Charcoal biscuit

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For other uses, see Charcoal (disambiguation).

Charcoal biscuit is a biscuit based on a powdered willow charcoal mixed with ordinary flour, and made into dough with butter, sugar and eggs.[1] It was first made in England in the early 19th century, originally as an antidote to flatulence and stomach trouble.[2] The Retrospect of Practical Medicine and Surgery, a medical text published in 1856, recommends charcoal biscuits for gastric problems, saying each biscuit contained ten grains (648 mg) of charcoal.[3] Vegetable Charcoal: Its Medicinal and Economic Properties with Practical Remarks on Its Use in Chronic Affections of the Stomach and Bowels, published in 1857, recommends charcoal biscuits as an excellent method of administering charcoal to children.[4]

More recently, a type of charcoal biscuit has been marketed as a pet care product.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Davidson, Alan (1999). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press, p. 76. ISBN 0-19-211579-0. 
  2. ^ Rolland, Jacques L. (2006). The Food Encyclopedia: Over 8,000 Ingredients, Tools, Techniques and People. Robert Rose, p. 148. ISBN 0778801500. 
  3. ^ Braithwaite, James (1856). The Retrospect of Practical Medicine and Surgery. W. A. Townsend Publishing Co., p. 292. 
  4. ^ Bird, James (1857). Vegetable Charcoal: Its Medicinal and Economic Properties with Practical Remarks on Its Use in Chronic Affections of the Stomach and Bowels. J. Churchill, p. 65. 
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