{"id":2822,"date":"2010-10-01T08:39:43","date_gmt":"2010-10-01T15:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=2822"},"modified":"2013-08-02T22:57:10","modified_gmt":"2013-08-03T05:57:10","slug":"why-crackers-have-holes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2010\/10\/why-crackers-have-holes\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Crackers Have Holes"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pf-content\"><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/saltine-crackers.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2828\" title=\"saltine crackers\" alt=\"saltine crackers\" src=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/saltine-crackers-e1285947127694.jpg\" width=\"316\" height=\"255\" \/><\/a><a href='http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com' title='Interesting Facts'>Today I found out<\/a> why crackers have holes.<\/p>\n<p>Surprisingly, it turns out the holes are there for a reason, not just for decoration or for convenience in some manufacturing process, as one might expect.\u00a0 In actuality, without these holes, crackers wouldn&#8217;t bake correctly.\u00a0 These holes allow steam to escape during cooking.\u00a0 This keeps the crackers flat, instead of rising a bit like a normal biscuit as the steam tries to escape; these holes also help to properly crisp the crackers.<\/p>\n<p>When crackers are made, dough is rolled flat in sheets.\u00a0 These sheets then travel under a mechanism containing &#8220;docker&#8221; pins that end up putting the holes in the dough.\u00a0 The hole&#8217;s positioning and number varies depending on the size and shape of the cracker.\u00a0 If the holes are too close together, the cracker will end up being extra dry and hard, due to too much steam escaping.\u00a0 If the holes end up being too far apart, parts of the cracker will rise a bit forming little bubbles on the surface of the cracker, which is undesirable in most types of crackers.<\/p>\n<p>If you liked this article and the <span id=\"bonusfacts\">Bonus<\/span> Facts below, you might also enjoy:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2013\/03\/graham-crackers-were-originally-meant-to-be-part-of-a-diet-thought-to-curb-sexual-urges\/\" target=\"_blank\">Graham Crackers were Originally Meant to Be Part of a Diet Meant to Curb Sexual Urges<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2011\/12\/fortune-cookies-were-invented-in-japan-not-china\/\" target=\"_blank\">Fortune Cookies were Invented in Japan, Not China or America<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2011\/08\/bread-goes-stale-about-six-times-faster-in-the-refrigerator-than-at-room-temperature\/\" target=\"_blank\">Bread Goes Stale About Six Times Faster in the Refrigerator Than at Room Temperature<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2010\/11\/why-swiss-cheese-has-holes-in-it\/\" target=\"_blank\">Why Swiss Cheese Has Holes in It<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2012\/05\/is-it-safe-to-eat-moldy-bread-or-moldy-cheese\/\" target=\"_blank\">Is It Safe to Eat Moldy Bread or Moldy Cheese?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span id=\"bonusfacts\">Bonus<\/span> Facts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The first cracker was made in 1792 by John Pearson in Newburyport, Massachusetts.\u00a0 Pearson was looking to make a type of biscuit that would last longer than traditional sailor&#8217;s biscuits without spoiling. He eventually mixed just flour and water, baked it, and called his invention &#8220;Pearson&#8217;s Pilot Bread&#8221;.\u00a0 This later became known as &#8220;hardtack&#8221; or &#8220;sea biscuit&#8221;.\u00a0 This type of biscuit became incredibly popular among sea-faring folk due to its long shelf life without spoiling.<\/li>\n<li>The name &#8220;cracker&#8221; comes from a fateful day in 1801, also in Massachusetts, when Josiah Bent accidentally burned a batch of what we now call crackers.\u00a0 As the crackers burned, they made a crackling noise, which inspired the name.\u00a0 Bent was also the one who pioneered the cracker as a snack food, not just for sailors rations as his competition were selling them as.\u00a0 To make them popular as a snack food, he knew he&#8217;d have to improve on the flavor.\u00a0 He experimented around until he eventually came up with soda crackers, which were precursors to saltine crackers and were generally considered tastier than Pearson&#8217;s Pilot Bread. \u00a0\u00a0 By 1810, Bent&#8217;s cracker business was incredibly successful and it eventually was acquired by the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco).\u00a0 However, you can still buy crackers made by the company Bent&#8217;s grandson founded, G.H. Bent Co.\u00a0 They still sell hardtack, as well as other types of crackers; <a title=\"G.H. Bent Co\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bentscookiefactory.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">you can even purchase from them online<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Nabisco, using Bent&#8217;s recipe, eventually released the saltine cracker in 1876.\u00a0 Their slogan for this new cracker was &#8220;Polly wants a cracker?&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Saltine crackers were mildly successful after being released, but received a huge boost in popularity thanks to the Great Depression.\u00a0 Saltines were a nice cheap, tasty filler to add to other foods such as watery soup, to make the meal more filling.<\/li>\n<li>Graham crackers were invented by Sylvester Graham in 1829.\u00a0 Graham was farm-hand and a teacher who turned\u00a0 Presbyterian minister due to poor health.\u00a0\u00a0 During his time as a minister, Graham developed a unique system for maintaining health.\u00a0 He recommended hard mattresses for sleeping; keeping your bedroom windows open at all times for fresh air; cold showers; loose clothing; consuming only pure water; and exercising regularly. Graham also promoted a type of coarse, unsifted wheat flour, touting its high fiber content.\u00a0 The main ingredient in Graham crackers is this type of flour, which was eventually also named Graham flour, after the minister.\u00a0 Hence the name &#8220;Graham Crackers&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>The term &#8220;biscuit&#8221;, derives from the Latin &#8220;bis coctus&#8221;, meaning &#8220;twice baked&#8221;, which is essentially what many types of biscuits are.\u00a0 The term first showed up in English around the 14th century. In America, the term biscuit now pretty much only means a small, quick rising, soft bread product.\u00a0 In most of the rest of the English speaking world, biscuit still refers to such things as hardtack, small cakes, cookies, etc.<\/li>\n<li>The word &#8220;cookie&#8221; comes from the Dutch &#8220;koekjes&#8221; which came from the Dutch &#8220;koek&#8221;, meaning &#8220;cake&#8221;;\u00a0 cookie was introduced to English in the very early 18th century.\u00a0 It is thought this term caught on more in the United States due to the strong Dutch heritage in early America.\u00a0 The British prefer to call cookies &#8220;small cakes, seed biscuits, or tea cakes&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>Over $10 billion worth of crackers are sold within the United States alone every year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69efc9fa235b8\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Expand for References:\"    >Expand for References:<\/span><div id=\"target-id69efc9fa235b8\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \">\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"why do crackers have holes\" href=\"http:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=9h7fcZFYWVcC&amp;pg=PA116&amp;lpg=PA116&amp;dq=why+do+crackers+have+holes+in+them&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=6ZXgr7Ydg9&amp;sig=-IX67o3TS-_-7D_cGDL_lwbybfk&amp;hl=en&amp;ei=h8mlTKGEEJHEsAOIsf39Dg&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=book_result&amp;ct=result&amp;resnum=7&amp;ved=0CDkQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&amp;q=why%20do%20crackers%20have%20holes%20in%20them&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\">Why do crackers have holes?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"A Cracker is Born\" href=\"http:\/\/gonewengland.about.com\/library\/blalmanac11101.htm\" target=\"_blank\">A Cracker is Born<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"History of Saltine Crackers\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ehow.com\/about_5200517_history-saltine-crackers.html\" target=\"_blank\">History of Saltine Crackers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Graham Crackers\" href=\"http:\/\/inventors.about.com\/library\/inventors\/blgraham.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Sylvester Graham: Graham Crackers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Cookies, Crackers, and Biscuits\" href=\"http:\/\/www.foodtimeline.org\/foodcookies.html\" target=\"_blank\">Cookies, Crackers, and Biscuits<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Cracker\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cracker_%28food%29\" target=\"_blank\">Cracker<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a href='http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com' title='Interesting Facts'>Today I found out<\/a> why crackers have holes. Surprisingly, it turns out the holes are there for a reason, not just for decoration or for convenience in some manufacturing process, as one might expect.\u00a0 In actuality, without these holes, crackers wouldn&#8217;t bake correctly.\u00a0 These holes allow steam to escape during cooking.\u00a0 This keeps the crackers flat, instead of rising a [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11],"tags":[600,76],"class_list":["post-2822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-i-found-out","category-miscellaneous","tag-crackers","tag-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2822"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2831,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2822\/revisions\/2831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}