Once Upon A Biscuit

The origin of the word "biscuit" comes from the Latin "biscotus" and means "twice cooked".

The exact meaning of the word “biscuit”, today, varies markedly in different parts of the world, sometimes leading to confusion.

In Britain, a “biscuit” is a hard baked product like a small flat cake, usually sweet, and has a strong cultural identity as the traditional accompaniment to a cup of tea, as does the “scone,” which more closely resembles the North American “biscuit”.

In the United States, a “biscuit” is generally savory, not sweet and like the “English scone”, it is soft. Here the “British biscuit,” being hard, would be called a "cookie" or "cracker”.

In Canada, sweet and savory “scone-like” breads are traditionally referred to as "biscuits," "baking powder biscuits" or "tea biscuits".

In Italy, “biscotto” (the Italian word for “biscuit”) or the plural
“biscotti”, is an intensely crunchy biscuit/cookie that is traditionally served (for dipping) with coffee.

In Newfoundland, a “ship’s biscuit” or “sea-biscuit”, is a hard, twice- baked bread called “Brewis”. It is soaked in water and cooked with salted fish.

A few other well-known or lesser-known bits of biscuit lore:

Originally, the word “Biscuit" was both the British English and early-American
English term for cookies or crackers.

The largest U.S. maker of cookies and crackers was (and still is) called the “National
Biscuit Company”, but most Americans know this company as “Nabisco”.

The earliest “American biscuit”, of British origin, was quite hard; often referred to as
“hard tack” and common throughout the19th Century.

“Hard tack” is a hard, dry biscuit made of flour and water with no salt. Baked twice to
remove most of the water, this biscuit keep for months without molding, but is so
hard that it must be soaked or dipped in hot liquids to be eaten.

The popular “twice-baked” Italian biscuit “biscotti”, pronounced [bee-SKAWT-tee],
is made by first baking it in a loaf, then slicing the loaf and baking the slices.

Biscuits are a common feature of Southern U.S. cuisine, often made with buttermilk.
This form of biscuit is also known as the "rubber biscuit" and is traditionally eaten
with every meal (as is cornbread, but that’s another story). Biscuits and gravy, a
most beloved Southern culinary tradition is often served as a main course.

“Scones” are growing in popularity in the U.S. as a sweet variation of our savory
biscuit. The word “scone” is generally pronounced in the British Isles like “gone”,
whereas, here in North America is pronounced like “cone”.

There’s so much more to the story of the biscuit, but that’s all the room we have on
this page...look for our cookbook “The McCormick House Bread & Biscuit” - coming
soon