 | |
| Alternative names | Wheaten, sweet-meal biscuit |
|---|---|
| Type | Biscuit |
| Place of origin | Scotland |
| Region or state | Forres |
| Associatedcuisine | British |
| Invented | 1839 |
| Main ingredients | Wheat flour,sugar,malt extract,butter (or in cheaper recipes or for vegans or those who are lactose intolerant:vegetable oil),wholemeal,leavening agents (usuallysodium bicarbonate,tartaric acid andmalic acid),salt |
Adigestive biscuit, sometimes described as asweet-meal biscuit, is a semi-sweetbiscuit that originated in Scotland. The digestive was first developed in 1839 by two doctors to aid digestion. The termdigestive is derived from the belief that they hadantacid properties around the time the biscuit was first introduced due to the use ofsodium bicarbonate as an ingredient.[1] Historically, some producers useddiastaticmalt extract to "digest" some of thestarch that existed in flour prior to baking.[2][3]
First manufactured byMcVitie's in 1892 to a secret recipe developed by SirAlexander Grant, their digestive is the best-selling biscuit in the United Kingdom.[4] In 2009, the digestive was ranked the fourth most popular biscuit for "dunking" into tea among the British public, with thechocolate digestive (produced by McVitie's since 1925) coming in at number one.[5] The chocolate variant from McVitie's is routinely ranked the UK's favourite snack.[6][7][8]
In 1839, digestives were developed in the United Kingdom by two Scottish doctors to aid digestion.[5][9] In an 1851 issue ofThe Lancet, London's advertising section offeredbrown meal digestive biscuits.[10] At the time, it was asserted that grain millers knew only ofbran andendosperm.[11] After 10% of the whole grain's coarser outer-bran coat was removed, and because the innermost 70% of pure endosperm was reserved for other uses, brown meal, representing only 20% of the whole grain, remained, consisting of about 15% fine bran and 85% white flour.[12] By 1912, it was more widely known that brown meal included thegerm, which lent a characteristic sweetness.[13]
Digestives featured inadvertisements for the Berkshire-based biscuit companyHuntley & Palmers in 1876, with digestives sold bychemists alongside indigestion powder.[14] Rival biscuit company, Edinburgh-basedMcVitie's, has Golden-baked their best-selling digestives to a secret recipe developed by SirAlexander Grant since 1892.[14] A recipe was given in Cassell'sNew Universal Cookery Book of 1894. In 1889, John Montgomerie of Scotland filed a U.S. patent application, which was granted in 1890. This patent asserted a prior patent existed in England dated 1886. The U.S. patent, titledMaking Malted Bread, included instructions for the manufacture of digestive biscuits. Montgomerie claimed thissaccharification process would make "nourishing food for people of weak digestion".[15] Despite rumours that it is illegal for them to be sold under their usual name in the US,[16] they are, in fact, widely available in the imported food sections ofgrocery stores and bymail order.[17][18][19]
The typical digestive biscuit contains coarse brownwheatflour (which gives it its distinctive texture and flavour),sugar, malt extract,vegetable oil,wholemeal,raising agents (usuallysodium bicarbonate,tartaric acid andmalic acid), andsalt.[20] Some varieties also contain driedwhey,oatmeal, cultured skimmedmilk, and emulsifiers such asDATEM.
A digestive biscuit averages around 70calories, although this varies according to the factors involved in its production.
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Digestive biscuits are frequently eaten withtea orcoffee. Sometimes, the biscuit isdunked into the tea and eaten quickly due to the biscuit's tendency to disintegrate when wet. Digestive biscuits are one of the top 10 biscuits in the UK for dunking in tea.[5] The digestive biscuit is also used as acracker withcheeses, and is often included in "cracker selection" packets.
In the UK, McVitie's digestive is the best selling biscuit, with 80 million packs sold annually,[1] though there are many other popular brands (such asCadbury’s) as well as supermarkets' own versions.[8] Digestives are also popular infood preparation for making into bases forcheesecakes and similardesserts.[21]
Digestive biscuits with a chocolate coating on one side are also available. The coating can consist ofdark,white, ormilk chocolate, although white chocolate digestives are quite rare. The chocolate digestive was originally produced by McVitie's in 1925 as the Chocolate Homewheat Digestive. Other varieties include the basic biscuit with chocolate shavings throughout (chocolate "chips" in the biscuit mix) or a layer ofcaramel,mint chocolate, orange-flavoured chocolate,[22] or plain chocolate. They are manufactured at McVitie'sHarlesden factory in London.[23] American travel writerBill Bryson described the chocolate digestive as "a British masterpiece".[24]
In 2009, the McVitie's chocolate digestive was named as the most popular biscuit in the UK to dunk into tea.[5] The chocolate variant from McVitie's is routinely ranked the UK's favourite snack.[6][7][8] AYouGov poll sawCadbury’s digestive ranked the second most popular biscuit in the UK after McVitie's.[8]
McVitie's digestive biscuits have become known among fans ofthe Beatles because they were the cause of an argument betweenGeorge Harrison andJohn Lennon during a recording session for the group's 1969 albumAbbey Road. The incident was recounted by recording engineerGeoff Emerick in his bookHere, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles.[25] According to Emerick, Lennon's wifeYoko Ono was in the recording studio and at one point helped herself to Harrison's box of McVitie's while the Beatles were in the control room listening to a playback of the song they had just recorded. Harrison became angry at Ono, and his subsequent outburst caused Lennon to lose his temper in response.[26]
Chocolate digestives were part of the technical challenge to the bakers inseries 13, episode 6 ofThe Great British Bake Off. They were also the technical challenge to the bakers inepisode 2, season 2 ofThe Great Canadian Baking Show.[27]
Digestive biscuits are prepared in such a manner that they may containdiastase, the nitrogenous transforming matter of malt; but whatever quantity of this substance they may contain in the condition of dough is destroyed in the process of baking.
A new competitor in this field was Paterson's Extract of Malt, exhibited by the Phoenix Chemical Works, Glasgow; the odour and flavour of this was excellent, and it is said to be rich in diastasic power. Prepared from it was exhibited a series of digestive biscuits, rusks and bread by John Montgomerie, of Glasgow. In making these part of the starch of the flour is changed by being mixed with the malt extract and water and kept for some time at a suitable temperature; the yeast being probably added to another portion of flour and water, to form dough to mix with the above before baking. These biscuits seemed to be appreciated by visitors. Messrs. Hill and Son also exhibited some malted nursery biscuits. Benger's well known digestive ferments were well displayed, together with an essence of rennet recently introduced.
YouGov Ratings data shows McVities, Cadbury's andWalkers products dominate the list of Britain's favourite biscuits
Professor Johnston remarks that -- "The grain of wheat consists of two parts, with which the miller is familiar -- the inner grain and the skin that covers it. The inner grain gives the pure wheat flour; the skin when separated, forms the bran."
The Parisian white bread is prepared with the finest flour (1re marque), which does not contain any bran. If 100 parts wheat yield 70 parts of this flour, the remainder will consist of 10 parts bran and 20 parts coarse brown meal, this latter consisting of 3 parts fine bran and 17 parts white flour.
By allowing the germ and all but the outer, coarser layers of broad bran to mix in with the flour, we get the sweet-tasting brown meal producing the brown bread so much in favour amongst sections of the community.
Huntley and Palmers, a rival bakery, launched its own digestive biscuit in 1876
Digestive biscuits, semi-sweet and made with brown meal, can no longer be made under that name in the United States, but the English version is widely available.
