What dried crackers? For long-term storage of grain, which is convenient to take a long journey, a journey, a military campaign, to the country and so on. Dry crackers have started several centuries ago to increase the shelf life of bread. Among rusks kingdom there is a huge diversity of species: sweet and savory, with beer and soup as a dessert and as a separate dish. However, the philosophical essence of crackers is to save and stock up on the same day is not the best in life.

History of crackers

Rusk - a second baked bread, "dried either to storage or further use in cooking various dishes" - is the definition of the product gives Pokhlebkin William (1923-2000), Russian historian and writer. The main distinguishing feature of crackers from all other bakery products - they lowered humidity, ideally no more than forty-nine percent, more - up to eight.

Longer storage life and make this product unique, indispensable for cooking and food processing. They began to dry crackers by accident: in the middle of the XIX century in Muscovy outstanding features hot time for Easter and many cakes, which were kept in the sun, hopelessly dried up. As in the tradition of the Christians consecrated cakes to eat up the last crumbs, crackers and the Easter consumed within a week. It was made an important discovery - soaked in water, dry cake Easter cakes - an ancient recipe, but checked   It became delicious. So enterprising owners began to dry crackers in store.

What are the crackers

Rusk vanilla, raisins, nuts, poppy seeds and chocolate, salty and sweet, with garlic and herbs, the most diverse forms - the range of products of bread is very wide. On the shelves of modern supermarkets can meet diversity of crackers for all tastes, needs and purses. However, all types are divided into two great classes - simple crackers and muffins. Simple biscuits made from the finished bread, wheat, rye and rye-wheat. For this, first bake a loaf of bread in special molds, cut into portions crumbs, dried in kilns and packaged in boxes or bags.

Butter biscuits made from wheat bread, adding sugar and aromatic additives. The cooking process is similar to the previous dry muffins. Earlier in the hierarchy of rusks was another graduation: they shared the usual biscuits and officers. Usually referred to as the ones who today are called simple, and officers were baked from flour of special varieties of the highest quality.

In different countries, crackers are called in different ways:

• «Biscotto», biscotti in Italy, biscuits;
• «Biscuit», biscuit - France;
• «Zwieback» - in Germany, which in all of these languages ​​means "twice baked".

Modern food production launches under different trademarks "younger brother" of crackers - crackers with different flavors. In addition, finely ground kind is called breadcrumbs and a fine breadcrumb to roasts of meat, poultry, vegetables and fish.

It is interesting

Calorie crackers is approximately the same as that of bread from which they are cooked. However, prolonged use of this type of dried product is called rusks diarrhea, which is extremely harmful to health due to mechanical irritation of the gastrointestinal tract and the need for copious drinking.

Daily ration for Army soldiers marching in a military campaign on foot at the end of the XIX century, included the 2, 5 kg of bread. This seems excessively large amount only to those who can not imagine the hardships of military life. On the day a soldier had to overcome great distances, carrying the ammunition and food supplies up to 20-30 kg. According to the order of Minister of War Russia in 1908 per day per soldier in 2254 was supposed grams of rye bread or rye crackers 1539 grams.

Jeanne Pyatirikova