From Bourbons to Digestives: how biscuits got their names
In Word of Mouth, Michael Rosen and historical linguist Dr Laura Wright take a bite into the weird and wonderful world of biscuit names. They are joined by Anastasia Edwards, author of Biscuits and Cookies, A Global History.
- posted on BBC.com
What is a biscuit?
Biscuits are mostly sweet, small enough to be eaten with a hand, crisp (with the exception of cookies or macaroons), and consumed as a snack or treat rather than a full meal. They are not to be confused with cake: this will harden as it gets stale, whereas an aging biscuit will go soft!
The name biscuit comes from the Latin “biscoctum”, meaning “twice cooked.”
The name biscuit comes from the Latin “biscoctum”, meaning “twice cooked.” Bread was cooked twice to extract all its moisture and then, once hard, it would stay fit for consumption for months on end. The biscuit was born.
The 19th century marked a big moment for the biscuit. The endeavours of the Industrial Revolution caused breakfast to be earlier and dinner to move much later. This meant that teatime and snacking came to greater prominence.
By the First World War the sweet biscuit had become the first truly global convenience food.
What makes a good biscuit name?
Some biscuits are named after their shape and what they resemble. Others get their name from how they taste, how they are cooked, or their alleged affect on the body. Many are named after popular famous people, or the individuals who invented them.
Anastasia Edwards (author of Biscuits and Cookies, A Global History) loves whimsy in a biscuit name. Her favourite is the Snickerdoodle: a type of American cookie that is rolled in cinnamon sugar. For Dr Laura Wright (historical linguist), the snappy two-syllable names like ‘Picnic’, ‘Hobnob’ or ‘Kit Kat’ work best because they give you the sense that you can snap the biscuit into two halves.
For many of us it’s nostalgia that makes us pick up a packet of biscuits. We might remember feasting on fig rolls in front of the fire, or dunking custard creams with our grandma.
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Tim Crane, Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, answers a very tough question.
How biscuits from around the world got their names
Jammie Dodger
These shortbread sandwiches with a raspberry or strawberry flavoured jam filling are a children’s party staple. The biscuit is named after the character Roger the Dodger from The Beano comics.
Bourbon
Peak Frean also gave us one of our most popular chocolate biscuits. It was created in 1910 and began its life under a different name: the “Creola.”
However, in 1930 it was rebranded after the ruling family in France, the royal House of Bourbon.
Digestives
Wholemeal digestives were sold as an aid for digestion by Huntley and Palmers of Reading. They were prominent in adverts for the Cunard steam ships _ the idea being that if you were sufficiently wealthy to go on a steam ship cruise you were going to be eating refined food that would require a digestive aid.