The Legend of the Anzac Biscuit

The first published record of the Anzac biscuit, whose origin is “shrouded in myth” was in a New Zealand St Andrew’s Cookery Book published around 1922.

The legend of the biscuit is commonly associated with the Gallipoli landing as many believe the popular biscuits were sent to the front or sold to raise money for the war effort.

One legend supported by The Australian War Memorial has it the biscuits were originally developed from a Scottish recipe using rolled oats, and chosen for the long shelf-life of the ingredients after baking.

“They do last a reasonable amount of time, so it is possible that they became known as a suitable inclusion in parcels (…) that families and charitable organisations used to send overseas to soldiers,” the AWM says on its website.

Hardtack biscuits were a nutritional substitute for bread, but unlike bread they did not go mouldy, and became an important part of the soldiers’ rations on Gallipoli.

Article Source: ABC News, John Donegan, April 17, 2015.

Image Source: Wikipedia.org