Anzac biscuit
ANZAC Biscuits are a snack food most commonly made from the primary ingredients of rolled oats, coconut, and golden syrup.
Many myths surround the origin of the ANZAC Biscuits. These biscuits were made by Australian and New Zealand women for the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) soldiers during World War I and were reputedly first called "Soldiers' Biscuits" then renamed "ANZAC Biscuits" after the Gallipoli landing. The recipe was reportedly created to ensure the biscuits would keep well during naval transportation to loved ones who were fighting overseas. However, those biscuits were shaped more like rock cakes and were made from entirely different ingredients.
Research carried out by Professor Helen Leach, a culinary anthropologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand, revealed that the first time the name "ANZAC" appeared in the name of the biscuit in a recipe book was in 1921. That occurred in the renaming of the "oatmeal biscuit" recipe to "ANZAC crispies", in the ninth edition of the St Andrew's Cookery Book. Subsequent editions renamed this to be "ANZAC Biscuits".
Exactly the same recipe was included in contemporary recipe books as "rolled oats biscuits", (and none of these recipes included coconut - not until 1927). The oatmeal or rolled oats biscuits were developed in the Scottish-influenced city of Dunedin as a variation of Scottish oat cakes.
Today, the ANZAC Biscuits are manufactured commercially for retail sale because of their military connection with the ANZACs and ANZAC Day. These biscuits are often used as a fundraising item for the RSA and the RSL veterans organisations. ANZAC Biscuits made using the traditional recipe are also carried by bush-bashers (bushwalkers) as a food of last resort; due to their tough constitution and good keeping properties enabling these biscuits to survive many days of rough travel.
The term ANZAC is protected under Australian law [1] and therefore the word should not be used without permission from the Minister for Veterans' Affairs [2]; misuse can be legally enforced particularly for commercial purposes. There is a general exemption granted for ANZAC Biscuits, as long as these biscuits remain basically true to the original recipe and are both referred to and sold as ANZAC Biscuits and never as cookies. [3]
ANZAC Biscuits can still to this day be found in Australian CR1M military ration packs.
A British version of the ANZAC biscuit, supporting the Royal British Legion, is available in several major supermarket chains.[4]
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