Biscuit

“ He had broken the third, and was putting half of it into his mouth, when he seemed to bethink himself, glanced round furtively and put the unbroken biscuit and the fragments of the broken one carefully into his breast pocket, saying with a pitiable air of affected carelessness: "I've just remembered how fond my little boy is of this particular kind of biscuit, and he doesn't get many. We're not very well off." ”

“ Through her bright windows we could see her moving briskly about from kitchen to sitting room; and from the smells that floated out from her kitchen door, she seemed to be preparing for her solitary supper the same homely viands that were frying or stewing or baking in our kitchens. Sometimes you could detect the delectable scent of browning hot tea biscuit. It takes a brave, courageous, determined woman to make tea biscuit for no one but herself.
Blanche Devine joined the church. ”

“ Many of them lived almost entirely upon biscuit, others on their own private supplies, and some paid extra for better rations from the ship. This marvellously changed my notion of the degree of luxury habitual to the artisan. I was prepared to hear him grumble, for grumbling is the traveller's pastime; but I was not prepared to find him turn away from a diet which was palatable to myself. Words I should have disregarded, or taken with a liberal allowance; but when a man prefers dry biscuit there can be no question of the sincerity of his disgust. ”

“ Did she, then, while the seamen slept, steal the water from the cask to preserve the existence of those committed to her fostering charge, and far more precious to her, in her sight, than her own life? There can be no doubt she did so. She discovers that she is not observed. There is a small tin pannikin near her, and several pieces of biscuit. She crumbles the biscuit, as well as she can with her weak fingers, into the pannikin, and then pours upon them a few drops of the precious fluid. She looks at the water with longing eyes, but will not expend even one drop to cool her parched lips. ”

“ What was her surprise and delight, when she peeped in, to find a light, delicate biscuit, a nice cake, a beautiful ripe peach, and a little cherry tart.
"Lucy (for that was her name) placed all these things on the bench, and clapping her hands with delight, exclaimed: 'Oh! how nice they all look! What a fine [82] party dolly and I will have with them!' Then she put the biscuit in dolly's white kid hand, who smiled sweetly all the time, and taking the cake in her own, began to eat it. ”

“ During the last two nights, when all was still, and the starving sailors were slumbering, or attempting to slumber, Dominick Rigonda—the youth whom we have just introduced to the reader—had placed a small quantity of broken biscuit in the hands of his sister and little brother, with a stern though whispered command to eat it secretly and in silence. ”

“ She held up a thick, square, brownish cracker, and said: "Look well at that. You have never seen anything more important to human lives. That is the free American biscuit. It is distributed at ten every morning to every school-child, to every teacher, in the region under German rule. None have had enough to eat. There are no biscuits distributed on Sundays and vacation days. Those are hard days for the children to live through. They beg desperately to go to school, even when they are sick, so they may not miss their biscuit. ”

“ On the evening preceding Christmas day, I went to a large party at Mr. ——'s. I was idly engaged—now in managing a jelly, now in munching a devilled biscuit, when among the new faces shewing themselves about the room, I discovered one which drew my attention forcibly. It was not a very beautiful face certainly—but there was about it—a nameless something which convinced me that she was an uncommon character. On her pure white high forehead, was stamped the seal of bright intelligence, and her mouth, which was rather large, indicated a world of humor. ”

“ Some women serve an old fashioned beat biscuit, about the size of an English walnut, with the cup of tea. These biscuits are awfully good, but only the old mammies who have survived the War know how to make them, and there is where the old families have the advantage of the new people. ”

“ The next division consists of biscuit china, fragments of services ornamented in relief, the favourite pattern being the Mayflower. The hawthorn is represented quite after nature, with its thorny branches and blossom. About a dozen of the moulds for stamping these flowers were also found quite perfect; they are of biscuit, three inches by two and a half in diameter. Fig. 408 is interesting, being the original mould of a biscuit cup which has its exact counterpart glazed. These pieces form a history in themselves. ”

“ When the keeper gives it one of the hard biscuits on which it is fed, it will sometimes lie down on its back, and hold the biscuit now with its fore paws, now with both fore and hind paws, swaying about all the time, and expressing its satisfaction by the most comical noises. ”

“ Steam a light biscuit, or, if you prefer, some Graham bread till soft, or dip it into boiling milk and lay the egg on it, sprinkling over a little salt and pepper. If desired, after the biscuit is steamed or moistened in hot milk, you can spread a little butter over it before the egg is put on it. This is a pretty breakfast dish, and much more healthy than when the eggs are boiled, fried, or made into an omelet, as the albumen (or white of the egg) , being only slightly cooked, is much more [Pg 441] digestible. ”

“ Sometimes, by general consent, the luncheon biscuit would be saved, and, with the next serving of biscuit, was crushed in a canvas bag into a powder and boiled, with a little sugar, making a very satisfying pudding. When blubber was fairly plentiful there was always a saucepan of cold water, made from melting down the pieces of ice which had broken off from the glacier, fallen into the sea, and been washed ashore, for them to quench their thirst in. ”

“ Mr Batter’s noddle, however, after a little patience, clearing up, we leisurely discussed between us the porter, which was in prime condition, with a ream as yellow as a marigold; together with half-a-dozen of butter-bakes, crimp and new-baked, it being batch-day with Thomas Burlings, who, like his father and grandfather before him, have been notorious in the biscuit department. ”

“ Put all the ingredients in the middle of the flour, work well together and set to rise as loaf bread. Wash the rolls over with butter and sugar.—Mrs. C. L. T.
French Biscuit.
1 quart of flour.
1 teaspoonful of salt.
Rub in one tablespoonful of butter and lard mixed.
Pour in half a teacup of yeast, two well beaten eggs, and enough water to make a soft dough. Knead half an hour. Then set to rise; when well risen, roll out, without kneading again. Handle lightly, first greasing the hands with butter. Cut with a biscuit cutter, greasing one biscuit and placing another on it. ”

“ Curiosity prompted him to examine it. He found that it was wrapped in canvas, and carefully tied with cord. Opening it he discovered to his surprise and intense joy that it contained some ship’s biscuit, a piece of boiled pork, and a flask of water. ”

“ How each stroke of the tool must have had careful attention, so that, whilst aiming at a lace-like effect, the body of the vase should still be strong enough to bear the biscuit firing without breaking! Of course care had to be exercised in the painting, which was rarely in monochrome; generally, yellow, green, blue, maroon, and aubergine were employed. Then the second firing took place. In nearly all biscuit Celadon the paste or body is thinner than in ordinary Celadon, because the pattern had to be cut into and through it. ”

“ About 7 cups flour.
Set to rise early in the morning. When well risen (in about 3 hours) , roll dough into a sheet about 1⁄4 inch in thickness, cut with a half-pound baking powder can into small, round biscuits, brush top of each one with melted butter (use a new, clean paint brush for this purpose) , place another biscuit on top of each one of these, and when raised very light and ready for oven brush top of each biscuit with a mixture consisting of half of one yolk of egg (which had been reserved from the ones used in baking) , mixed with a little milk. ”

“ To a pint bowl of light dough add a gill of sugar, half as much butter, and either a little cinnamon, allspice, or lemon. Work these ingredients together, and then add flour enough to enable you to mould it smooth and roll it out. Let it be about an inch thick; cut it into biscuit, and lay them into a baking-pan to rise. They should become very light before being baked; and, therefore, in cold weather it is well to let the [Pg 36] dough stand, after the ingredients are added, until the next day, then roll out the biscuit, and raise them in the bake-pan. ”

“ Mother says that cakes and biscuits and all kinds of pastry are nicer and lighter if the flour is sifted twice, or even three times. I added now a tablespoonful of lard and a half teaspoonful of salt, and mixed the biscuit with milk. The rule is to handle as little as possible, and have the dough very soft. Roll into a mass an inch thick, and cut the little cakes apart with a tin biscuit-cutter. They must be baked in a very hot oven.
No little housekeeper need expect to have perfect biscuits the first time she makes them. It is very much like playing the piano. One needs practice. ”

“ We had to pass closer than we liked to a farm; but no one was about yet and we got away on to a high ridge covered with brushwood. After making our way for a short time along this, we halted and made cocoa, which with a biscuit formed our breakfast. By this time our biscuits had broken up into small fragments, so that we had to estimate how many bits were equal to a whole biscuit. Our experiences of the night before forced us to the conclusion that it was hopeless trying to do a good march by night unless on a good track ”

“ We desired indeed, at that time, to do nothing save eat the breakfast of weevilly biscuits just now served out to us, with good water still sweet from the wells of vanished Grand Pré. When one has hunger, there is rare relish in a weevilly biscuit ”

“ On placing a biscuit by my side when seated upon deck, it would actually be put in motion by some invisible machinery, and if thrown on the hot coals in order to destroy the living works within, and prevent the biscuit from walking off, it would make an angry sputtering wondrous to hear! ”

“ Parole Camp is located at what was formerly an Agricultural Fair Ground. Here twelve of us are quartered in one end of an old stable. We drew our rations—rice, sugar, salt, bacon and three biscuits each. We put one of these big round biscuits or crackers in a little tin plate, heat some water in a skillet [99] and pour over the biscuit, then turn another tin plate over it and leave for a few minutes. On removing the upper tin plate the biscuit will be found to have swelled out so that it fills the plate. ”

“ A little flaky, crusty morsel—and pass the plate often—that’s the South’s perfect biscuit, while a Yankee biscuit is fluffy and high as your Grandmother’s comforter. Westerners like sugar and spice.... New Yorkers have a fondness for the old-world flavor of cheese. ”

“ By hodie Salmasius means, amongst his countrymen of France, where biscoctus is verbatim reproduced in the word bis (twice) cuit, (baked;) whence our own biscuit. Biscuit might do very well, could we be sure that it was cabin biscuit: but Salmasius argues—that in this case he takes it to mean "buccellatum, qui est panis nauticus;" that is, the ship company's biscuit, broken with a sledge-hammer. In Greek, for the benefit again of the learned reader, it is termed [Greek: dipuros] , indicating that it has passed twice under the action of fire. ”

“ Moss-biscuit, we may add for the information of our readers, is a light, dry biscuit made of fine flour mixed with “mosto,” the unfermented juice of the grape; it will keep good for almost any length of time, and is both portable and nutritious. ”

“ A little later, in a voice somewhat muffled by the larger portion of a biscuit in his mouth, he asked, "Say, Buck, what makes 'em use pulleys like them on the hay-fork gear in the barn?"
"They use 'em so they can lift more—an' easier, of course," answered the hired man. ”

“ The variety of biscuits and crackers in market is utterly bewildering. These are among the standards: Boston, SODA, BUTTER, OYSTER, SUGAR, FRUIT, MILK, ENGLISH ALBERT, WATER, CREAM, GINGER, LEMON, OATMEAL, CARAWAY, VANILLA, and dozens more kinds of biscuits, crackers and wafers at various prices; besides GINGER and LEMON SNAPS and JUMBLES, and even DOG BISCUIT. There is also CRACKER DUST, for frying oysters, fish, etc. Some of the above come in handsome tin packages. ”

“ I took a tin of sweet biscuits under my arm, and the doctor following me, with a generous handful of his trinkets and tinsel toys, we left the projectile, and rounding the grove of dwarfed trees we approached the romping children first. I patted [200] their flaxen curls, lightly pinched their cheeks, and handed each of them a sweet biscuit. Then, while the doctor distributed strange toys amongst them, I put on my most courtly ways and addressed myself to the women. ”

“ Bīsex′ual, of both sexes: (bot.) applied to flowers which contain both stamens and pistils within the same envelope.
Biscayan, bis′kā-an, adj. and n. of or pertaining to the Basque province of Biscay in Spain, or its people: Basque generally: a long heavy musket, or the bullet fired by such.
Biscuit, bis′kit, n. hard dry bread in small cakes: a kind of unglazed earthenware. [O. Fr. bescoit (mod. biscuit) —L. bis, twice, coquĕre, coctum, to cook or bake.]
Bise, bēz, n. a cold north or north-east wind prevalent at certain seasons in Switzerland and neighbouring parts of France and Italy. [Fr.] ”