Your ViewsKeep your e-mails pouring in, it's good to know that there are lots of you out there with views and opinions. To help you work out what is what, are now little icons to help you see biscuit related themes. And now you can see at a glance which are the most contested subjects via this graph (requires Flash 6.0 plugin). Please keep your mails coming in to nicey@nicecupofteaandasitdown.com | If you like, you can use this search thingy to find stuff that matches with any of the icons you pick, or use the fantastic free text search, Yay! | Your e-Mails |
Fiona Spence |
Dear Nicey
Well, my word, the current poll could be your closest result yet? I look forward to the final count.
Reading other recent feedback made for interesting reading, especially the document from the Competition Commission, which suggests that biscuits should be distinguished from "flour-based snack foods". I feel Ryvita falls into such a category.
Sadly, Wikipedia did not satisfy my need, clearly, to define a crispbread as not a biscuit. It did, however, define it as a kind of bread, for which I am grateful. It also defines a cracker as a biscuit, which wasn't helpful either.
Wierdly, I'd rather see Weetabix as a biscuit, and thus I have to conclude that the definition of biscuit must be wide open to prejudice.
Should I allow crackers to be biscuits in a selfless act of tolerance? I now have to suppress any need to delve further into an argument over democracy, majority rule and prejudice... :)
Who would think an attitude towards Ryvita would provoke such soul searching?
On that note, best wishes for the poll.
Fiona |
Nicey replies: The poll is going splendidly isn't it, I'm very pleased with the "This third choice does not enable us to have a simple yes no answer" which is well ahead of the Yes vote.
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Russ Humphrey
Ringtons Ginger Snap Review |
Good morning Nicey,
I was wondering if you could please advise on a debate my friend Nicola and I are having.
Nicola is under the belief that Ringtons Tea is only available in the Glasshoughton area of the UK (sorry the Newcastle area as well) and is delivered by a tea man (I imagine these people to be similar to the old milk man with his float).
I do not believe that there is such a thing as a tea man, delivering only Ringtons tea door to door. Have you ever heard of such a scheme?
Many thanks for all your help and assistance on the matter.
Russ Humphrey |
Nicey replies: He really does do that, they also bring cakes and biscuits too like their Gingersnaps which we reviewed. As you'll see in the review they also sell online too |
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Kate and Mike |
Dear Nicey,
My friend and I are currently using your website for research for a uni IT project. We were most concerned as we couldn't work out if Weetabix is a biscuit or not?! My friend eats it dry with butter on... does this make it a biscuit? HELP! Many thanks,
Kate and Mike x |
Nicey replies: Kate and Mike,
Very much one for the biscuit Venn Diagram. There has always been a element of flirting between the two camps of breakfast cereals and and biscuits. The farley's rusk for example likes nothing better than a good dousing of milk and mashing up with a spoon whilst Nestle have the cookie crisp cereal which emulates small bite sized choc-chip cookies. I would happily place the Weetabix in the union of breakfast cereals and biscuits albeit way over on the cereal edge for the following reasons.
1) It somewhat troublesomely describes itself as a biscuit due no doubt to its form factor and little else
2) That's it really
Don't be drawn into those tied old arguments about what goes stale and how as these are all merely circumstantial evidence and not un-yeilding and absolute laws.
We once did a project at university where we left some horse manure under an ultraviolet lamp in a cupboard for a week then looked at it closely. I hope your project is at least as important.
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Alison Debenham |
Hi Nicey, Wifey and YMOS
Isn't this taking things just a little too far?
All the best
Alison
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Nicey replies: Very probably. It just adds yet another problem to your life, the foreboding and tension as your pack of 50 teapot drip catchers begins to run out and you realise that you may have to face up to unmanaged teapot drips once more until you can replenish your supply. |
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Chris Fawcett |
Dear Sir,
Having been informed by a colleague of your recent communications regarding the ‘is crispbread a biscuit?’ debate, not only do I stand by my argument that the English language defines it as being such, but the definition is also used within industry. The Competition Commission (an independent public body which conducts in-depth inquiries into mergers, markets and the regulation of the major regulated industries) describes a biscuit as follows. I do believe that such an authority should not be dismissed
Yours sincerely,
Chris |
Nicey replies: Hoisted by your own petard sir. First sentence "There is no agreed definition within the industry of what constitutes a biscuit.." , it then goes on somewhat awkwardly to describe proper biscuits like the Digestives as "sweetened products", having thrown its net to include your Ryvita. It hardly serves as a definition of a biscuit either, merely a few tentative suggestions for what may or may not be in a bona-fide definition if such as thing were to exist.
Which is why popular consensus rules hands down in these situations.
We shall hold a democratic poll and let the people decide.
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