Twiglets
{{Short description|British snack brand shaped like twigs}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
Twiglets are a wheat-based snack{{cite web|title=United Biscuits - Twiglets|url=http://www.unitedbiscuits.com/our-brands.php?rnd=3EHxwrtK9yOLyAeuxVu2HqgHxL8RmTg2gD8iXfjbUpg%3D|access-date=8 June 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726143342/http://www.unitedbiscuits.com/our-brands.php?rnd=3EHxwrtK9yOLyAeuxVu2HqgHxL8RmTg2gD8iXfjbUpg%3D|archive-date=26 July 2011}} marketed in the United Kingdom that have a "distinctive knobbly shape" similar to that of twigs and a speckled-brown-over-pale-colour appearance. The taste of Twiglets, which has been compared to that of Marmite, primarily derives from the yeast extract used in the coating.{{cite book|title=Snack Food, Volume 80|year=1991|publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publications|quote=Twiglets appeared to be flavored with Marmite yeast extract, that most incorrigibly British of household nutritional brands...}} Twiglets are packaged in 24 g, 45 g, 105 g, 150 g bags, and in 200 g cylindrical containers.
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History
Twiglets were invented in 1929{{Cite web|url=http://www.localhistories.org/biscuits.html|title=A History of Biscuits|website=www.localhistories.org|access-date=2017-08-25}} by a French biscuit maker J. Rondalin,{{Cite web|url=https://www.foodsofengland.info/twiglets.html|title=The Foods of England - Twiglets|website=www.foodsofengland.info|access-date=2025-04-21}} a technical manager at Peek Freans' Bermondsey factory, who added brewer's yeast to a leftover batch of Vitawheat dough.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FBMLFM305MEC&dq=rondalin+twiglets&pg=PA370|title=Food Britannia|last=Webb|first=Andrew|date=2012-08-31|publisher=Random House|isbn=9781409022220|language=en}} They were first launched onto the consumer market in 1932 by Peek Freans.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5016440.stm|title=BBC NEWS {{!}} England {{!}} London {{!}} Twiglet's home honoured by plaque|website=news.bbc.co.uk|date=26 May 2006 |access-date=2017-08-25}} Today, Twiglets are manufactured in Aintree by United Biscuits subsidiary Jacob's.
During the Christmas season, Twiglets were traditionally sold in drum-shaped tin boxes as a high-class cocktail accompaniment from the 1930s until the 1970s.{{Cite web|url=http://www.huntleyandpalmers.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=huntley&f=generic_objectrecord_postsearch.htm&_IXFIRST_=461&_IXMAXHITS_=1&m=quick_sform&tc1=i&partner=huntley&tc2=e&s=HUBvODPyiti|title=Twiglets, 1969-1973|last=known|first=Not|website=www.huntleyandpalmers.org.uk|language=en-gb|access-date=2017-08-25}} In modern times, the tin boxes have been substituted with large cardboard tubes decorated with seasonal themes.
In the early 1990s, a range of tangy Worcester Sauce Twiglets were introduced.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2007/aug/15/giveusbackourcrisps|title=Give us back our crisps|last=Holliday|first=Graham|date=2007-08-15|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-08-25|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} Jacobs also released a curry flavoured edition from 1999 to 2001, in collaboration with several Indian restaurant chains in Northern England.{{Cite journal|date=2001-06-01|title=A hot idea for Twiglets.(Jacob's Curry Twiglets)(Brief Article)|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-75818718.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825225224/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-75818718.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-08-25}} From 2010 until 2012, Tangy Twiglets were briefly re-released as a limited edition to commemorate Twiglets' 80th anniversary.{{Cite web|url=http://www.vendinginternational-online.com/saucy-twiglets-are-here-to-stay/|title=Vending International {{!}} Saucy Twiglets are here to stay!|website=www.vendinginternational-online.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-08-25}}
Twiglets used to be manufactured partly from grain prepared using hammer milling machinery located at the Parker Brothers Lark Roller Mills in Mildenhall. The machinery was powered by water turbines fed by water from the river Lark and this process created the broken grains that give Twiglets their crunchy irregular shape and texture. This water-powered mill operated until the last decade of the 20th century in this capacity.
To celebrate the 85th anniversary of Twiglets in August 2014, United Biscuits hosted an event known as Camp Twiglet on the Cotswolds farm of Blur's Alex James. This included three wigwams made from Twiglets which were attributed to a local artist named Mrs Cakehead.{{Cite web|url=https://www.totalswindon.com/entertainment/twiglets-to-celebrate-85th-birthday-with-edible-experience/#.WXeAlrpFzIU|title=Twiglets to celebrate 85th birthday with edible experience|website=www.totalswindon.com|access-date=2017-08-25}}
See also
{{Portal|Food}}