Hardtack (or hard tack) is a type of dense cracker made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Hardtack is inexpensive and long-lasting. It is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages, land migrations, and military campaigns. Along with salt pork and corned beef, hardtack was a standard ration for many militaries and navies from the 17th to the early 20th centuries
The name is derived from "tack", the British sailor slang for food. The earliest use of the term recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1830.
It is known by other names including brewis (possibly a cognate with "brose"), cabin bread, pilot bread, sea biscuit, soda crackers, sea bread (as rations for sailors), ship's biscuit, and pejoratively as dog biscuits, molar breakers, sheet iron, tooth dullers, Panzerplatten ("armor plates"; Germany) and worm castles. Australian and New Zealand military personnel knew them with some sarcasm as ANZAC wafers (not to be confused with Anzac biscuit).
History
The introduction of the baking of processed cereals, including the creation of flour, provided a more reliable source of food. Egyptian sailors carried a flat brittle loaf of millet bread called dhourra cake. A cracker called bucellatum is known in Ancient Rome. King Richard I of England left for the Third Crusade (1189β1192) with "biskit of muslin", which was a mixed grain compound of barley, bean flour, and rye.
Because hardtack biscuits were baked hard, they would stay intact for years if kept dry. For long voyages, hardtack was baked four times, rather than the more common two, and prepared six months before sailing. Because it is dry and hard, hardtack, when properly stored and transported, will survive rough handling and temperature extremes. Dry hardtack is dense and virtually inedible; troops issued it usually made it edible by dampening, or crushing the biscuits
When James VI and I set sail for Norway in October 1589, his provisions included 15,000 "bisquit baiks". By at least 1731, it was officially codified in Naval regulation that each sailor was rationed one pound (450 g) of biscuit per day.
By 1818, the United States Navy had outlined that each sailor was to be given 14 ounces (400 g) of bread per day as part of their daily ration while serving onboard in the form of hardtack.
During the American Civil War (1861β1865), three-by-three-inch (7.6 by 7.6 cm) hardtack was shipped from Union and Confederate storehouses. Civil War soldiers generally found their rations to be unappealing, and joked about the poor quality of the hardtack in the satirical song "Hard Tack Come Again No More".
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 them off and eat the biscuits. The grubs "left no distinctive flavor behind.
Some men turned hardtack into a mush by breaking it up with blows from their rifle butts, then adding water. If the men had a frying pan, they could cook the mush into a lumpy pancake; otherwise they dropped the mush directly on the coals of their campfire. They also mixed hardtack with brown sugar, hot water, and sometimes whiskey to create what they called a pudding, to serve as dessert.
Modern Use
Commercially available hardtack 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) from 2 grams of protein but practically no fiber.
Food That Time Forgot: Ships Biscuits - townsends
How to Eat Like a Pirate: Hardtack & Grog - tasting history
- π»Link to all Hexbear comms https://hexbear.net/post/1403966
- π Come listen to music and Watch movies with your fellow Hexbears nerd, in Cy.tube](https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies
- π₯ Read and talk about a current topics in the News Megathread https://hexbear.net/post/5042186
- β Come talk in the New Weekly PoC thread https://hexbear.net/post/4738774
- β¨ Talk with fellow Trans comrades in the New Weekly Trans thread https://hexbear.net/post/5039365
- π New Weekly Improvement thread https://hexbear.net/post/5031369
- 𧑠Disabled comm megathread https://hexbear.net/post/4891939
- Parenting Chat https://hexbear.net/post/5020579
reminders:
- π You nerds can join specific comms to see posts about all sorts of topics
- π Hexbearβs algorithm prioritizes comments over upbears
- π Sorting by new you nerd
- π If you ever want to make your own megathread, you can reserve a spot here nerd
- πΆ Join the unofficial Hexbear-adjacent Mastodon instance toots.matapacos.dog
Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):
Aid:
Theory:
- β€οΈFoundations of Leninism
- β€οΈAnarchism and Other Essays
That's sick! I have been doing it for about 3 months. It's hard to put it in exact terms, but it feels somewhere between horsing around with my friends as an 8 year old and being able to develop a fulfilling skill. I've been out sick recently but before that we were practicing the arm bar from mount and variations on that topic. My gym does a lot of positional sparring and depending on the class we tend to end with some full rolls.
I don't think dealing with chuddy people is an issue for me, I am a white cis het man. This sport does have a habit of attracting cops and other men who are into violence though, but if you have good instructors you can count on them to keep things respectful, and disrespectful people do tend to be filtered out. That said, I'm not sure how I would fare if I was trans, queer etc. I'm sure each gym has a different culture - I've only ever trained at one.
Some of my most rewarding times come from coaching fundamentals students. I'm always curious how they get the most important belt promotion (no belt -> white) and find the courage to walk through the door. What was it for you? Personally, I walas inspired by Naruto to be a ninja and fight others, but I was far too timid to throw punches. It took a good 7 years before I would try kickboxing.
I've been working on guard retention and truck entries. The truck is a kind of hip control where you only have the bottom hook in but their hips are above yours. It allows you to do 3 main pieces of nonsense: a calf slicer, the electric chair, and the twister. The guard because it's actually useful and the truck to torture blue belts.
If I were to ever have a worthwhile legacy in BJJ, it would be making self defense fundamentals accessible to the LGBT+. If I could help them and some other protesters get out from someone's mount, trip someone, and hit a guard sweep I'd call it a win.
For me, I did karate until I was 14 or so, and I was always interested in BJJ but never pulled the trigger for the sake of time/$$$. Now I have more time and money and my coworker said he started with his kids and they really love it, and all of a sudden I'm deciding to walk in and try it. Being able to handle myself in some kind of altercation is interesting to me, plus having some reason to continue keeping up my strength training and cardio is nice as I get a little bit older.
I have never been twistered, but I did get put into a mounted triangle by a no gi guy at the last open mat, which felt quite crazy lol. I mainly do gi but that's mostly just what I've started with. The fundamentals classes are gi only at my gym. There seem to be WAY more no gi people, though (it's an MMA gym as well).
I remember the first time I had a proper mount put on me. The panic was intense lol. Now, it's just another Thursday. That's the power of jits
Well let me know whenever you have something to talk about. I'd enjoy hearing about your progress. I can tell you stories like a white belt who felt slighted when I let him work, so I put him in as many different chokes and joint locks as I could think of rapid fire for 3 minutes
Will do. It's cool to hear there is someone else here who does BJJ. The idea that someday I could be talented enough to just dump everything I know on some unsuspecting (but deserving!) white belt is another reason the sport is so interesting to me. The skill ceiling is really high. Thanks for chatting