The Biscuit: The History of a Very British Indulgence

Biscuits are as British as fish and chips or the Sunday roast and they have been for centuries. From sustenance for explorers to comfort food for a nation, here is the surprising, wide-ranging, social history of Britain through the biscuit. Bourbons. Custard Creams. Rich Tea. Jammie Dodgers. Chocolate Digestives. Shortbread. Ginger snaps. Which is your favorite? British people eat more biscuits than any other nation; they are as embedded in the culture as fish and chips or the Sunday roast. But for Briitsh people 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 today's huge variety of biscuits. And when the I