Abernethy biscuit

{{short description|Food designed to aid digestion}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Abernethy biscuit

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| country = United Kingdom

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| creator = John Abernethy

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| main_ingredient = Hardtack, sugar, caraway seeds

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The Abernethy biscuit was invented by surgeon John Abernethy in the 18th century as a digestive improver.{{cite book |author1=Laura Halpin Rinsky|author2=Glenn Rinsky |title=The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional |url=https://archive.org/details/pastrychefscompa00rins|url-access=limited|publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=Chichester |year=2009 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/pastrychefscompa00rins/page/n10 1] |isbn=978-0-470-00955-0 |oclc=173182689}}

Abernethy believed that most diseases were due to disorders in digestion. The Abernethy biscuit is a type of digestive biscuit, a baked good originally designed to be eaten as a support to proper digestion.{{cite web|title=Abernethy Biscuits|url=https://www.foodsofengland.info/Abernethy_Biscuits.html|website=The Foods of England|accessdate=2025-04-21}} In creating his biscuit, Abernethy was following a trend of other medical practitioners like 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2006/04/surgeons-biscuit.html|title=Abernethy biscuit|publisher=theoldfoodie.com|accessdate=2010-01-14}}

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 (prevents flatulence) effect{{cite book |author=Prosper Montagné |title=Larousse Gastronomique: The Encyclopedia of Food, Wine & Cookery |url=https://archive.org/details/laroussegastrono00mont |url-access=registration |publisher=Crown Publishers, Inc. |location=New York |year=1961 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/laroussegastrono00mont/page/209 209–210]|isbn=978-0-517-50333-1 }} making them beneficial in digestive disorders. The biscuit is between an all butter biscuit and a shortcake, raising 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.{{cite book |author=Alan Davidson |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2006 |pages=78 |isbn=0-19-280681-5}}

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).{{cite web|url=http://www.bakersandlarners.co.uk/simmers-abernethy-biscuits-p-4961.html|title=Abernethy biscuit|publisher=bakersandlarners.co.uk|accessdate=2010-01-14|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211220325/http://www.bakersandlarners.co.uk/simmers-abernethy-biscuits-p-4961.html|archivedate=11 February 2010|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}