Firstly its important to say, similar to in most food the biscuit is a culmination of lots of different food types that might have been called biscuits throughout the ages. The debate still goes on today with some things, the Jaffa cake for example is it actually a biscuit posing as a cake? I'll let you decide on that one.
The Earliest record of a biscuit type product is actually from Neolithic times, It is not exactly known what the shape or make up of these was but they were likely cooked on a stone.
The amazing thing is that the word biscuit actually comes from a bread x) the original French word (Bis-qui) when translated back to Latin actually means double cooked bread. Confused?
Essentially the initial term biscuit was attached to a bread with a harder exterior so that it lasted longer. These were taken on the road by soldiers in the Roman Times so when you feel like a warrior battling your entire pack of kitkats maybe it is justified.
The Wafer was a really popular type of biscuit in the Medieval period it was much sweeter and was eaten at the end of a meal as a 'digestive' (Familiar).
So what have we learnt so far, biscuits were partly invented out of necessity as they lasted longer than other food available at the time.
This brings us nicely onto biscuits kept on ships and surprise, surprise this was because of their longevity. Although accounts from the time, suggest they were often inedible. You won't find any of them here! The only shipping we do is straight to your door! (Sorry couldn't help it).
Cooking technology and new ingredients from afar really brought the biscuit on with influences from across Europe and beyond.
The 17th century saw the introduction of tea to the UK #gamechanger a match made in heaven was born, well sort of. Chocolate being available also changed the shape (not literally) of the biscuit forever.
By the 19th Century biscuits where everywhere even Queen Victoria loved them. Thought you were the Queen of biscuits, she literally was (Not literally).
The industrial revolution meant biscuits could be produced on a mass scale. This lead to the early beginnings of familiar biscuits we know today such as the Rich Tea and Chocolate Digestive (Biscuit Legends, Name drop)
As you can see biscuits are renowned for their resilience which I think is a top trait and its a lesson to us all that sometimes things that are hard on the outside are just made to last ( Warning: philosophical thinking, not true science).
Custard Creams were the new boys on the block in 1908 along with Bourbons in 1910 this lead to a phase known as 'What can we put in between 2 biscuits-ism' for much of the first part of the 20th century.
Key fact: Hobnobs where introduced in 1985 the first biscuit to have the word Hob in the title.
Nowadays there's some proper modern legends of the biscuit game check them out and let them keep the biscuit legacy alive.
Note: Thanks for reading, please do not copy this for your official biscuit thesis, some creative license was used.
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