Crackers

Crackers started out as thin, crisp, non-sweet, bite-size flatbreads. The making of crackers was among the first food industries in America. During the eighteenth century, cheap, hard crackers called “ship’s bread”, “ship’s biscuits”, and later, “hardtack” were widely manufactured for use on ships and for those migrating westward. These large, sturdy crackers, made only of flour and water—no shortening—kept for a very long time. One of the earliest brand-name foods was Bent’s water crackers, which were initially manufactured in 1801 by Josiah Bent, a ship’s bread baker in Milton, Massachusetts. The Bent Company continues to manufacture these crackers.