Hardtack

Hardtack (or hard tack) is a simple type of cracker or biscuit, made from flour, water, and salt. Inexpensive and long-lasting, it is and was used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages and military campaigns. The name derives from the British sailor slang for food, "tack". It is known by other names such as pilot bread (as rations for bush pilots), ship's biscuit, shipbiscuit, sea biscuit, sea bread (as rations for sailors) or pejoratively "dog biscuits", "tooth dullers", "sheet iron" or "molar breakers".

Because it is so hard and dry, properly stored and transported hardtack will survive rough handling and endure extremes of temperature.

History

To soften it, it was often dunked in brine, coffee, or some other liquid or cooked into a skillet meal. Baked hard, it would stay intact for years as long as it was kept dry. For long voyages, hardtack was baked four times, rather than the more common two, and prepared six months before sailing.

In 1801, Josiah Bent began a baking operation in Milton, Massachusetts selling "water crackers" or biscuits made of flour and water that would not deteriorate during long sea voyages from the port of Boston, which was also used extensively as a source of food by the "gold diggers" emigration to the gold mines of California in 1849. Since the journey took months from the starting point, pilot bread was stored in the wagon trains, as it could be kept a long time. His company later sold the original hardtack crackers used by troops during the American Civil War. The G. H. Bent Company is still located in Milton, and continues to sell these items to Civil War re-enactors and others.

During the American Civil War, 3-inch by 3-inch hardtack was shipped out from Union and Confederate storehouses. Some of this hardtack had been stored from the 1846–8 Mexican-American War. With insect infestation common in improperly stored provisions, soldiers would break up the hardtack and drop it into their morning coffee. This would not only soften the hardtack but the insects, mostly weevil larvae, would float to the top and the soldiers could skim off the insects and resume consumption.

Modern use

Hardtack is a common pantry item in Hawaii, and The Diamond Bakery "Saloon Pilot" cracker is available in all grocery and sundry stores. The round hardtack crackers are available in large- and small- diameter sizes.

Alaskans are among the last to eat hardtack (Iñupiak: qaqqulaq, Central Alaskan Yup'ik: sugg'aliq) as a significant part of their normal diet. Interbake Foods of Richmond, Virginia produces most, if not all, of the commercially available hardtack under the "Sailor Boy" label—98 percent of its production goes to Alaskans. Originally imported as a food product that could stand the rigors of transportation throughout Alaska, like powdered milk, pilot bread has become a favored food even as other, less robust foods have become available. Alaskan law requires all light aircraft to carry "survival gear", including food. The blue-and-white Sailor Boy Pilot Bread boxes are ubiquitous at Alaskan airstrips, in cabins, and virtually every village.

Commercially available pilot bread is a significant source of food energy in a small, durable package. A store-bought 24-gram cracker can contain 100 calories (20 percent from fat), 2 grams of protein and practically no fiber.

In the fall of 2007, rumors spread throughout Alaska that Interbake Foods might stop producing pilot bread. An Anchorage Daily News article published November 6, 2007, reported the rumor was false, to the relief of many. Alaskans enjoy warmed pilot bread with melted butter or with soup or moose stew. Pilot bread with peanut butter, honey, or apple sauce is often enjoyed by children.

Those who buy commercially baked pilot bread in the continental United States are often those who stock up on long-lived foods for disaster survival rations. Hardtack can comprise the bulk of dry food storage for some campers. Pilot bread, sometimes referred to as pilot crackers during advertising, is often sold in conjunction with freeze-dried foods as part of package deals by many freeze-dried survival food companies.

Hardtack was a staple of military servicemen in Japan and South Korea well into late 20th century. It is known as Kanpan in Japan and geonppang (건빵) in South Korea, meaning 'dry bread', and is still sold as a fairly popular snack food in South Korea.

Many people who currently buy or bake hardtack in the United States are Civil War re-enactors. One of the units that continually bakes hardtack for living history is the USS Tahoma Marine Guard Infantry of the Washington State Civil War Association. British and French re-enactors buy or bake hardtack as well.

Hardtack is also a mainstay in parts of Canada. Located in St John's, Newfoundland, Purity Factories currently bakes three varieties. The first variety, a cracker similar to a cross between an unsalted saltine and hardtack, is the "Crown Pilot Cracker". It was a popular item in much of New England and was manufactured by Nabisco until it was discontinued in the first quarter of 2008. It was discontinued once before, in 1996, but a small uprising by its supporters brought it back in 1997. This variety comes in two subvarieties, Flaky and Barge biscuits. The second is traditional hardtack and is the principal ingredient in fish and brewis a traditional Newfoundland and Labrador meal. The third variety is known as Sweet Bread. This variety is slightly softer than regular hardtack due to a higher sugar and shortening content and is eaten as a snack food.

In areas of North Dakota, where Swedes immigrated and formed farming communities in the early 1900s, hardtack still stands as a dietary staple. The Lindgren/Lundgren women of southeastern North Dakota have made a considerable contribution to refining and perfecting the flat bread.

Hardtack is also referred to as a staple food of Chinese hard-labor workers in Inner Mongolia during the Cultural Revolution by Ma Bo in his memoir.

Also, hardtack, baked with or without addition of fat, was and still is a staple in Russian military rations, especially in the Navy, as infantry traditionally preferred simple dried bread when the long life was needed. Called galette in Russian, it is usually somewhat softer and crumblier than traditional hardtack, as most varieties made in Russia include at least some fat or shortening, making them closer to saltine crackers. One such variety, "Хлебцы армейские", or "Army breads", is currently included into modern Russian military rations, and other brands enjoy significant popularity among civilian population as well, both among the campers and the general crowd.

Translation

The word "Hardtack" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Spanish.

Translation(s) in other languages: German: Hartkeks, Korean: 건빵, Dutch: Scheepsbeschuit, Japanese: 乾パン, Polish: suchary, Russian: Галеты, Finnish: Laivakorppu, Swedish: Skorpa, Ukrainian: Галета.