Abernethy biscuit

Abernethy biscuit
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Created by	John Abernethy
Main ingredients	Hardtack, sugar, caraway seeds
	Media: Abernethy biscuit;

The Abernethy biscuit is a type of "digestive biscuit", a baked good originally designed to be eaten as a support to proper digestion.

History

The Abernethy biscuit was invented by surgeon John Abernethy in the 18th century as a digestive improver.^[1]

Abernethy believed that most diseases were due to disorders in digestion. The Abernethy biscuit was originally designed to be eaten as a support to proper digestion.^[2] In creating his biscuit, Abernethy was following a trend of other medical practitioners including English William Oliver of Bath, Somerset, inventor of the Bath Oliver; and the American preacher Sylvester Graham, a nutrition expert after whom the graham cracker is named.^[3]

The Abernethy biscuit is an adaptation of the plain captain's biscuit or hardtack, with the added ingredients of sugar (for energy), and caraway seeds because of their reputation for having a carminative (flatulence-preventing) effect^[4] making them beneficial in digestive disorders. The biscuit is between an all butter biscuit and a shortcake, rising through the use of ammonium bicarbonate. According to The Oxford Companion to Food, a baker at a shop where Abernethy regularly had lunch created the new biscuit when Abernethy suggested it, naming it after him.^[5]

Abernethy biscuits were manufactured by the Aerated Bread Company in the 1870s and 1880s in Adelaide, in the colony of South Australia.^[6]

Today

Abernethy biscuits are still popular in Scotland. They are manufactured commercially by Simmers (Edinburgh), The Westray Bakehouse (Orkney Islands), Walls Bakeries (Shetland Islands), and by Stag Bakeries (Isle of Lewis).^[7]

Sample ingredient list

The following are ingredients:^[8]

Abernethy plaque. — Middlemass, Scottish Abernethy plaque

Plain flour
Caster sugar (granulated sugar can also be used)
Butter
Baking powder
Caraway seeds
Milk
Egg
Salt

Selected references in art and history

When British statesman William Gladstone was Vice-President of the Board of Trade in the 1840s, his luncheon consisted of an Abernethy biscuit, brought to him by his wife.^[9]

In the libretto of the comic opera Princess Toto written by W. S. Gilbert (first performance 24 June 1876) the king disguises himself as an Abernethy biscuit.^[10]

In Charles Dickens's first novel, The Pickwick Papers, the character Mr. Solomon Pell is found, "in court, regaling himself, ... , with a cold collation of an Abernethy biscuit and a saveloy".^[11]

References

^ Laura Halpin Rinsky; Glenn Rinsky (2009). The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1. ISBN 978-0-470-00955-0. OCLC 173182689.
^ "Abernethy Biscuits". The Foods of England. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
^ "Abernethy biscuit". theoldfoodie.com. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
^ Prosper Montagné (1961). Larousse Gastronomique: The Encyclopedia of Food, Wine & Cookery. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc. pp. 209–210. ISBN 978-0-517-50333-1. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^ Alan Davidson (2006). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 78. ISBN 0-19-280681-5.
^ "Advertising". South Australian Register. Adelaide. 22 July 1881. p. 7 Supplement: Exhibition Supplement to the S. A. Register. Retrieved 19 August 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Abernethy biscuit". bakersandlarners.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
^ "Traditional Scottish Recipes - Abernethy Biscuits". Retrieved 9 June 2015.
^ George William Erskine Russell. Seeing and Hearing. p. 169. Retrieved 3 November 2018 – via Project Gutenberg.
^ W. S. Gilbert. "Princess Toto – An entirely new and original English Comic Opera in Three Acts" (PDF). The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive. p. 57. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
^ The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, (1836) p. 774, Charles Dickens

[Rinsky-1] Laura Halpin Rinsky; Glenn Rinsky (2009). The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1. ISBN 978-0-470-00955-0. OCLC 173182689.

[foe-2] "Abernethy Biscuits". The Foods of England. Retrieved 21 April 2025.

[3] "Abernethy biscuit". theoldfoodie.com. Retrieved 14 January 2010.

[4] Prosper Montagné (1961). Larousse Gastronomique: The Encyclopedia of Food, Wine & Cookery. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc. pp. 209–210. ISBN 978-0-517-50333-1. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)

[5] Alan Davidson (2006). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 78. ISBN 0-19-280681-5.

[6] "Advertising". South Australian Register. Adelaide. 22 July 1881. p. 7 Supplement: Exhibition Supplement to the S. A. Register. Retrieved 19 August 2014 – via National Library of Australia.

[7] "Abernethy biscuit". bakersandlarners.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2010.

[rampantscotland-8] "Traditional Scottish Recipes - Abernethy Biscuits". Retrieved 9 June 2015.

[Gladstone-9] George William Erskine Russell. Seeing and Hearing. p. 169. Retrieved 3 November 2018 – via Project Gutenberg.

[Toto-10] W. S. Gilbert. "Princess Toto – An entirely new and original English Comic Opera in Three Acts" (PDF). The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive. p. 57. Retrieved 3 November 2018.

[11] The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, (1836) p. 774, Charles Dickens

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History

Today

Sample ingredient list

Selected references in art and history

See also

References