hardtack
Sign in to saveAlso known as hard tack, pilot bread, ship's biscuit, shipbiscuit, sea biscuit, cabin bread, sea bread, brewis
Hardtack (or hard tack) is a type of dense cracker made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Hardtack is very inexpensive and long-lasting if kept dry, allowing it to be used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods. It is commonly used during long sea voyages, land migrations, and military campaigns. Along with salt pork and corned beef, hardtack was a standard ration for many militaries and navies from the 17th to the early 20th centuries.
Key facts
- Food.name
- Hardtack
- Food.image
- PensacolaWentworthAug2008Hardtack.jpg
- Food.image_size
- 250px
- Food.caption
- Preserved hardtack from the U.S. Civil War, Pensacola Museum of History, Florida
- Food.alternate_name
- ANZAC wafers, brewis, cabin bread, dog biscuit, molar breakers, pilot bread, sea biscuit, sea bread, sheet iron, ship's bisket, shipbiscuit, tooth dullers, worm castles
- Food.type
- Cracker (American English) or biscuit (British English)
- Food.main_ingredient
- Flour, water
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- PensacolaWentworthAug2008Hardtack.jpg
Show 1 more fact
- Commons category
- Hardtack
via Wikidata · CC0
~14 min read
Article
13 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Cocket bread
- Modern use
- Asia
- Europe
- North America
- Canada
- United States
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Hardtack (or hard tack) is a type of dense cracker made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Hardtack is very inexpensive and long-lasting if kept dry, allowing it to be used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods. It is commonly used during long sea voyages, land migrations, and military campaigns. Along with salt pork and corned beef, hardtack was a standard ration for many militaries and navies from the 17th to the early 20th centuries.
==Etymology== The name is derived from "tack", the British sailor slang for food. The earliest use of the term recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1830.