How were Triscuits created? What's that white powder on the outside of a White Cheddar Cheez-It? And what, exactly, does the "stoned" in Stoned Wheat Thins mean? Join us as we try, and mostly fail, to answer these questions. If you're nice, we'll teach you how to eat a Wheat Thin. www.spilledmilkpodcast.com
Brought to you by Sur La Table.
Been using the Bittman cracker recipe for a while now. very simple, but always wows folks.
You got me curious. So here it is, folks...
Nabisco makes its Triscuits in much the same way it makes its shredded wheat. (Both were invented in the 1890's by Henry Perky, a middle-aged lawyer in Denver.) Wheat is slightly softened with water and steam so that it can go through a shredder and come out looking like ''fine spaghetti,'' according to a company spokeswoman, Caroline Fee.
For shredded wheat, the strands are piled up, all strands running in the same direction, and then put through a cutter that forms the biscuits. To make Triscuits, the wheat is piled first in one direction and then in another. ''They're not woven,'' Ms. Fee said firmly.
Emma! You're amazing. (And so is the name Henry Perky!) Thank you for your excellent research.
Do you two smoke weed before you make this podcast?
It would explain a lot, but no.
Henry Perky is great, but my favorite part is "Ms. Fee said firmly." What an image.
Molly dear.... I think you prefer bread and cheese because store bought crackers taste dead and completely fake! Try making some fresh homemade crackers. Peter Rienhart has a nice Wheat Thins recipe in his Whole Grain book.
Don't try to make crackers if it might keep you from podcasting! You two are grand and I love the great laughs I get when I listen.
And Matt needs to own a Jupiter Stone Grinder
Yeah Stoned Wheat Thins are not made with Indian grinding stones on the side of a river. I picture them made between some industrial version of the wheels on the Flintstones' car.
http://blogs.sundaymercury.net/anorak-city/the-flintstones.jpg
http://www.mccullagh.org/photo/1ds3-3/flintstones-art-car
There's always a box of Wheat Thins in our house. They go great with the artichoke-jalapeño dip that our local market makes. Oh, and spanish anchovies.
Hey, you didn't mention Saltines. I recently learned that it is impossible to eat more than 6 saltines in a minute. We had a challenge at work and I so thought I could do it. Seriously...its a few crackers. Nope...don't know whats in them, but I was doing a finger sweep by the third and could not finish the 4th cracker!
Love the podcast-you guys are great!
Couldn't comment on the post with your photo at the market. Anyway, I had to tell you that never did I imagine Matthew to be a guy with a French beard. I LOVE listening to you both so much. I can't wait for the next episode.
Water crackers are so called because they're made with only flour and water (no oil or shortening or anything) and they were first invented to be able to withstand sea voyages. They're so brittle that we got the word 'cracker' from the sound they make when snapped.
You guys are hilarious, thanks for the podcast fun!
Just listened to this podcast (I love crackers, by the way), and I can provide a Canadian perspective, for what it's worth. I'm thinking 'stoned' may be used instead of 'cracked', like for cracked wheat. And no, we don't refer to a lot of coarsely ground wheat products as stoned. I actually had no idea Stoned Wheat Thins were Canadian, yet another illustrious product to add to the list (i.e. Coffee Crisp, Smarties, William Shatner).