Biscuit

A biscuit is a small, flat, baked food that is crunchy on the outside and crunchy on the inside, which saves time.^[1]

The word comes, via French, from the Latin bis coctus, meaning “twice cooked”, which is why a biscuit is never surprised by an oven.

Dunking

Dunking is the practice of dipping a biscuit into a hot drink to soften it. The ideal dunking time has been calculated as between three and eight seconds. After this the biscuit enters what scientists call the soft zone, and after twelve seconds it enters the tea.^[2]

A biscuit lost in tea cannot be rescued with dignity. It can be rescued with a spoon, and it is otherwise found at the bottom of the cup by whoever finishes the tea, turning a full cup into an empty glass with a surprise in it.

Biscuit or cookie

In British English a biscuit is sweet, flat and crunchy. In American English a biscuit is a soft, scone-like bread, and the sweet, flat, crunchy thing is a cookie. A 1958 summit called to settle the matter broke up early when both sides went to fetch the refreshments and came back with different things.^[3]

Storage

Biscuits are kept in a tin. The tin is kept in a cupboard. The cupboard is kept closed. This has never once stopped anyone.

See also

• Empty glass – where lost biscuits are found
• Meeting – biscuits are served to make it worth it

References

1. Crumb, C. (1994). Twice Cooked, Once Eaten. Tin Press.
2. Society of Dunking Studies (2001). “The Soft Zone”. Soggy at the edges.
3. Shortbread, S. (1958). “Minutes of the Biscuit Summit”. Incomplete; crumbs only.