Hello Future ICLC Students,
Isn’t this so exciting?? You are going to
be coming to one of the coolest cities in the world, surrounded by other amazing
historical, culture, and holy-crap-beautiful
places, and on top of that you are going to be introduced to the wonderful
world of biscuits. EXCITING. This post is dedicated to all you sweet lovers out
there that are literally going to spend half of their budget on food. I am you,
you are not alone, I understand.
So, to help y’all out, here are my top five
biscuits (which I have legitimately taken the time to compare and review.) LET’S
BEGIN.
Note: Due to taste preference, these
biscuits are rated in no particular order, they are just my five favorites.
Another note (sorry): With all of these
biscuits, I tasted them with Tetley English Breakfast Tea with whole milk.
However, these biscuits also work GREAT with other teas (sometimes better). I
was just going for consistency.
1: Fox’s Jam and Creams
Okay, out of the two main jam brands out
there (Jammie Dodgers is the other one) Fox’s Jam and Creams are far superior. I can rant for a long time
about it, but practically on every level, from taste to absorbency to texture,
Jam and Creams take the cake. These are great with tea, great without tea, and
the jam looks like it’s actual jam. Jammie Dodgers can take a hike with their
fakety fake fake jolly rancher-esque jam that never really quite works with
tea. If you like jam cookies or fruity cookies in any way, definitely go Fox’s.
They will not disappoint. You can find these at most market stores, I found
them at Tesco.
2: McVitie’s Ginger Nuts
Okay, so I know that ginger is not the
easiest flavor for some, but I love ginger, especially
with tea. If you also like ginger, you have to try McVitie’s Ginger Nuts
and not Fox’s Ginger Crinkle Crunch
biscuits. I am very particular about this, because it is all in the texture.
McVitie’s has perfected the art of balancing the ginger and molasses in their
biscuits so that when dunked in tea, you only get biscuit texture: and it’s
smooth and great. Fox’s, on the other hand, has
not perfected that balance, and when you dunk those in tea? You get this wimpy biscuit surrounding a hardened
layer of molasses, and it’s just plain weird.
It’s not what you want in a biscuit. You want Ginger Nuts. Please, go for
Ginger Nuts. These are usually at Sainsbury’s, but actually due to flooding in
December they were off the shelves for a while. Luckily, by the time y’all get
here, they should be back in full swing.
Note: THESE WORK WITH MOST TEAS PLEASE TRY
THESE WITH EARL GREY, CHAI, LADY GREY, COFFEE ETC. YOUR MOUTH WILL THANK YOU.
3: McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes
Ok, ok, ok, I know, these clearly say
‘cakes’ in the title, and I understand your wariness, because if you’ve tried
Jaffa Cakes you’re probably like: ‘Cat, you’re an idiot, these are soft and
cake-like and I don’t believe you when you say it’s delicious with tea.’ Well,
friend, please hold onto your hat and let me take you for a ride. For those
that aren’t in the know, Jaffa Cakes are orange flavored cakes with orange jam
on one side, and covered in dark chocolate. They’re brilliant on their own, but
when you are ever so careful and give them one nice dunk in tea? You got a
whole lot of ‘!!!!!!!!!’ emotions coming your way. Too long a dunk and it’s a
little risky, but hey, you gotta risk it to get the biscuit, am I right? Find
‘em basically anywhere, I got mine at Tesco.
Last thing about this: even though it’s
great with English Breakfast, do yourself a favor and try this with Earl Grey
or Chai.
4. McVitie’s Penguins
I have to thank Hannah, aka one of the ICLC
HBIC’s (Head Brit In Charge) for the Penguin representation in this blog post,
because she is the one that gifted me that sweet, sweet chocolate snack.
Available pretty much anywhere, a Penguin is a chocolate biscuit covered in
chocolate. Yes, double chocolate for
all you fiends out there. Though Penguins aren’t the most environmentally
friendly because they are all individually wrapped, they kind of make up for it
with the completely awful jokes that come on the back of each wrapper. Many
puns, many cringe-worthy laughs. Penguins are great on their own, and if you
want to be basic you can just dip it in your tea (hold it for a long while—they
thick) and be done with it, OR, you can be an adventurer. You can choose to
sacrifice your reputation (because you WILL look ridiculous) for taste bud
glory. Which path do you choose? If you choose glory, continue reading the next
paragraph. All you other cowards can skip it.
When you begin to eat your Penguin, the
first thing you must do is make sure you have a full cup of hot tea. This is
imperative. When that’s done, bite off one northern corner of the biscuit, and
the opposite southern corner of the biscuit. If you need a mental image, you
want to have a diagonal path with the entrance and exit being the bit corners
of the biscuit. Now. Place one of the bit corners into your tea, place your
mouth over the other bit corner, and suck on the biscuit like you are trying to
get the tea to your lips. Do not give up if you don’t think it’s working: it
is. Now, this is the tough part. Based off of pure instinct, find the perfect
time to stop the straw action and flip the biscuit up and into your mouth. No
need to get the whole thing in there, just mainly go for the bit that got a lot
of the tea all up in it. As you’re eating, revel in how delicious it is, but
more importantly, how superior you are
to your classmates who probably only eat their Penguins by dunking them like
lemmings. You have swum against the current, you have boldly gone where few go
because they are worried about being laughed at! And now, you feast…victorious.
5. McVitie’s Milk Chocolate Digestives
The holy grail of biscuits. Nay, I daresay,
the biscuit. With milk chocolate on
one side and a graham cracker type deal on the other, Milk Chocolate Digestives
are the only biscuit that you HAVE to try if you go to London. Unless it’s
against your religion, you’re allergic, or the spirit of McVitie himself came to
you in a dream and forbid you from eating them, it is your obligation as an
ICLC student to go to whatever convenience store is nearest your flat, find
yourself the McVitie’s MCD (cool kids use acronyms), pay for it (cool kids
don’t steal), brew yourself a cuppa, and prepare for your life to be forever
changed. Eat these biscuits plain. Eat ‘em with tea, with milk, with coffee, whatever
it takes, just go and eat them. Bless up, you’re welcome, mic drop.
End Note:
I realize this post is all about biscuits,
but honestly, try every new food you can (based off of your dietary
restrictions, and choices, obviously). Food is a great way to learn about a
culture, and you’re going to be experiencing lots and lots of cultures while
abroad. Bring yourself out of your comfort zone when it comes to food, because
you never know what food might change your life. Cheers!
