View source for Triscuit

{{short description|Snack crackers}}
{{Infobox brand
| name           = Triscuit
| logo           = Triscuit Logo 2024.png
| logo_size   = 200
| image          = 2020-07-01 18 53 28 An individual Original Triscuit in the Franklin Farm section of Oak Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia.jpg
| image_size   = 200
| caption        = 
| producttype    = [[cracker (food)|Cracker]]
| currentowner   = [[Mondelez International]]
| producedby     = 
| country        =  
| introduced     = {{start date and age|1903}}
| discontinued   = 
| related        = 
| markets        = 
| previousowners = {{plainlist|
* [[Nabisco]] (1928–2012)
* [[Shredded wheat|Shredded Wheat Co.]] (1903–1928)
}}
| trademarkregistrations = 
| ambassadors    = 
| tagline        = 
| website        = {{url|https://www.snackworks.com/brands/triscuit/}}
| module         = <!-- or: misc -->
| module1        = <!-- or: misc1 -->
| footnotes     =
}}
'''Triscuit''' is a [[brand name]] of [[snack]] [[cracker (food)|crackers]] which take the form of [[baking|baked]] square [[whole wheat]] wafers. Invented in 1900, they were patented in 1902<ref>{{cite web  | last = Perky  | first = Henry  | title = Filamentous Cracker - Patent No. 713,795  | url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US713795A/en | access-date = 2018-06-30}}</ref> and the [[Shredded wheat|Shredded Wheat Company]] began production the next year<ref name=hughes>{{cite web|last = Hughes| first = Nancy | title = HowStuffWorks - How Triscuits Work  | date = 18 May 2007 |url=http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-triscuits-work.htm  |access-date = 2008-02-02 }}</ref> in [[Niagara Falls, New York]]. The Niagara site was chosen due to its proximity to the [[Adams Power Plant Transformer House|Niagara Falls hydroelectric plant]], the first major power plant in the United States, which opened in 1895.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Susan J. Eck|title="It's All in the Shreds" The Natural Food Company, 430 Buffalo Avenue, Niagara Falls NY|url=https://www.wnyhistory.org/portfolios/businessindustry/nabisco/shredded_wheat.html}}</ref>

== History ==
[[The Shredded Wheat Company]] began producing Triscuits in 1903 in Niagara Falls, New York.<ref name=hughes/> The name may have come from a combination of the words ''[[electricity]]'' and ''[[Biscuit (North America)|biscuit]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/triscuit-name-origin-combination-of-electricity-biscuit-2020-3|title=It's pretty obvious that the Triscuit name is a play on the word biscuit, but it turns out the 'tri' at the beginning doesn't stand for 'three' – it's short for 'electricity'|date=2020-03-26|work=Business Insider}}</ref> An alternative theory holds that the ''tri'' refers to the cracker's three ingredients (wheat, oil, and salt),<ref>{{Cite web|author=Annelise Schoups|title=Why is Triscuit Called Triscuit?|url=https://www.rewindandcapture.com/why-is-triscuit-called-triscuit/|work=Rewind & Capture|date=April 12, 2018|access-date=December 7, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=|title=Our Products|url=https://www.triscuit.com/products.html|work=Triscuit.com|date=|access-date=December 7, 2022}}</ref> but this is disputed due to conflicting adverts and poor records.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why is it Called a Triscuit? |url=https://underunderstood.com/podcast/episode/triscuit-electricity-biscuit/ |website=Under Understood |date=8 March 2023 |access-date=22 March 2023}}</ref> At least one early advertisement boasted that Triscuits were "baked by electricity", claiming they were "the only food on the market prepared by this 1903 process".<ref>{{cite news |title=Triscuit: Baked by Electricity |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34452781/triscuit_baked_by_electricity/ |access-date=2019-07-31 |work=The Montgomery Advertiser |date=27 Sep 1903}}</ref> Each cracker measured {{convert|2.25x4|in|cm}}, and remained that size for nearly 21 years. The ovens were then altered and the cracker size changed to {{convert|2|in|adj=on}} squares.<ref name="hughes" />

In 1928, the Shredded Wheat Company was purchased by [[Nabisco]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=Andrew F.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o7gxBgAAQBAJ&dq=shredded+wheat+company+nabisco+1928&pg=PA512|title=Food and Drink in American History: A "Full Course" Encyclopedia [3 Volumes]: A "Full Course" Encyclopedia|date=2013-10-28|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-233-5|language=en}}</ref>

Beginning in 1935, Triscuits were sprayed with oil and salted. In 1984, additional flavor choices were introduced and the crackers were made crispier.<ref name="hughes" />

==Overview==
[[File:Triscuit_1903_Advertisement.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.6|1903 advertisement]]
{{Infobox nutritional value
| name            = Nutritional info
| image           = 
| image_size      = 
| image_alt       = 
| caption         = 
| serving_size    = around 6 crackers
| kJ              = 502
| carbs           = 29 g
| starch          = 
| sugars          = 0 g
| fiber           = 3 g
| fat             = 3.5 g
| satfat          = 0 g
| transfat        = 0 g
| monofat         = 1 g
| polyfat         = 2 g
| protein         = 3 g
| calcium_mg      = 10
| iron_mg         = 1.4
| potassium_mg    = 116
| sodium_mg       = 160
}}
Triscuits are made from wheat, which is first cooked in water until it reaches about fifty percent moisture content, then tempered to allow the moisture to diffuse evenly in the grain. Slotted rollers form the grain into shredded wheat strands, which are then formed into webs. Several webs are stacked together and the still-moist stack is crimped to produce individual crackers. Oven baking then reduces the moisture content to five percent.<ref name="hughes" /> The product is currently a {{convert|1.75|in|cm|adj=on}} square.
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{Official website}}

{{Mondelez}}

[[Category:Nabisco brands]]
[[Category:Brand name crackers]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1900]]
[[Category:Mondelez International brands]]
[[Category:Wheat]]


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