Sea biscuit

“ While listening to the conversation I have recorded, the black had stealthily reached up his hand and managed to extract from the bundle a tin of corned beef and a handful of ship’s biscuits. Then he wriggled carefully away, and in a few minutes had rejoined Nux and me, where we hid among the trees.
I think no food has ever tasted quite so delicious to me as did that tinned beef and stale biscuit. When divided amongst three there was little enough in each share, but it sufficed to allay our hunger and give us fresh strength and courage. ”

“ The use of this kind of bread on land is general, and some varieties are luxuries; but at sea, biscuits are articles of the first necessity. Fancy biscuits contain butter, eggs, milk, and various flavourings. They are sold in enormous quantities. Sea or ship-biscuits are made of wheat flour, from which only the coarsest bran has been separated. Dough is made up as stiff as it can be worked, and is then formed into shapes, and baked in an oven; after which the biscuits are exposed in lofts over the oven until perfectly dry, to prevent them from becoming mouldy when stored. ”

“ He was a marvellously intelligent and jolly little creature, and is now dwelling happily in a little house on a cocoanut tree in a plantation near Port-of-Spain. He prefers a West Indian life of warmth and unlimited bananas to an existence in a damp ship on salt junk and biscuit.
At noon, as the sea was still smooth, we made our first attempt at landing in Treasure Bay. We put the whale-boat in the water, and loaded her with about a ton of stores, consisting of tinned provisions of various sorts, biscuit, salt beef, the picks, spades, crowbars, wheelbarrows, hydraulic jack, and other tools. ”

“ He is not quite lost to the calls of nature, and has a great tenderness for ships' biscuit. He generally hoists a little flag when a vessel passes near, and is often gratified by a supply of hard-bake. Had we wished to administer to his luxuries we could not have done so, for the wind off this angle rushed at us with fury, and the instant we rounded it we saw the sea broken into crests of foam making right at our bows. ”

“ There comes one now, that has washed our floor for us, and it needed it badly enough; nor do I mind the wetting, for I am bare-footed and my duck trousers always expect it. We have been five days now upon the water, and since we have thrown overboard the good things that Clarendon laid in for the voyage, and taken to sailor's fare, we have no more of that horrid sea-sickness. Hard biscuit and water are just as good as any thing else, if you only get used to it, and the fish which we caught this morning are delicious. ”

“ I must not omit one advice to travellers by sea. The biscuit in a long voyage becomes uneatable, and flower will not keep. I was advised by a friend, as a remedy against this inconvenience, to take a large store of what are called gingerbread nuts, made without yeast, and hotly spiced. I kept them close in a tin cannister, and carefully excluded the air. I found them most fully to answer the purpose: they were very little injured when I reached Liverpool, and, I believe, would have sustained no damage whatever, if I had as carefully excluded the air as at first. ”

“ Eat not your biscuit dry; but dip it in the sea: which makes it more bulky and palatable. During meal times it was soak and sip with Jarl and me: one on each side of the Chamois dipping our biscuit in the brine. This plan obviated finger-glasses at the conclusion of our repast. Upon the whole, dwelling upon the water is not so bad after all. The Chinese are no fools. In the operation of making your toilet, how handy to float in your ewer! ”

“ Such was our first meal, and the best we had, during our stay upon the raft.
15 The biscuit had fallen into the sea, and was with difficulty recovered.—Trans.
An order, according to our numbers, was established for the distribution of our miserable provisions. The ration of wine was fixed at three quarters a-day.16 We will speak no more of the biscuit, it having been entirely consumed at the first distribution. The day passed away sufficiently tranquil. We talked of the means by which we would save ourselves; we spoke of it as a certain circumstance, which reanimated our courage ”

“ The Surf-boat, having rather more rum than we, and fewer to drink it, gave us, as I estimated, another quart into our keg. In return, we gave them three double handfuls of coffee, tied up in a piece of a handkerchief; they reported that they had aboard besides, a bag of biscuit, a piece of beef, a small cask of water, a small box of lemons, and a Dutch cheese. It took a long time to make these exchanges, and they were not made without risk to both parties; the sea running quite high enough to make our approaching near to one another very hazardous. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When they wish to preserve it, they cut it in round pieces, and dry it in the sun or in an oven, in the form of very small cakes. This natural biscuit preserves its bread-like qualities for several years, and far longer than our best ship's biscuits."
From Port Agana, Crozet reached the Philippine Islands, and anchored off Cavite, in Manilla Bay. This was the spot where the Castries and Mascarin parted, to go back to Mauritius separately. ”

“ They have good eyes, good teeth, and good hair;—more than good: I may say splendid;—and they have good manners, and know how to make use of their eyes. I shall, therefore, leave my readers to form their own estimates by my description. Expecting to meet some natives in my ramble, I had filled my pockets with ship's biscuit, and which I now distributed among the ladies, who appeared very grateful, as they rewarded me, while they munched it, by darting wicked glances from their laughing eyes. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When light, set the biscuits into an evenly heated oven, and bake quickly to a delicate brown. When done, cover over with a bread-cloth for a short time before removing from the pan, to soften the crust.
Soda Biscuit.—Put two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar into one quart of flour; sift both together and rub in thoroughly two great spoonfuls of butter. Put one teaspoonful of soda into a table-spoonful of cold water, and stir till all is dissolved, then put it into a pint of cold water and pour it on the flour. Stir together quickly ”

“ 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. ”

“ Red answered, smacking his lips. “Just lead me to it.”
[137]
“Lead you to it, like fun!” snorted Brad. “You’re gonna help stir up the biscuits, not have ’em served to you golden brown on a tin plate!”
“Me? Make biscuits? I don’t know how.”
“You can learn,” the Den Chief assured him. “Nothing to it when you use biscuit mix. You just add water and stir.”
While the other Cubs gathered wood, he showed Red how to mix the biscuits and drop them evenly on a metal sheet.
“Each Cub can cook his own bacon and eggs,” Brad said, producing a sheet of tinfoil. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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." ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ We had finished our meal, with just a small piece of biscuit apiece and a quarter of a pint of water, when the mate stood up, and, shading his eyes, gazed ahead.
“I would not say so before, lads, for fear of disappointing you, but I now tell you that we’re in sight of land. It is not very large, and may not be inhabited; it may have no cocoanuts or other vegetables on it, but it will give us room to stretch our legs, and we may be able to catch as many fish as we want off it.” ”

“ Roll it thin, cut out the biscuits with a cutter, and bake them in a slow oven until they are crisp quite through, but keep them of a pale color. A couple of eggs are sometimes mixed with the milk for them, but are no material improvement; an additional ounce of sugar may be used when a sweeter biscuit is liked. To make good ginger cakes, increase the butter to six ounces, and the sugar to eight, for each pound of flour, and wet the ingredients into a paste with eggs; a little lemon-grate will give it an agreeable flavor. ”

“ With the flour of this barley an excellent biscuit is made, which retains its crispness for many months, and is therefore very good provision for the Calymniote diver in his voyages.
Their industry is great: I find them excellent as an auxiliary force in my diggings. The monotonous toil in which they pass their days is occasionally relieved by the excitement of a death-bed, which is regarded as a public spectacle, where all have a right to be present who can elbow their way into the house. They seem to like it nearly as much as a play. ”

“ 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! ”

“ When we came to use the boiler we found there was a crack in it so that it leaked. We had with us some hard Newfoundland biscuit and my Grandmother Bartlett soaked a couple of pounds of these biscuit, plastered them inside the boiler over the crack and made it all tight. Another time I was going up to Labrador in our steam launch. It was [173] early in the season and we had to go through a good deal of loose ice; by and by the bow struck a piece of ice and sprang a-leak. I had about sixty-five pounds of these biscuit on board; we built a dam up in the bow and put the biscuit in it ”

“ Proceed in the same way with the second portion, but instead of the ginger add the grated rind and juice of an orange, and if needed, a tablespoonful more flour. To the third division add half a teaspoonful of vanilla flavouring, and ornament the top of each biscuit with a little pink and white icing after baking. If the biscuits are made stiff they will keep their shape well in the baking, and may be cut into various fancy patterns such as ivy leaves, stars, diamonds, etc. Ivy leaves with the veins put on in white or pink icing are very pretty. ”

“ 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. ”