Custard cream patterns and what they imply as individuals lastly realise it isn’t what they thought
Custard creams have been a British favourite since 1908, but most people have no idea what the patterns meant as there’s actually a captivating tale behind those intricate patterns adorning each biscuit
Custard creams are a British staple(Image: clubfoto via Getty Images)
Custard creams are a beloved British biscuit that’s been gracing our tea tables since 1908 – yet most of us have never pondered their fascinating past.
Why would we when we’re too busy munching through them? But there’s actually a captivating tale behind those intricate patterns adorning each biscuit – and hardly anyone knows the real story, reports the Daily Record.
A history buff recently revealed the secrets behind this delightful detail – leaving social media users intrigued. Bryony, who’s based at Manchester Museum, spilled the beans about the biscuit’s decorative design on Instagram. She revealed: “Between the 1840s and 1890s in the UK there was a craze that was bigger than Pokémon 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.”
Social media users were impressed by the revelation. One person commented: “Fascinating! I always thought it was some design overhang from the art nouveau period.”
Another intrigued follower chimed in: “Oh, I’d always thought they were wrought iron. Thank you”. What’s more, biscuit enthusiasts might be fascinated to discover that classic custard creams are actually crafted using custard powder rather than eggs.
The creation of custard powder is attributed to Alfred Bird. He developed it specifically for his wife because of her egg allergy. Food historian and author Lizzie Collingham discussed with the BBC this groundbreaking incorporation of custard into biscuits, explaining: “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.”
