Wafer

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Wafer
Akbar Mashti.JPG
Traditional Iranian ice cream sandwiches prepared with wafers
TypeCookie

A wafer is a crisp, often sweet, very thin, flat, light biscuit, [1] often used to decorate ice cream, and also used as a garnish on some sweet dishes. [2] They frequently have a waffle surface pattern but may also be patterned with insignia of the food's manufacturer or may be patternless. Some chocolate bars, such as Kit Kat and Coffee Crisp, are wafers with chocolate in and around them.

Contents

Communion wafers

A communion wafer is a type of unleavened bread consumed as part of the Christian ritual of communion.

Spa wafer

Karlsbader-Oblate.jpg
A round Carlsbad spa wafer.
Oplatki.w.koszyczku.jpg
Polish Christmas wafers, depicting Christian scenes.

Special "spa wafers" (Czech: lázeňské oplatky, Slovak: kúpeľné oblátky) are produced in the spa towns of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (e.g. Piešťany). The production of the wafers in Karlsbad and Marienbad was traditional to the towns' German-speaking population, who, after the ethnic cleansing of the area, brought the craft to Germany. [3]

A similar biscuit is cooked in Hungary called the Molnárkalács. Its origins can be traced back to the Palóc population. It is round and hard (sometimes also rolled) decorated with folk symbols and images and text instead of a simple spiral. It is also eaten with toppings like jams. It is made with special pressing tool, the sütővas. [4]

Christmas wafer

Christmas wafers are made of only wheat flour and water. Their patterns often depict religious scenes, are a Central European Roman Catholic Christmas tradition celebrated in Polish, Slovak, Lithuanian and Italian families on Christmas Eve. These do not have sacramental value like the communion wafer. Christmas wafers are symbolic bread to share among guests to emphasize the close relationship by eating bread together. This gesture has a positive meaning, but additional wishes are often made as well. They are called opłatek (Latin: oblatum) in Polish, as opposed to wafel, which denotes a common wafer.

Oblea

An oblea 20200106 200148Oblea.jpg
An oblea

A variation of a wafer, considered a part of the traditional cuisine in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, Venezuela, and México, is known as an oblea . It is usually eaten as a dessert with two pieces filled with arequipe , dulce de leche , or cajeta (milk caramel), and/or condensed milk in the middle. In some places, they might contain cheese, fruits, or whipped cream, among others.

Pink wafer

The pink wafer is a wafer-based confectionery originally made by Edinburgh's Crawford's Biscuits in the United Kingdom. [5] It is now made by United Biscuits, the company that took over the firm in 1960, still using the Crawford's name. The snack consists of crème sandwiched between wafers (dyed pink).

There is a similar product branded Pink Panther wafers. [6] [7]

Freska

Freska (Egyptian Arabic : فريسكه [feˈɾeskæ] ) is an Egyptian wafer sold only on beaches in the summertime. It is made from two thin circular wafers filled with a thin layer of honey syrup. [8]

Variations

Flavours

Some wafers are produced with a chocolate covering. Another popular flavor is lemon.

Shapes

Piroulines and Barquillos are wafers rolled into a tube, and sometimes filled with cream.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookie</span> Small, flat and sweetened baked food

A cookie or biscuit is a baked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat, and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, or nuts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confectionery</span> Prepared foods rich in sugar and carbohydrates

Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories: bakers' confections and sugar confections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice cream sandwich</span> Frozen dessert typically composed of ice cream between two biscuits

An ice cream sandwich is a frozen dessert consisting of ice cream between two biscuits, wafers, soft cookies, or other baked goods. The ingredients are different around the world, with Ireland using wafers and the United States commonly using cookies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maxibon</span> Brand of ice cream sandwich made by Froneri

Maxibon is a brand of ice cream sandwich made by Froneri, and also previously owned by the Swiss company Nestlé. It consists of a block of frozen dairy dessert containing small chocolate chips with one end covered in chocolate, and the other sandwiched between two biscuits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waffle iron</span> Device used to cook waffles

A waffle iron or waffle maker is a kitchen utensil used to cook waffles between two hinged metal plates. Both plates have gridded indentations to shape the waffle from the batter or dough placed between them. The plates are heated and the iron is closed while the waffle bakes. Waffles are a quick bread with a light and sweet flavor, similar to pancakes. Their appearance is much harder to achieve than a pancake's without a waffle iron. Similar technology is employed to bake wafers, and several other snacks including kue gapit, a waffle-shaped but crunchy Indonesian snack which can be made with both sweet and savoury flavours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnott's Group</span> Australian snack food manufacturer

Arnott's Group is an Australian producer of biscuits and snack food. Founded in 1865 by William Arnott, they are the largest producer of biscuits in Australia and a subsidiary of KKR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pirouline</span> US brand of rolled sweet wafer cookie

Pirouline is a brand of creme-filled rolled wafer cookie sold in the United States by the DeBeukelaer Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crunch (chocolate bar)</span> Chocolate bar

Crunch is a chocolate bar made of milk chocolate and crisped rice. It is produced globally by Nestlé with the exception of the United States, where it is produced under license by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oblea</span> Wafer dessert

Oblea is a wafer dessert from several coutries in Latin America, and has variants across Europe. It consists of two thin wafers sandwiching a sweet filling. While obleas are typically filled with arequipe, they may also contain jam, cheese, fruits, whipped cream, or a combination of multiple fillings. They are sometimes served with marmalade, condensed milk, chocolate, raspberry sauce, cheese, coconut or other toppings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandwich cookie</span> Cookies kept by two thin cookies or biscuits with filling in between

A sandwich cookie, also known as a sandwich biscuit, is a type of cookie made from two thin cookies or medium cookies with a filling between them. Many types of fillings are used, such as cream, ganache, buttercream, chocolate, cream cheese, jam, peanut butter, lemon curd, or ice cream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barquillo</span> Spanish biscuit snack

Barquillo is a crispy rolled wafer pastry originating in Spain. It is made from the basic cookie ingredients of flour, sugar, egg whites and butter rolled out thinly and then shaped into a hollow cylinder or a cone. It was traditionally sold by roadside vendors known as barquilleros who carried a characteristic red roulette tin. It was introduced to Latin America and the Philippines during colonial times. In Spain and former Spanish colonies, barquillos are commonly regarded as a type of Christmas cookie. It is also popular during various fiestas. It spread to neighboring countries and today is extremely popular in East and Southeast Asian countries.

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References

  1. "Collins Dictionary".
  2. Dusy, T.; Rynio, J. (2004). Coffee and Espresso: Make Your Favorite Drinks at Home. Quick and Easy Series. Silverback Books, Incorporated. p. 24. ISBN   978-1-930603-39-4 . Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  3. Sarah Scholl-Schneider (2010). Sudetengeschichten : Vertriebene - Alteingesessene - Neusiedler (in German). Antikomplex. p. 183.
  4. Arkhely, Fruzsina (15 September 2020). "Nehézipari központból idegenforgalmi vonzerő – Hogyan alakult ki a molnárkalács sütés hagyománya Borsodnádasdon?". blog.skanzen.hu.
  5. "Wafer". Biscuit people. 11 June 2020.
  6. "Pink Panther Wafers 200G - Groceries - Tesco Groceries". Tesco.com. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  7. Selwood, Daniel (2017-04-06). "Pink Panther Wafers to return with extra filling, new packs". The Grocer . Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  8. "Swimming And Snacking On Egypt's North Coast". NPR. 2012-09-01. Retrieved 2012-10-10.