#BookishThoughts-The Great Big Biscuit Debate

Is there anything more quintesstially Birtish than arguing over whether to eat when reading?

To dunk or not to dunk, that is the question!

This is the country that has law courts and philosophers debating whether Jaffa Cakes are indeed a biscuit and where you can, if you wish, carry out legitimate research into what is the best biscuit to dunk.

It matters.

So, given that this month of August is dedicated to all things indie, especially Eye Books, I have been asking this fiendish question of authors that have been kind enough to consider answering. Stay tuned to see in future weeks what your favourite indie likes to dunk and why, but for now, those who have so far pondered the question and answered, reveal themselves below-

Neil Gibb author of ‘The Participation Revolution’ and subject of an upcoming interview and review says:

”I am gluten intolerant so no biscuits. But I love to read with a large mug of black Ceylon tea.”

Unable to answer the Jaffa Cake/Jammy Didger conundrum, he offers this controversial opinion-

”Neither, for the reason I said above. But I think we need to move on too. This is 2019 – the modern reader should be munching on Kale chips or drinking an oat milk smoothy but probably not taking Ayahuasca while reading.”

I hope he is joking, kale is the devil’s own veg-is it veg? I don’t even know, but it is impossible to cook and for the love of all the gods/goddesses out there please do not put kale in a cake. Someone Who Isn’t  Me may have tried to get their children to eat more greens by doing this. I hear it was not a great success…

Alis Hawkins author of  ‘None So Blind’ and ‘In Two Minds’ takes a firm stance on the Jaffa vs Jammy Dodger issue-

‘‘Ah! I do love a writing snack – in between cups of tea which I tend to drink roughly every hour!

My go-to snack is either a mix of nuts and fruit which we make ourselves from supplies bought at our local wholefood shop (heavy on almonds, cashews and toffee-ish dried apricots) or, if I’m feeling less inclined to be healthy or more desperate, chocolate. Specifically Green and Black’s chocolate – either their milk chocolate with almonds or milk chocolate with butterscotch pieces. I’ve tried to like dark chocolate but it’s just not for me…”

”Oh, Jaffa cakes, every time. I mean, a Jammy Dodger is just another boring biscuit which (wrongly) thinks a bit of jam makes it interesting and different. Whereas a Jaffa cake, dismantled carefully, can be a whole 10 minutes’ worth of entertainment, all by itself. They’re the exception to my ‘I don’t like dark chocolate’ rule!”

 

Rio Youers author of ‘Halcyon’ and ‘The Forgotten Girl’ offers his last word on the subject…

”Okay, this is serious, and an understandable source of debate. The truth is that neither are great—or even good—when it comes to dunking. The Jaffa Cake gets way too soggy. This is a cracking biscuit in its own right, but its appeal lies in being able to scarf maybe a dozen of them in one sitting, not in its dunkability.

The Jammie Dodger is more dunkable, I think, but it’s not exactly a Hobnob, is it? The jam presents way too many complications. It gets too sticky and you’re sucking it off the backs of your teeth for the next twenty minutes. Again, a cracking biscuit, but not a dunker.

If I was forced to choose, I’d go with … the Jammie Dodger. But let’s face it: your Chocolate Hobnob is the best biscuit for dunking, and I’d go toe-to-toe with anyone who says differently.”

And on that controversial note, I firstly thank these 3 wonderful people for indulging my daft question-the Jaffa vs Dodger debate rages in our house with the Jaffa slightly ahead-and now turn it over to you, the reader.

Have you ever had a book lent out that has returned to you covered in food stains and/or biscuit crumbs?

Do you dunk and read, or eat and read?

Has there ever been a casualty of the eat and read/cook and read issue? (This may have happened chez moi when reading and cooking has led to burning of the foodstuffs and pages stuck together…)

Is there a biscuit hill on which you are prepared to die, is there one you’d give a hard pass to?

Drop me a line, let me know !

*I was going to share a video here about how these majestic snacks are made but didn’t want to ruing the magic,so instead, here is some science*