- By Charlotte Brown
- June 17, 2024
OUR COUNTRY BOASTS NO FEWER THAN 80 DIFFERENT FAMILIES OF BISCUITS, MANUFACTURED PAR NEARLY 120 COMPANIES OF ALL SIZES, SPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. RECIPES ARE OFTEN LINKED TO A REGION OR EVEN A TOWN. THE FRENCH ARE PROUD OF THEIR CRAFTSPEOPLE AND BISCUIT MANUFACTURERS: EACH OF US CONSUMES THE EQUIVALENT OF THREE SMALL BISCUITS OR A MADELEINE A DAY, WHICH REPRESENTS OVER 8 KG A YEAR.
Text by Éric Birlouez (featured in the June 2024 issue of Pastry1 Magazine)
CREATIVE IDEAS AND RECIPES BASED AROUND A SINGLE FLAVOUR
In the past, the biscuit, the sweet, dry, crunchy little cake that we enjoy today, was of ten produced as a necessity: most production consisted of hardtack, war cookies and even shortage bread.
Very dense and very hard – they had to be soaked in a liquid to soften them so that they could be eaten – these biscuits provided the body with a high energy intake in a small volume and light weight. Another great advantage was that they could be stored for a long time, which was very useful on long sea voyages and for feeding armies on campaign. Biscuits also formed part of the austere diet of monks and nuns. Then, gradually, their status of ‘pleasure food’ developed with the creation of more delicate (rich in butter, milk, eggs) and crunchy products. Initially reserved for the upper classes, these delicacies gradually spread to the general population.
The oldest ancestor of the biscuit is probably the galette of the late Paleolithic: at that time, people who had not yet become farmers, crushed wild cereal grains roughly, then mixed the flour with water; the resulting dough was then flattened and placed on coals or heated stones.
The status of "pleasure food" developed with the creation of more delicate products
The term biscuit (ibiscet) first appears in a 3300-year-old papyrus from ancient Egypt. Much later, in the 13th century, the Sire de Joinville, chronicler of the reign of Saint-Louis, mentions breads ‘that are called bescuits, because they are baked twice.’ This double baking is indeed the origin of the word: the biscuits that Joinville refers to were actually bread cakes which, after baking, were placed in an oven to eliminate the moisture still present in the dough. This process made it
possible to preserve the product longer... It was during the Renaissance, in the 16th century, that the sweet biscuit became a gourmet product that the powerful liked to have at their table: at banquets, it was served with creams, jellies and desserts.
At the same time, the wealthy also got into the habit of dipping their biscuits into their glass of hypocras (a wine with added sugar and infused with spices). In the 18th century, recipes became more widespread: pistachio or chocolate biscuits, jasmine, orange or orange blossom biscuits, candied lemon peel or lemon blossom biscuits, almond biscuits... Certain towns in the kingdom, such as Reims or Abbeville, build a solid reputation in the manufacture of these sweets. In his ‘Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine’ (1873), Alexandre Dumas defines biscuits as ‘fine, light pastries, made from eggs, the whites of which must be beaten until the wrist is weary (sic!), with sugar, flour or potato starch, and a few aromatics or other substances.’
In the 18th century, recipes became more widespread
Today, the biscuit industry defines its flagship product as ‘a foodstuff based on edible flours, fats, eggs and all other authorised food products, perfumes and condiments , capable after baking of retaining their organoleptic and commercial qualities for a period which may exceed one year for dry biscuit making.’ On the other hand, this definition says nothing about double baking: this practice is practically non-existant today (except in certain cases, such as Reims biscuits).
Birth and growth of a biscuit industry
It was in Great Britain, not France, in the middle of the 19th century, that the industrial production of biscuits was born. These were intended for consumption with tea: they were exported to the English colonies and other tea-loving countries, including France. Germany then developed its own biscuit industry (the Bahlsen factory was founded in Hanover in 1889), followed par France, Italy and Belgium (the famous Delacre company was founded in Brussels in 1873). As the 19th century drew to a close, the demand for biscuits continued to grow, boosted par the great Universal Exhibitions, which provided a tremendous showcase for the companies that made them. In France in 1867, just 200 artisan workshops were dedicated to the production of biscuits and other dry pastries. Two decades later, in 1889, there were already 500 factories with 5,000 workers.
Two leaders dominate the sector par a wide margin: Pernot, a Dijon-based company, and Nantes- based Lefèvre-Utile (LU). The latter was an immediate success with its iconic Petit-Beurre, but soon found itself competing on its own turf with Biscuiterie Nantaise (BN). The economic development of the city of Nantes owes a great deal to the growth of the food ndustry and, more particularly, to the biscuit-making industry (which was practiced locally as early as the 17th century with the production of artisanal sea biscuits). The metropolis of Nantes has a major advantage: its inland region abounds in quality milk, butter, eggs and flour. And other ingredients are unloaded in its port from the West Indies: sugar, vanilla, cinnamon.
During the First World War, the French biscuit industry was forced to redirect its production towards the manufacture of ‘war
biscuits’. These little cakes made entirely of flour and water (no milk, butter, sugar or eggs) were supplied to soldiers on the front line. During the Second World War, this production resumed, while at the same time the manufacture of biscuits for malnourished schoolchildren was launched, incorporating casein and brewer's yeast.
The industrial production of biscuits began in Great Britain in the 19th century
Today's biscuits are ever more diversified, with pastry chefs and manufacturers constantly inventing new recipes and products, at times emphasising their local character. Examples include Breton butter biscuits (such as galettes de Pont-Aven), Normandy shortbread, croquants de Provence and palets solognots.
Sources : Dictionnaire de la gourmandise. Annie PERRIER-ROBERT. Robert Laffont. 2012 Divers sites internet