Digestive biscuit
A digestive biscuit, sometimes described as a sweet meal biscuit, is a semi-sweet biscuit that originated in Scotland. The digestive was first developed in 1837 by two Scottish doctors to aid digestion. The term digestive is derived from the belief that they had antacid properties around the time the biscuit was first introduced due to the use of sodium bicarbonate as an ingredient. Historically, some producers used diastatic malt extract to "digest" some of the starch that existed in floor prior to baking.
| Alternative names | Wheaten, sweet-meal biscuit |
|---|---|
| Type | Biscuit |
| Place of origin | Scotland |
| Region or state | Forres |
| Associated cuisine | Scottish cuisine |
| Main ingredients | Wheat flour, sugar, malt extract, butter (or in cheaper recipes or for vegans or those who are lactose intolerant: vegetable oil), wholemeal, leavening agents (usually sodium bicarbonate, tartaric acid and malic acid), salt |
First manufactured by McVities in 1891 with a secret recipe developed by Sir Alexander Grant, their digestive is the best-selling biscuit in the UK. In 2009, the digestive was ranked the fourth most popular biscuit for "dunking" into tea among the British public, with the chocolate digestive (produced by McVitie's since 1925) coming in at number one. The chocolate variant from McVitie's is routinely ranked the UK's favourite snack.