The Biscuit: The History of a Very British Indulgence

About this book

Bourbons. Custard Creams. Rich Tea. Jammie Dodgers. Chocolate Digestives. Shortbread. Ginger snaps. Which is your favourite? British people eat more biscuits than any other nation; they are as embedded in our culture as fish and chips or the Sunday roast. But biscuits are not only tasty treats to go with a cup of tea the sustenance they afford is often emotional evoking nostalgic memories of childhood. Lizzie Collingham begins in Roman times when biscuits - literally twice-baked bread - became the staple of the poor; she takes us to the Middle East where the addition of sugar to the dough created the art of confectionery. Yet it was in Britain that bakers experimented to create the huge variety of biscuits which populate our world today. And when the Industrial Revolution led to their mass production biscuits became integral to the British diet.