Digestive Biscuit Review

There's a certain time of day in between breakfast and lunch where I can't quite wait until lunch to have something to eat. A cup of tea and some biscuits fits the bill quite nicely, so today around that time I decided to do a review of a classic biscuit, the Digestive.



This was also a great time to test the new "%50 less saturated fat, same great taste" claim on the package.

First, a little history about the Digestive. It was invented by Alexander Grant at McVitie's in 1892. McVitie's is still one of the largest biscuit brands in the UK, now owned by United Biscuits.

The name "Digestive" came from the high amount of baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, used in the biscuit. Sodium bicarbonate has antacid properties, so it was thought that the biscuits would aid in digestion.

But enough history, let's taste some biscuits. As said in the book Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down, "Tea without biscuits is a missed opportunity". I would assume that the reverse is true as well, so I made a cup of tea to go with my biscuits. Since the Digestive is considered the "quintessential" English biscuit, it seemed only right to have the classic English tea, PG Tips.

Now, let's take a closer look at our biscuit.



McVitie's is very fond of stamping their name on biscuits, and this is no exception. Since the Digestive is copied by so many other biscuit companies, this serves as a sort of "certificate of authenticity".

The Digestive is also a rather large biscuit, measuring about 2 3/4" in diameter. This can pose a bit of a problem when dunking in a small cup, as you tend to get a situation like this:



So make sure you have a good size cup if you plan on dunking. Speaking of dunking, the light, crispy texture facilitates rapid tea absorption, so don't leave it in too long or you'll end up with a cup of biscuit sludge.

The flavor of the Digestive biscuit is probably best described as being very similar to a graham cracker. It has just a touch of sweetness, so it goes great with a wide variety of toppings, from lemon curd and jam to sliced cheese. They're also great to use in recipes. Try using them in place of graham crackers for a cheesecake crust, or make s'mores with them!



Truly, the Digestive is a versatile biscuit, and a wonderful accompaniment to any cup of tea.

You can find them in our shop in Seattle, or online here.

Happy dunking!