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Invented in 1925

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+'''Invented in 1925'''
-{{Other uses}}
-{{refimprove|date=May 2011}}
-[[File:BiscuitsAmerican&British.png|thumb|250px|[[Biscuit (bread)|American biscuit]] (left) and one variety of British biscuits (right). The American biscuit is soft and flaky; these particular British biscuits have a layer of chocolate filling between two hard wafers.]]
-A '''biscuit''' ({{IPAc-en|icon|ˈ|b|ɪ|s|k|ɨ|t}}) is a [[baking|baked]] edible product. The term is used to apply to two distinctly different products in [[North American English|North America]] and the [[English-speaking world|Commonwealth Nations]].
-*In the United States it is a [[Biscuit (bread)|small soft leavened bread]], somewhat similar to a [[Scone (bread)|scone]].
-*In [[English in the Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth English]], it is a small and hard, often sweet, baked product that would be called either a [[cookie]] or a [[cracker (food)|cracker]] in the United States.
-==Etymology==
-The modern-day confusion in the [[English language]] around the word ''biscuit'' is created by its [[etymology]].
-The [[Middle French]] word ''bescuit'' is derived from the [[Latin language|Latin]] words ''bis'' (twice) and ''coquere'' (to cook), and, hence, means "twice-cooked."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
-  | title = Biscuit
-  | encyclopedia = [[Oxford English Dictionary]]
-  | volume =
-  | pages =
-  | publisher = Oxford University Press
-  | year = 2009
-  | id =
-  | accessdate = 27 April 2009}}</ref> This is because biscuits were originally cooked in a twofold process: first baked, and then dried out in a slow oven.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/biscuit?view=uk|title=Biscuit|publisher=askoxford.com|accessdate=14 January 2010}}</ref> Hence:
-*''[[Biscotti]]'' in Medieval Italian
-*''Biscuit'' in Modern French
-*''[[Zwieback]]'' in [[German language|German]]
-*''[[Rusk|Beschuit]]'' in Dutch
-*''Bizcocho'' in Spanish
-*''Biscoito'' in Portuguese
-This term was then adapted into [[English language|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>{{citeweb|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biscuit|title=Biscuit|publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]]|accessdate=14 January 2010}}</ref>
-However, the [[Dutch language]] from around 1703 had adopted the word ''koekje,'' a language diminutive of [[cake]], to have a similar meaning for a similar hard, baked product.<ref name=MWCookie>{{citeweb|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cookie|title=Cookie|publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]]|accessdate=14 January 2010}}</ref> This may be related{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} to the Russian or Ukrainian translation, where ''biscuit'' has come to mean ''[[sponge cake]].''
-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 raising agent, in general does not (see [[gingerbread]]/[[ginger biscuit]]), except for the expansion of heated air during baking.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}}
-When peoples from [[Europe]] began to emigrate to the [[United States]], the two words and their "same but different" meanings began to clash. After the [[American Revolutionary War|American War of Independence]] against the British, the word cookie became the word of choice to mean a hard, twice-baked product.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}}
-Further confusion has been added by the adoption of the word ''biscuit'' for a small leavened bread popular in the United States.
-Today, according to 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/>
-*A biscuit can also mean "a small quick bread made from dough that has been rolled out and cut or dropped from a spoon."<ref name=MWBiscuit/>
-Today, throughout most of the world, the term ''biscuit'' still means a hard, crisp, brittle bread, except in the United States, where it now denotes a softer [[Biscuit (bread)|bread product]] baked only once. 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 the past.
-==History==
-===Biscuits for travel===
-[[Image:Oldest ship biscuit-Kronborg-DK.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Ship's biscuit 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 live food 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:
-{{cquote|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 [[physician]]s 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.
-To this day hard biscuits soften as they age. Early bakers, in order to solve this problem, 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, and prepared six months before sailing.<ref>[http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/HistSciTech/HistSciTech-idx?type=turn&entity=HistSciTech000900240255&isize=L Article on Hardtack] from [[Cyclopaedia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences|Cyclopædia]]</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 more refined Captain's biscuit was made with finer flour.
-At the time of the [[Spanish Armada]] in 1588, the daily allowance on board a Royal Navy ship was 1&nbsp;lb of biscuit plus 1 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. 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>{{citeweb|url=http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org/info_sheet_ship_biscuit.htm|title=Ships Biscuits - Royal Navy hardtack|publisher=Royal Navy Museum|accessdate=14 January 2010}}</ref>
-===Biscuits for pleasure===
-[[Image:PL gingerbread from Torun.jpg|thumb|right|Traditional Polish [[Toruń gingerbread]]]]
-{{Main|Gingerbread}}
-Early biscuits were hard, dry, and unsweetened. They were cheap - early biscuits 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 secrets of lightening and enriching bread-based mixtures with eggs, butter, and cream, and sweetening them with fruit and honey.<ref name=FTL>{{citeweb|url=http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcookies.html|title=Biscuits & Cookies|publisher=Food Timeline|accessdate=15 January 2010}}</ref> 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, in [[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>[http://www.logis-de-france-loiret.com/gastronomie_dans_loiret/confrerie_pain_epices.htm La Confrérie du Pain d'Epices]</ref><ref>[http://www.ville-pithiviers.fr/specialite/specialite.php Le Pithiviers]</ref><ref>[http://www.monastere-saintgregoire.net/fr/histoire/presentation-du-monastere.htm Monastère orthodoxe des Saints Grégoire Armeanul et Martin le Seul]</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.
-With the combination of the [[Muslim]] [[Al-Andalus|invasion of the Iberian Peninsula]], and then the [[Crusades]] developing the [[spice trade]], 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>{{citeweb|url=http://www.greenchronicle.com/regional_recipes/biscuits.htm|title=Biscuits|publisher=greenchronicle.com|accessdate=14 January 2010}}</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/>
-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 food stuffs, including sweet biscuits. Early references from the Vadstena [[monastery]] show how the Swedish [[nun]]s were baking gingerbread to ease digestion in the year 1444.<ref>[http://www.annas.se/artikel.asp?artikelId=34&strukturId=55 Pepparkakans historia] Annas Pepparkakor [http://www.annas.se/artikel.asp?artikelId=82&strukturId=34 The history of gingerbread] 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 British biscuit firms of [[Carrs]], [[Huntley & Palmer]], and [[United Biscuits|Crawfords]] were all established by 1850.<ref>{{citebook|title=Oxford Companion to Food|author=Alan Davidson|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999}}</ref>
-Hence, it is of no surprise that, often together with local farm produce of meat and cheese, many regions of the world have their own distinct style of biscuit, so old is this form of food.
-==Biscuits today==
-[[Image:Biscuit Rose de Reims.jpg|thumb|right|[[Biscuit rose de Reims]] ]]
-Most modern biscuits can trace their origins back to either the hardtack ships biscuit, or the creative art of the baker:
-*Ships biscuit derived: [[digestive biscuit|Digestive]], [[rich tea]], [[Abernethy biscuit|Abernethy]], cracker{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}
-*Bakers art: [[Biscuit rose de Reims]]
-Biscuits today can be [[umami|savoury]] or sweet, but most are small at around {{convert|2|in|cm}} in diameter, and flat. The term biscuit also applies to [[sandwich]]-type biscuits, wherein a layer of cream or [[icing (food)|icing]] is sandwiched between two biscuits, such as the [[Custard cream]]. European biscuits tend to be thinner, softer, and more sugary in consistency, and often more creative in design, whereas British biscuits tend to be harder and plainer, perhaps as a result of the country's naval history.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}
-[[File:Dunking a biscuit.jpg|thumb|left|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, or even be used to sandwich other fillings. There is usually a dedicated section for sweet biscuits in most European [[supermarket]]s.
-In Britain, the [[digestive biscuit]] and [[rich tea]] have a strong cultural identity as the traditional accompaniment to a cup of [[tea]], and are regularly eaten as such. Many tea drinkers "[[Dunk (biscuit)|dunk]]" their biscuits in tea, allowing them to absorb liquid and soften slightly before consumption.
-[[Image:Tim tam.jpg|thumb|right|A dark chocolate [[Tim Tam]]]]
-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. There is also a large variety of savoury biscuits that 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.
-In general, [[Australia]]ns, [[South Africa]]ns, [[New Zealand]]ers, [[India]]ns, [[Pakistan]]is, [[Sri Lanka]]ns, [[Singapore]]ans, and the [[Irish people|Irish]] use the British meaning of "biscuit" (colloquially referred to as a ''bickie'') for the sweet biscuit.  In [[Canada]], the terms ''biscuit'' and ''cookie'' are used interchangeably, depending on the region, with biscuits usually referring to 'hard' sweet biscuits (i.e. digestives, Nice, Bourbon creams) and cookies for 'soft' baked goods (i.e. chocolate chip cookies).  Two famous Australasian biscuit varieties are the [[ANZAC biscuit]] and the [[Tim Tam]]. This sense 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==
-{{Commons category|Biscuits}}
-*[[Dog biscuit]]
-*[[Rusk]]
-*[[American and British English differences]]
-==References==
-{{reflist|2}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2011}}
-[[Category:Biscuits (British style)| ]]
-[[Category:European cuisine]]
-[[Category:British cuisine]]
-[[Category:Twice-baked goods]]
-[[ar:بسكويت]]
-[[az:Biskvit]]
-[[de:Biskuit]]
-[[es:Galleta]]
-[[eo:Biskvito]]
-[[fr:Biscuit]]
-[[hi:बिस्कुट]]
-[[ga:Briosca]]
-[[io:Bisquito]]
-[[id:Biskuit]]
-[[it:Biscotto (cucina)]]
-[[he:ביסקוויט]]
-[[hu:Keksz]]
-[[ja:ビスケット]]
-[[nl:Kaakje]]
-[[nn:Kjeks]]
-[[pl:Ciastko]]
-[[pt:Biscoito]]
-[[simple:Biscuit]]
-[[sv:Kex]]
-[[tr:Bisküvi]]
-[[zh-yue:餅乾]]
-[[zh:饼干]]