# What are biscuits known as in the UK? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 29, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714 "2010-04-29T03:58:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/21 "2010-04-29T09:56:27Z")
Also, teacakes are leavened with yeast, not baking soda. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/22 "2010-04-29T10:12:24Z")
I have given up trying to sort the difference between bannocks, scones, damper and (american) biscuits. Dumplings are only distinguishable by virtue of requiring suet (and that is not always true, either). I like em all - buttermilk american style biscuits with gravy for breakfast, sweetened or non-sweetened with jam and thick cream/clotted cream for morning tea, big savoury cheesy ones for lunch, herbed and baked on the top of a rich casserole for dinner, damper wrapped in a spiral round a stick on a campfire filled with melted butter and golden syrup for dessert. The easiest ones are made with lemonade (or L&P in NZ, but I won’t waste L&P I get in the UK on scones). They are all good, and now I am hungry. I’ll have to wait for the thursday afternoon cake trolley and get a scone. Si ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/23 "2010-04-29T10:22:44Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Oh shit … now I’m going to cop a bollocking from kam over whether there there is sugar in an Aussie scone mix. :eek: You, being a _country boy_ **penultima thule** would know good-well that sugar is _never_ added to a scone mix. It’s the blackberry jam and the dollop of cream that gives the scone its extra caloric oomph. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/24 "2010-04-29T10:38:45Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > And it is our loss. > > There is nothing finer than biscuits and gravy, but whenever I try to recreate the delights I have tasted in my many visits to the US, it always goes wrong - particularly in that the biscuits never rise properly. And the sausage doesn’t taste as good. I’m still meaning to get around to experimenting with this. My only experience of what might be American-style sausage is the patties in McMuffins (and I’m not even sure if these are trying to imitate American sausage at all). How would you describe the differences between American sausage and anything we can get here? - I know it’s not always used in banger form in the US, but what are the key differences in flavour/texture? Our sausages here in the UK tend to be quite heavy on the pepper - is that peculiar to us? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/25 "2010-04-29T10:41:36Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Yeah, but are _jaffa cakes_ biscuits? Well, they’re not called ‘Jaffa _Biscuits_’… They are cakes - they’re just baked dryish - a bit like sponge fingers. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/26 "2010-04-29T10:42:35Z")
When I was growing up in the 1980s in the UK we head plain scones, fruit scones and cheese scones. I’ve never had US biscuits, but they certainly _look_ very similar to the plain scones I used to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/27 "2010-04-29T10:47:26Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > ETA: also I think I meant for this to be in Cafe Society. If someone would notify a mod? Done. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/28 "2010-04-29T10:54:30Z")
[quote=“Kal, post:20, topic:537714”] The first type is almost what you’d call a s’more - cookie base, sometimes a dollop of jam, then marshmallow, all covered in chocolate - [Picture](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tunnocks_tea_cakes.jpg) [/QUOTE=Kal;12396848] I tried to resist, really I did…but a [s’more](http://girlmeetsfooddc.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/smores-2.jpg) refers to ONLY a combination of a graham cracker, a square of Hershey’s chocolate, topped by a freshly melted marshmallow and then capped by another graham cracker. The cookie you pictured, while delectable, is not a classic s’more (which stands for Some More, as in, What do you mean I only get to eat one, I want some more!) ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/29 "2010-04-29T10:54:40Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > On the UK ‘biscuits’ vs US ‘cookies’ thing, there isn’t perfect alignment. > UK ‘biscuits’ are usually crisp, sweetened, thinnish baked-dry things - I think these are sometimes termed ‘crackers’ in the USA. (US here) I’ve never had a cracker that was sweetened. Crackers are generally salty and are suitable for serving with cheese and so on. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/30 "2010-04-29T10:56:22Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > When I was growing up in the 1980s in the UK we head plain scones, fruit scones and cheese scones. I’ve never had US biscuits, but they certainly _look_ very similar to the plain scones I used to eat. They look the same, but the texture of a biscuit is much lighter and fluffier. Cheese scones though. Mmm, sublime… What about a cheese (American) biscuit? That would be awesome. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/31 "2010-04-29T10:56:37Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > I tried to resist, really I did…but a [s’more](http://girlmeetsfooddc.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/smores-2.jpg) refers to ONLY a combination of a graham cracker, a square of Hershey’s chocolate, topped by a freshly melted marshmallow and then capped by another marshmallow. The cookie you pictured, while delectable, is not a classic s’more (which stands for Some More, as in, What do you mean I only get to eat one, I want some more!) Agreed: in the US, a s’more is only a sandwich of two graham crackers, some Hershey’s chocolate, and a melted marshmallow. It is ALWAYS a hot food, also. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/32 "2010-04-29T11:14:41Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > I tried to resist, really I did…but a [s’more](http://girlmeetsfooddc.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/smores-2.jpg) refers to ONLY a combination of a graham cracker, a square of Hershey’s chocolate, topped by a freshly melted marshmallow and then capped by another graham cracker. The cookie you pictured, while delectable, is not a classic s’more (which stands for Some More, as in, What do you mean I only get to eat one, I want some more!) I did say ‘almost’! ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/33 "2010-04-29T11:18:03Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > (US here) I’ve never had a cracker that was sweetened. Crackers are generally salty and are suitable for serving with cheese and so on. My wife is Chinese; she speaks English very well, but one of the things that always confuses me is that she calls crackers “cookies”. In her mind, they’re the same thing (whether sweet or salty). I still get confused when she says “Where are the cookies?” and she’s talking about a box of Cheese Nips or something. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/34 "2010-04-29T12:31:52Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > (US here) I’ve never had a cracker that was sweetened. Crackers are generally salty and are suitable for serving with cheese and so on. Interesting… I was going mainly on previous conversations I’ve participated in on this subject here at the SDMB - where I’m sure someone from the USA had said UK biscuits were more like what they understood to be crackers. Graham crackers and animal crackers would seem to be examples of that sense of ‘cracker’, but it seems they might be anomalous. It might be that we were only talking about Digestive biscuits, which could have skewed my understanding. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/35 "2010-04-29T12:52:52Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > (US here) I’ve never had a cracker that was sweetened. Crackers are generally salty and are suitable for serving with cheese and so on. 😕 I KNOW you’re familiar with graham crackers – you mention them in your very next post to the thread! Or do you not consider those to be crackers? Thanks to all for the informative replies in what has turned out to be an interesting discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/36 "2010-04-29T13:15:05Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Yeah, but are _jaffa cakes_ biscuits? No, they are cakes. And that’s a legal definition. Cakes and buscuits are taxed differently. The makers of Jaffa Cakes went to court to argue that it is a cake and not a buscuit, thus paying less tax. The key piece of evidence in the case is that stale cake goes hard, and stale buscuits go soft. Stale Jaffa Cakes go hard, thus are cakes. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/37 "2010-04-29T13:16:13Z")
I don’t think we have graham crackers over here. What are they? Any UK equivalent? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/38 "2010-04-29T13:23:17Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I don’t think we have graham crackers over here. What are they? Any UK equivalent? The closest thing is a digestive. ---
**Author:** ![QuercusMax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/8baadc/32.png) [@QuercusMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuercusMax)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/39 "2010-04-29T13:32:55Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > 😕 I KNOW you’re familiar with graham crackers – you mention them in your very next post to the thread! > > Or do you not consider those to be crackers? Graham crackers and animal crackers are not crackers, despite the name. If I asked for crackers, and you gave me animal or Graham crackers, I would be perturbed, to say the least. I’d consider animal crackers more a type of cookie, and Graham crackers are… something else. Cookie-ish, at least. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714/40 "2010-04-29T13:35:23Z")
I’ve had scones in the UK, and we can get scones here in Massachusetts at the supermarket. They’re generally more “shapeless” than American biscuits. Biscuits usually have a well-defined shape. Sometimes (as with the second link in the OP) they have well-defined layers and a bit more flavor. But Pepper Mill makes perfectly cylindrical biscuits fro scratch that have no layers and a fairly bland taste. When I lived in Salt Lake City there was a chain called **The Sconecutter**. The particular restaurants I used to go to don’t seem to exist anymore, although the chain still exists: [www.sconecutter.com](http://www.sconecutter.com) Their “scones” were completely unlike any I’ve encountered elsewhere – well-defined shape (rectangular) and significant flavor. Their cinnamon scones with butter were wonderful. And you could get a “Sloppy Joe Scone” for lunch. I’ve never seen “scones” quite like this anywhere else. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-biscuits-known-as-in-the-uk/537714.md?page=3)