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A cracker is a type of biscuit that developed from military hardtack and nautical ship biscuits.
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History
In 1792, Theodore Pearson of Newburyport, Massachusetts, made a cracker-like bread product from just flour and water that he called Pearson's Pilot Bread. An immediate success with sailors because of its shelf life, it also became known as hardtack or sea biscuit. This was the first cracker bakery in the United States, and produced crackers for more than a century.[1]
But the real revolutionary moment in the life of the cracker came in 1801 when another Massachusetts baker, Josiah Bent, burnt a batch of biscuits in his brick oven. The crackling noise that emanated from the singed biscuits inspired the name - crackers - and a bit of ingenuity, as Bent set out to convince the world of the product's snack food potential. By 1810, his Boston-area business was booming, and, in later years, Bent sold his enterprise to the company we now know as Nabisco.
In 1999, the cookie and cracker industry in the United States employed 37,857 people, with sales exceeding $10 billion.[2]
Types
The holes in crackers are called "docking" holes. The holes are placed in the dough to stop air pockets from forming in the cracker while baking.
In U.S. English, the name "cracker" is most often applied to flat biscuits with a savory, salty flavor, in distinction from a "cookie," which may be similar to a "cracker" in appearance and texture, but has a sweet flavor. Crackers may be further distinguished from cookies by the manner in which they are made. Crackers are made by layering dough and cookies are made in any manner a cake would be made. Crackers sometimes have cheese or spices as ingredients, or even chicken stock. Some crackers are salted flour products.
Brands including Captain's Wafers, Club Crackers, Town House Crackers, Ritz Crackers, Cream crackers and Water biscuits are sometimes spread with cheese, pâté, or mousse.
Saltine and oyster crackers are often used in or served with soup.
Mock apple pie is made from Ritz (or similar) crackers.
Animal crackers are the subject of debate as to whether they are cookies, or crackers. One side states that they are a cracker, an exception to the rule-of-thumb "crackers are salty/savory; cookies are sweet." Plus, the manner in which animal crackers are made (layered dough) classifies them as crackers. However, the sweet taste and texture of the dough would lead the other side to believe that they are, in fact, cookies.
Graham crackers and digestive biscuits are also eaten as cookies, although they were both invented for their supposed health benefits.
A popular snack is crackers with cheese as a topping.
References
- ^ National cyclopaedia of American biography. "Edmund Lester Pearson" v. 28. New York: James T. White and Company, 1940. p.289.
- ^ US Census data
External links
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