926558f |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 August 2021 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> The decorative [[biscuit tin]], invented by Huntley & Palmers in 1831, saw British biscuits exported around the world.<ref name="FT"/> In 1900 Huntley & Palmers biscuits were sold in 172 countries, and their global reach was reflected in their advertising.<ref>{{cite news |title=Huntley & Palmers Biscuits |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O561034/huntley-palmers-biscuits-poster-wh-smith/huntley--palmers-biscuits-poster-wh-smith/ |access-date=21 August 2021 |agency=[[Victoria and Albert Museum|Victoria & Albert Museum]]}}</ref> Competition and innovation among British firms saw 49 patent applications for biscuit-making equipment, tins, dough-cutting machines and ornamental moulds between 1897 and 1900.<ref name="FT"/> In 1891, [[Cadbury]] filed a patent for a [[Chocolate biscuit|chocolate-coated biscuit]].<ref name="FT"/> Along with local farm produce of meat and cheese, many regions of the world have their own distinct style of biscuit due to the historic prominence of this form of food. ===Introduction in South Asia=== [[File:Thomas Benjamin Kennington 001.jpg|thumb|1891 advertisement in London for [[Peek Freans]], a brand exported to Asia]] Biscuits and [[loaf|loaves]] were introduced in [[Bengal]] during the British colonial period and became popular within the [[Sylhetis|Sylheti]] [[Bengali Muslim|Muslim community]]. However, the middle-class [[Hindus]] of [[Cachar]] and [[Sylhet region|Sylhet]] were very suspicious of biscuits and breads as they believed they were baked by Muslims. On one occasion, a few Hindus in Cachar caught an Englishman eating biscuits with tea, which caused an uproar. The information reached the Hindus of Sylhet and a small rebellion occurred. In response to this, companies started to advertise their bread as "machine-made" and "untouched by (Muslim) hand" to tell Hindus that the breads were "safe for consumption". This incident is mentioned in [[Bipin Chandra Pal]]'s autobiography and he mentions how culinary habits of Hindus gradually changed and biscuits and loaves eventually became increasingly popular.<ref name=das>{{cite book|title=Culinary Culture in Colonial India|first=Utsa|date=5 January 2015|publisher=[[Cambridge University]] Press|last=Ray|page=175}}</ref> ==Modern "hard" biscuits== [[Image:3 Biscuit rose de Reims.jpg|thumb|right|[[Biscuit rose de Reims]]]] Most modern biscuits can trace their origins back to either the hardtack ship's biscuit or the creative art of the baker: * Ship's biscuit derived: [[digestive biscuit|Digestive]], [[rich tea]], [[hobnobs]], [[Garibaldi biscuit|Garibaldi]]. * Baker's art: ''[[Biscuit rose de Reims]]'' Biscuits today can be [[umami|savoury]] ([[Cracker (food)|cracker]]s) or sweet. Most are small, at around {{convert|5|cm|in|abbr=on}} in diameter, and flat. [[Sandwich cookie|Sandwich-style biscuit]]s consist of two biscuits sandwiching a layer of [[Cream#Other items called "cream"|"creme"]] or [[icing (food)|icing]], such as the [[custard cream]], or a layer of jam (as in the biscuits that are known as "[[Jammie Dodgers]]" in the United Kingdom). [[File:Dunking a biscuit.jpg|thumb|left|[[Dunking (biscuit)|Dunking]] a biscuit]] Sweet biscuits are commonly eaten as a [[snack food]], and are, in general, made with wheat flour or oats, and sweetened with sugar or honey. Varieties may contain chocolate, fruit, jam, nuts, ginger, or even be used to sandwich other fillings. The [[digestive biscuit]] and [[rich tea]] have a strong identity in British culture as the traditional accompaniment to a cup of tea and are regularly eaten as such.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jun/06/crunch-time-britain-loves-biscuits "Crunch time: why Britain loves a good biscuit"]. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 30 December 2014</ref> Some tea drinkers [[dunking (biscuit)|dunk]] biscuits in tea, allowing them to absorb liquid and soften slightly before consumption.<ref name="dunk"/> [[Chocolate digestive]]s, rich tea, and [[Hobnobs]] were ranked the UK's top three favourite dunking biscuits in 2009.<ref name="dunk">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/4927255/Chocolate-digestive-is-nations-favourite-dunking-biscuit.html "Chocolate digestive is nation's favourite dunking biscuit"]. ''The Telegraph''. 2 May 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2014.</ref> In a non-dunking poll the Chocolate Hobnob was ranked first with custard creams coming third.<ref>[http://kernpack.co.uk/packaging-blog/nations-favourite-biscuit/ "What is the nation's favourite biscuit?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217155053/http://kernpack.co.uk/packaging-blog/nations-favourite-biscuit/ |date=17 February 2015 }}. Kernpack. 10 August 2019</ref><ref>[http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/576482/Digestive-biscuit-Blue-Cross-top-ten-HobNob Favourite biscuits]. ''The Express''. Retrieved 13 March 2017</ref> [[File:Tim Tams.jpg|thumb|right|Milk chocolate [[Tim Tam]]s, a biscuit created in Australia in 1964]] Savoury biscuits or crackers (such as [[cream cracker]]s, [[water biscuit]]s, [[oatcake]]s, or [[crisp bread]]s) are usually plainer and commonly eaten with cheese following a meal. Many savoury biscuits also contain additional ingredients for flavour or texture, such as [[poppy seed]]s, onion or onion seeds, cheese (such as cheese melts), and olives. Savoury biscuits also usually have a dedicated section in most European supermarkets, often in the same aisle as sweet biscuits. The exception to savoury biscuits is the sweetmeal digestive known as the "[[Hovis biscuit]]", which, although slightly sweet, is still classified as a cheese biscuit.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theodora.com/recipies/breads_and_sweet_doughs/cheese_biscuits.html |title=Cheese Biscuits Source: U.S. Department of Defense |work=Theodora's Recipies[sic] |access-date=2013-12-20}}</ref> Savoury biscuits sold in supermarkets are sometimes associated with a certain geographical area, such as Scottish oatcakes or Cornish wafer biscuits. In general, the British, Australians, South Africans, New Zealanders, Indians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, Singaporeans, Nigerians, Kenyans, and Irish use the British meaning of "biscuit" for the sweet biscuit. The terms ''biscuit'' and ''cookie'' are used interchangeably, depending on the region and the speaker, with ''biscuits'' usually referring to hard, sweet biscuits (such as digestives, Nice, Bourbon creams, etc.) and ''cookies'' for soft baked goods (i.e. chocolate chip cookies).{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}} In Canada, ''biscuit'' is now used less frequently, usually with imported brands of biscuits or in [[the Maritimes]]; however, the Canadian [[William Mellis Christie|Christie Biscuits]] referred to crackers.{{Citation needed|date=November 2014}} The British meaning is at the root of the name of the United States' most prominent maker of cookies and crackers, the National Biscuit Company, now called [[Nabisco]]. ==See also== {{portal|Food}} {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * [[American and British English differences]] * [[Biscuit tin]] * [[Dog biscuit]] * [[Ground biscuit]] * [[Ka'ak]] * [[List of baked goods]] * [[List of cookies|List of biscuits and cookies]] * [[List of shortbread biscuits and cookies]] * [[Rusk]] {{div col end}} ==Notes== {{reflist|group=n}} ==References== {{reflist}} {{Commons category-inline|Biscuits}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Biscuits| ]] [[Category:British cuisine]] [[Category:European cuisine]] [[Category:Twice-baked goods]] [[Category:Types of food]]'