Cracker and Other Tins
My first cracker tin called to me at a benefit flea market at the Armory in Victoria, British Columbia. It commemorated Ritz crackers’ 60th anniversary and was printed in French and English, the two official languages of Canada. The Kathleen Thompson Hill Kitchen Memories Collection includes 70 cracker tins from England, Scotland, Holland, Canada, Japan, France, Israel, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, the Philippines and throughout the United States.
Cracker tins evolved to preserve softer versions of ancient “hardtack” or pilot bread, and to ship biscuits (sea biscuits) and “molar breakers.” Hardtack and biscuits, or crackers, were thought to aid digestion, as had the flat millet bread of Egyptian sailors in the 12th century. The finer the flour used, the softer the biscuits. Old sailors thought that if crackers were hard enough and stored properly, they would last forever. Hardtack was often baked four times, rather than the normal two, and then dunked in brine or coffee to soften. In 1588 Spanish Armada ships were allowed one pound of biscuits and a gallon of beer per sailor.
During Queen Victoria’s reign hardtack was made by machine in Gosport, Hampshire and stamped with her mark and the oven number.
Sailor Boy “pilot bread” helped Alaskan pilots and is still delivered to villages in special boxes. Hardtack in Canada is made by Purity Factories in Newfoundland, such as the unsalted saltine Crown Pilot Cracker, which crept into New England and was manufactured by Nabisco until 2008.
In 1801 Josiah Bent left some biscuits in his period wood-burning oven too long and they made a crackling noise, leading to calling the results crackers, as distinguished from the term “biscuits” used in Britain. As did many cracker company owners, Bent sold his resulting cracker business to the National Biscuit Company, which is now Nabisco.
Now the little holes in the tops of crackers are poked by machines to allow air to escape during the baking process to keep the cracker flat and crisp.
“Crackers” in the U.K. actually refer to decorative mini firecrackers popped and opened at Christmas dinner, often with a riddle and paper crown in each one.
Crackers have long been favorite snacks by themselves, as mini sandwiches, or topped with butter, cheeses, tuna salad, or onions and as meal stretchers to fill tummies when soup may be the main entrée. They are also crumbled for casserole toppings, thickeners or binders in meatloaf, and even as coating for fried chicken and pie crusts.
Cracker brands such as Sunshine, Ritz, Nabisco, and all the others you see in this collection developed tins for preservation in various climates.