Popular throughout the world, crunchy, light, and available in a wide variety of flavors, crackers have become the quintessential snack, a tasty treat perfect as a hunger buster, but not only that. Increasingly, crackers are also being used as a base for various foods, or even as an ingredient in their own right.
The versatility of crackers makes them an indispensable food, always to have in the pantry or purse. But have you ever wondered why they have holes on the surface? Or who invented them? Here are the answers to all your curiosities.
1. Why Are They Called Crackers?
Like many other terms, especially those derived from the Anglo-Saxon world, crackers also take their name from a sound used in everyday life. In fact, when they first came into existence, the savory biscuits were called "pilot bread," but it wasn't long before people started calling them crackers. The reason? Because when chewed, thanks to their crunchiness and brittleness, they made a noise similar to the word "crack."
2. Pearson and Bent, the "Fathers" of Crackers
Crackers were born in the United States of America, and for a very specific purpose. One day in 1792, baker Theodore, in his shop in Massachusetts, decided to create a new version of the very hard biscuit that was the staple of sailors and soldiers' meals. Thus were born biscuits made of water, salt, and flour, which the baker called Pearson's Pilot Bread.
The biscuits were a success, but for a long time they were only intended for sailors and soldiers. The credit for the spread of crackers, and even their modern form, goes to another Massachusetts gentleman, Josiah Bent: it was he who, in 1801, had the idea of baking the new biscuits in the oven, making them crispy and crumbly. According to some versions of the story, it was he who first gave them the name "cracker."
Bent began selling his invention to the common people, which was a huge success, partly because it soon became clear that the product remained unchanged even after a long period of storage. The brand-new crackers were so successful that in 1810, the Nabisco – National Biscuit Company began mass-producing them and distributing them throughout the country.
3. Why Do Crackers Have Holes?
Did you think it was just a decoration? Wrong. The holes on crackers have a specific function, and their presence is also thanks to Josiah Bent. It was he, in fact, who pricked his "galettes" before baking them, to prevent swelling and air pockets, and thus maintain a smooth and even surface.
Called "docking holes," the holes on crackers today are made with a special tool, the roller docker, and their distribution isn't random either: they're closer together and denser if the product is drier, and further apart if the product is softer. In the latter case, you'll notice that the cracker has some bubbles.
4. Crackers As an Ingredient
There's no doubt that crackers are the perfect snack, enjoyed alone or with spreads, cured meats, and cheeses. But did you know they can also become actual ingredients? The American mock apple pie, for example, is made with one of the evolutions of crackers, Ritz crackers (or similar).
And in New England, a particular type of cracker, "oyster crackers," are a key component of the traditional oyster chowder. Crackers are also often used in creative recipes, such as delicious savory cheesecakes: combined with butter and chopped, they make a perfect base!
5. Sweet Anglo-Saxon Crackers
Like all inventions of the past, crackers have reinvented themselves over time in a variety of shapes and flavors. One version in particular, however, has literally become popular in the Anglo-Saxon world: Graham crackers, sweeter than classic crackers and invented by Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham.
Its original recipe, which for religious reasons was rather tasteless, was transformed by the same Nabisco that popularized the original crackers: in 1898, the small graham cracker producers came together, perfected the recipe by adding several more inviting ingredients – which over time have evolved into a thousand variations – and created a new American must-have.
Yes, because graham crackers are precisely those biscuit-like crackers used for s'mores, the super sweet snack consisting of a cracker "sandwich" filled with marshmallows and chocolate, "roasted" over the flames of a campfire. Invented in 1927 by a group of scouts, they are still the quintessential snack for all US campers.
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