Uploaded March 2014 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Hardtack (or hard tack) is a simple type of cracker or biscuit, made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Inexpensive and long-lasting, it was and is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages and military campaigns.[1] The name derives from the British sailor slang for food, "tack." It is known by other names such as pilot bread, ship's biscuit, , sea biscuit, cabin bread, sea bread (as rations for sailors) or pejoratively "dog biscuits", "tooth dullers", "sheet iron", "worm castles", or "molar breakers".
Hardtack (or hard tack) is a simple type of cracker or biscuit, made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Inexpensive and long-lasting, it was and is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages and military campaigns.[1] The name derives from the British sailor slang for food, "tack." It is known by other names such as pilot bread, ship's biscuit, , sea biscuit, cabin bread, sea bread (as rations for sailors) or pejoratively "dog biscuits", "tooth dullers", "sheet iron", "worm castles", or "molar breakers".
