A Garibaldi biscuit is a flat semi-sweet biscuit filled with currants. It is a type of biscuit instead of a brand of biscuit. It does not have gorgeous materials and appearance. No chocolate, no butter, no fancy shape or pattern. Just two thin oblongs of biscuit sandwiched with squashed currants.

Originating from England, however, the biscuit got its name from the Italian general, Giuseppe Garibaldi who is already a famous struggle leader by the time. After his visit to the UK in 1854, the biscuit was first manufactured in 1861 by Peek Freans, a Bermondsey biscuit company. These rectangular, thin biscuits are sandwiching a layer of currants being glazed on top with a little sugar. They are known as 'fly sandwiches', and 'squashed-fly biscuits' because the squashed currants resemble squashed flies. However, these biscuits have stuck around for 150 years, keeping their place on supermarket shelves for longer than others,  conquering the tastes of fashion-conscious and fickle consumers.

Industrial manufacturing

To make tasty Garibaldi biscuits, the quality of the currants is critical. Currants are small seedless grapes with high nutrition. Before putting into use, the currants are dried in the sun, and the stems and stalks must be separated from them.  After the dough is mixed, it can be used directly without fermentation. The product could be made by two 3 roll sheeter with a currant spreader between, the dough sheet should be ensured as thin as possible. The currant spreader usually consists of a hopper and a belt conveyor. While running, the conveyor belt draws the currants out of the hopper, then the currants will be deposited from the belt onto the dough sheet. To form the Garibaldi biscuit, the rotary cutter is needed to be sharp in case of not cutting through the currant and currant sticking. The dough sheet is cut into strips across the band. Then the strips are conveyor into the tunnel oven by wire mesh band or sheet steel band for baking. After baking, the biscuit strips are conveyed through cutting equipment with serval cutting discs to cut into single biscuits. Then the fresh Garibaldi biscuits are cooled at ambient temperature on the cooling conveyor.

The biscuit is low in calories and makes a perfect complement to a cup of coffee or tea. If you find this article interesting, please follow our Facebook▶https://www.facebook.com/biscuitequipment    We will share more fun things about biscuits both on our website and on Facebook.