hardtacks

Sailor's dry bread

Hardtacks is the plural of hardtack, a simple cracker or biscuit made from flour, water, and sometimes salt, baked until extremely dry and hard.

Hardtack was a military and naval staple for centuries because it resisted spoilage on long voyages or campaigns: The soldiers subsisted on hardtacks and coffee.

The crackers are nearly indestructible but notoriously unpleasant to eat without soaking.

food

sea biscuit

Durable shipboard bread

crackerCrisp baked wafer
tackSharp-headed fastener
survival foodShelf-stable disaster provisions

unleavened · flour · water · salt · long-lasting · emergency rations · weevils · soaking · dunking · coffee

historical

Civil War

Countrymen fighting countrymen

Union ArmyNorthern military in 1860s
sheet ironThin flat iron plates
military historyStudy of armed conflicts

trench warfare · westward expansion · Gold Rush · pioneer trail · covered wagon · army surplus · blockade · mustering · encampment · battlefield

nautical

ship provisions

Goods stocked for voyage

sea voyageTravel across ocean waters
merchant marineCivilian ships for commerce
sailing shipsWind-driven watercraft with masts

deck hands · mess hall · grog · salt beef · scurvy · whaling ships · clipper ships · forecastle · mariner · seafaring

Opposites

texture and consistency

hardtacksfresh bread

Recently baked goods

brioche · challah · milk bread · white bread · dinner rolls

freshness and perishability

hardtacksartisan loaf

culinary refinement

hardtacksbrioche

Enriched French bread

croissants · artisan bread

Family

hardtack

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G