Many Brits are only just discovering the meaning behind the intricate patterns on custard cream biscuits.
The beloved treats are thought to have first appeared in Britain in 1908, typically featuring an ornate baroque design pressed into their surface.
Generations have savoured these biscuits, frequently accompanied by a comforting cup of tea. However, many custard cream fans have likely never questioned the origin of their distinctive pattern and characteristis upper layer.
A heritage specialist has now revealed the fascinating explanation, leaving many people astonished. Bryony, an expert at the Manchester Museum, disclosed the information on Instagram.
In a viral video, she explained: “Between the 1840s and 1890s in the UK there was a craze that was bigger than Pokemon cards. It was called the fern madness, Pteridomania.
“When trains and the train lines started to come to the UK, going to remote places became fashionable and so people would try and find things that were in those remote, cold places, things like ferns. It became a symbol of friendship, of good times, and intelligence of course.
“And that’s why you see fern patterns on things like Victorian architecture, on birthday cards, and also the pattern on custard creams. They’re some ferns unfurling.”
Viewers have been taken aback, according to the comments section, where one wrote: “Fascinating! I always thought it was some design overhang from the art nouveau period.”
Another added: “Oh I’d always thought they were wrought iron. Thank you”. Biscuit fans may also may be intrigued to learn that traditional custard creams are made with custard powder, not egg.
The invention of custard powder is credited to Alfred Bird, who created it for his wife due to her egg allergy.
Food historian and author Lizzie Collingham spoke to the BBC about the innovative addition of custard to biscuits, stating: “It was seen as a modern, exciting thing to make a food.
“Biscuits were the first industrial food, the first food stuff to be produced by a machine; form mixing, kneading, rolling out, cutting out, baking, it could all be done with minimal intervention from people.
“To put custard powder in a biscuit… it brought together two things which represented industrial progress.”
