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Types of biscuits: Classification & most common varieties
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Thursday, 02 September, 2021, 14 : 00 PM [IST]
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Amrinder Singh
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When it comes to most preferred and popular snack items across the globe, then biscuits and cookies would top the list. Whether it is morning coffee, regular evening tea or light meal biscuits are the best accompaniments.
Biscuits are broadly classified as being made from hard dough or soft dough. The hard dough group is usually savory, unsweetened, or semisweet, and includes all types of crackers, puff dough biscuits. The soft dough group include all the sweet biscuits, whether they are plain biscuits, shells, or flow type such as gingernut. Biscuits are classified depending on the nature of dough, ingredients, and specialty. There are fried and confectionery biscuits as well.
People often confuse biscuits with cookies, but the latter evolved much later than biscuits as a pure and delectable snack option which is thicker, denser, and larger than biscuits. There is no clear-cut evidence on the origin of biscuits though. While some believe that they existed from England, many others believe that biscuits were first produced in France and got popular around the 17th Century.
Here are some most common varieties of biscuits:
Digestive Biscuits: These are unsweetened or semi-sweet biscuits that have come up in the recent past, providing healthy and wholesome food choice to consumers. Digestives are rich in fiber and help oneself in feeling full for longer periods of time. These are made with wholesome flours and have more proteins and fiber than fats.
Thin biscuits or crisps: These ultra-thin biscuits are light, easily digestible, and nutritious options for anytime snacking. Thins or crisps are quite popular in western countries and now gaining market share in India as well. Chia or quinoa seeds are often added as ingredients to these biscuits to add to their nutritional value.
Ginger Biscuits: As the name suggests, the biscuits are made with powdered ginger along with other ingredients such as flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Popular in England, these biscuits are hard in texture, but they melt in mouth. Being crispy and crunchy, these biscuits are good to go with tea and coffee.
Multigrain Biscuits: These biscuits are rich in dietary fiber and are highly nutritious due to presence of whole grains like wheat, oatmeal, millet, quinoa, barley, and flax. These biscuits are high in demand by health-conscious consumers and lower the risk of heart disease, obesity, apart from supporting healthy digestion. Whole grains are also known to reduce chronic inflammation.
Cracker Biscuits: This is yet another variety of biscuits for health-conscious people. These are basically flat, dry, crunchy biscuits that are usually square-shaped, savory, and golden brown in color. They are made from yeast, and commonly served with cheese or other savory toppings. They are good to go with butter or jam as well.
Atta Biscuits: There biscuits are loaded with health benefits and easy to make at home. These crunchy biscuits are made with simple ingredients found commonly in our kitchen- atta (whole wheat flour), sugar, butter, and cardamom. They come in sugar-free as well as sweet varieties in the market. Atta biscuits are better compared to maida (all-purpose flour) biscuits.
Bourbon: These biscuits are tasty, come in thick rectangular shapes in the form of a sandwich, with good cream filling inside. They are believed to be initially developed in the United Kingdom. These are mostly chocolate flavoured and are dense, thick, and heavier in nature.
Drop Biscuits: Known for their distinct shape, drop biscuits are made using a soft dough. They are made by dropping the dough on baking sheets. The presence of milk and moisture inside the biscuit dough makes it soft. They are coarse in appearance and easier to make as compared to other biscuits.
Rolled Biscuits: These are classic and popular variants of biscuits with twice the original biscuit height. They are fluffy, crunchy, and tender with a crispy taste. These biscuits are made with rolled dough and cut neatly to bring the texture of layers. They come in both sweetened and unsweetened flavours.
Wafer Biscuits: Originated in Italy and Austria, wafer biscuits are crisp, soft, thin with a light flat texture. These are usually sweet savory biscuits taken with tea or coffee. They come in the form of rectangle-shaped bars, with a range of flavours from vanilla to chocolate, often with a layer of cream-filled inside.
Marshmallow: These are one of the oldest biscuit types but still have their popularity intact among children as well as adults. Believed to come into origin from Egyptians, these sweet tiny white biscuits are very famous across the world. They have a soft and spongy texture and are made with sugar and corn syrup that gives them a distinct taste.
Indian Biscuits: Also known as Karachi or Osmania biscuits, these biscuits are thick and flat with a round-shape. Dense in taste and flavour with mild sweetness and saltiness, these biscuits are ideal evening snacks when taken with tea or coffee.
Scones: Originated in Scotland a long time ago, these biscuits are taken as breakfast and tea options in most parts of the world now, particularly Europe. Scones are wedge-shaped biscuits with a cakey texture and sweet and savory flavour. Considered as a delicacy, these biscuits may be slightly costlier than other biscuits, but they are definitely a must try for food lovers.
Rich tea: These whole wheat flour biscuits come with a mid-sweetened taste and are prepared with wheat flour, all-purpose flours, sugar, and malt extracts. They came into origin in England in the 17th century and gradually became popular in Europe as an ideal accompaniment with tea.
Shortcakes: These are rich and heavier biscuits known for their delicious taste. They are often taken with cream or dusted with sugar to give them a fancy and delicious taste. They have a heavy texture and are an ideal snacking option in parties or weddings.
Biscuits and cookies have emerged as most preferred snacking options during the Covid-19 lockdown last year. The Indian bakery market also stood at a value of nearly $7.60 billion in 2020, according to an Express Market Search (EMR) report. The thriving bakery market in India is further estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.5% between 2021 and 2026 to reach a value of $12.39 billion by 2026, as per the report.
(The author is director at Bonn Group of Industries)
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