My understanding is they were originally made hard so they could last the distance of travel and wouldn’t go mouldy before receiving them. Once they arrived soldiers dipped them into their drinks to make them soft and palatable.
I have no literature on this but I’m sure there is.
The original recipie was different - didn’t have any butter or baking soda or coconut in it. Yes, they were iron rations - and about as hard as iron too. Had to last through a long sea voyage through tropical waters with no refrigeration without spoiling. And could be eaten by both men and horses for a quick energy boost. Cheap ingredients that could be made by anyone with a woodstove and a husband/son at the frontline. One of the most outstandingly successful examples of getting the home front involved in a war without putting them at risk.
Modern recipie is different - and is inherently much softer. And burns a lot more easily (the coconut) so is baked for a crispy outside and a chewy inside so the bikkies don’t burn. If baked until juuuuust a little bit burned at the edges, they’re the absolute best bikkies to use for a cheesecake crust.
My understanding is they were originally made hard so they could last the distance of travel and wouldn’t go mouldy before receiving them. Once they arrived soldiers dipped them into their drinks to make them soft and palatable.
I have no literature on this but I’m sure there is.
I know what people prefer though.
The original recipie was different - didn’t have any butter or baking soda or coconut in it. Yes, they were iron rations - and about as hard as iron too. Had to last through a long sea voyage through tropical waters with no refrigeration without spoiling. And could be eaten by both men and horses for a quick energy boost. Cheap ingredients that could be made by anyone with a woodstove and a husband/son at the frontline. One of the most outstandingly successful examples of getting the home front involved in a war without putting them at risk.
Modern recipie is different - and is inherently much softer. And burns a lot more easily (the coconut) so is baked for a crispy outside and a chewy inside so the bikkies don’t burn. If baked until juuuuust a little bit burned at the edges, they’re the absolute best bikkies to use for a cheesecake crust.