Cracker (food) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality

standards. No clean up reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can. (Nove mber 2009) Cracker Crackers with herring and garlic sauce.jpg Water biscuit crackers, plain and as part of a snack, with herring and garlic cr eam topping and a parsley garnish Place of origin: United States Creator(s): Theodore Pearson Main ingredient(s): Flour, water Recipes at Wikibooks: Cookbook Cracker Media at Wikimedia Commons: Wikimedia Commons Cracker Reproduction of 19th century hardtack, in the Army (square) and Navy (round) sty les Beaten biscuits are another relative of crackers A cracker is a baked good typically made from grain flour dough and usually manu factured in large quantities. Crackers (roughly equivalent to savory biscuits in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man) are usually flat, crisp, small in size (usually 3 inches or less in diameter) and made in various shapes, commonly roun d or square. Flavorings or seasonings, such as salt, herbs, seeds, and/or cheese , may be added to the dough or sprinkled on top before baking. Crackers are ofte n branded as a nutritious and convenient way to consume a staple food or cereal grain. Crackers are eaten on their own or can accompany other food items, such as chees e or meat slices; dips; or soft spreads such as jam, butter, or peanut butter. B land or mild crackers are sometimes used as a palate cleanser in food product te sting or flavor testing, between samples. A precedent for the modern cracker can be found in nautical ship biscuits, military hardtack, and sacramental bread. Ancestors of the cracker can be found in ancient flatbreads, such as lavash, pit a, matzo, flatbrod, and crisp bread. Asian analogues include papadum and senbei. Contents [hide] 1 History of the Cracker 2 Types 3 Cracker gallery 4 See also 5 References 6 External links History of the Cracker[edit] Crackers are said to have been invented in 1792 when Theodore Pearson (1753-1817 ) of Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA, [1] made a pilot-like bread product from j ust flour and water that he called Pearson's Pilot Bread. It was an immediate su ccess with sailors because of its shelf life. This was the first cracker bakery in the United States, and produced crackers for more than a century. [2] Crown P ilot Crackers from the same recipe were made and sold in New England up until ea rly 2008, and used in traditional clam chowder recipes. But the real revolutionary moment in the life of the cracker came in 1801 when a nother Massachusetts baker, Josiah Bent, burned a batch of biscuits in his brick

oven. The crackling noise that emanated from the singed biscuits inspired the n ame - crackers - and a bit of ingenuity, as Bent set out to convince the world o f the product's snack food potential. By 1810, his Boston-area business was boom ing, and, in later years, Bent sold his enterprise to the National Biscuit Compa ny, which now does business under the Nabisco name. In 1999, the cookie and cracker industry in the United States employed 37,857 pe ople, with sales exceeding $10 billion.[3] Types[edit] The holes in crackers are called "docking" holes. The holes are placed in the do ugh to stop overly large air pockets from forming in the cracker while baking. C rackers come in many shapes and sizes - round, square, triangular, etc. In American English, the name "cracker" is most often applied to flat biscuits w ith 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. Crac kers are made merely by layering dough and cookies may be made in many of the sa me manners a cake would be prepared. Crackers sometimes have cheese or spices as ingredients, or even chicken stock. Crackers are typically salted flour product s. Brands including Captain's Wafers, Club Crackers, Town House crackers, Graham cr ackers, Ritz Crackers, Cream crackers and water biscuits are sometimes spread wi th cheese, pate, or mousse. Saltine and oyster crackers are often used in or served with soup. Mock apple pie is made from Ritz (or similar) crackers. Graham crackers and digestive biscuits are also eaten as cookies, although they were both invente