…came into being not long after the American Civil War ended. Given their reputation among soldiers and veterans, it might seem impossible that a thing as loathed as the cracker could ever become a successful commercial product. However one can never underestimate the power of good marketing. Sure, the war may have ended, but there […]
READ ONOver the weekend, I realized I haven’t done a particularly good job of explaining how hardtack was made. Based on the posts below, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that early crackers were nothing but hunks of flour paste, slow-baked to maximum dryness. The truth is that there was often a bit — if only […]
READ ONThat question from some half a dozen readers over the weekend, and it’s a good one, since matzoh and crackers can be very similar in their taste, texture and appearance. The Joe Pastry call on this is that while they may appear the same to the casual observer, they are quite different things. Matzoh is […]
READ ONEver wonder what Civil War-era soldiers sang about ’round the camp fire? I’ll give you a hint: Let us close our game of poker Take our tin cups in our hand, While we gather ’round the cook’s tent door, Where dry mummies of hard crackers Are given to each man; O hard crackers, come again […]
READ ONYou know, hardtack might have been hard, but at least it wasn’t rife with vermin. Oh no, wait, actually it usually was. Frequently with little granary weevils, but also the larger larvae of Indian meal moths. Both burrowed effortlessly through entire crates of hardtack, riddling crackers with holes, earning them the nickname “worm castles.” While […]
READ ONOf all the proto-crackers, hardtack is my favorite. Not because I eat it much. It’s not easy to find these days, and the fact is that even though I live in Kentucky now, I hope to keep my natural teeth as long as I can. But what exactly is hardtack? It’s a form of military […]
READ ONMexico Bob maintains that “pilot bread” is actually named for boat pilots, not plane pilots, as my sources tell me. I shall investigate his claim… UPDATE: I stand corrected. Military crackers were called “pilot bread” well before there were airplanes.
READ ONWhile technically it is possible to trace crackers well back into human history, the modern cracker was born, so it’s said, in 1801, when a fellow by the name of Josiah Bent began manufacturing what he called “water crackers” for seafarers at a plant he built in Milton, Massachusetts. Though militaries had employed severely dried […]
READ ONIf any blogger geek was going to stand in line for a hour waiting for an iPad, you knew it would be me, right? What can I say, it was a fun way to spend Saturday morning. I’ll try blogging a little with it today if I can, though I can’t promise much since I’ll […]
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