Digestive biscuit

Adigestive biscuit, sometimes described as asweet-meal biscuit, is a semi-sweetbiscuitthat originated in Scotland. The digestive was first developed in 1839 by two doctors to aid digestion. The termdigestiveis derived from the belief that they hadantacidproperties around the time the biscuit was first introduced due to the use ofsodium bicarbonateas an ingredient.Historically, some producers useddiastaticmaltextract to "digest" some of thestarchthat existed in flour prior to baking.
First manufactured byMcVitie'sin 1892 to a secret recipe developed by SirAlexander Grant, their digestive is the best-selling biscuit in the United Kingdom.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.The chocolate variant from McVitie's is routinely ranked the UK's favourite snack.
In 1839, digestives were developed in the United Kingdom by two Scottish doctors to aid digestion.In an 1851 issue ofThe Lancet, London's advertising section offeredbrown mealdigestive biscuits.At the time, it was asserted that grain millers knew only ofbranandendosperm.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.By 1912, it was more widely known that brown meal included thegerm, which lent a characteristic sweetness.
Digestives featured inadvertisementsfor the Berkshire-based biscuit companyHuntley & Palmersin 1876, with digestives sold bychemistsalongside indigestion powder.Rival biscuit company, Edinburgh-basedMcVitie's, has Golden-baked their best-selling digestives to a secret recipe developed by SirAlexander Grantsince 1892.A recipe was given in Cassell'sNew Universal Cookery Bookof 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 thissaccharificationprocess would make "nourishing food for people of weak digestion".Despite rumours that it is illegal for them to be sold under their usual name in the US,they are, in fact, widely available in the imported food sections ofgrocery storesand bymail order.
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 acidandmalic acid), andsalt.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.
Digestive biscuits are frequently eaten withteaorcoffee. Sometimes, the biscuit isdunkedinto 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.The digestive biscuit is also used as acrackerwithcheeses, 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,though there are many other popular brands (such asCadbury’s) as well as supermarkets' own versions.Digestives are also popular infood preparationfor making into bases forcheesecakesand similardesserts.
Digestive biscuits with a chocolate coating on one side are also available. The coating can consist ofdark,white, ormilkchocolate, 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,mintchocolate, orange-flavoured chocolate,or plain chocolate. They are manufactured at McVitie'sHarlesdenfactory in London.American travel writerBill Brysondescribed the chocolate digestive as "a British masterpiece".
In 2009, the McVitie's chocolate digestive was named as the most popular biscuit in the UK to dunk into tea.The chocolate variant from McVitie's is routinely ranked the UK's favourite snack.AYouGovpoll sawCadbury’s digestive ranked the second most popular biscuit in the UK after McVitie's.
McVitie's digestive biscuits have become known among fans ofthe Beatlesbecause they were the cause of an argument betweenGeorge HarrisonandJohn Lennonduring a recording session for the group's 1969 albumAbbey Road. The incident was recounted by recording engineerGeoff Emerickin his bookHere, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles.According to Emerick, Lennon's wifeYoko Onowas 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.
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.