Top 10 McVitie's biscuits ranked - based on their dunkability in hot drinks
Popular biscuits including Digestives, Hobnobs, Fruit Shortcakes, and Ginger Nuts – should only be dunked in a hot beverage for half a second or less, a study has revealed.
An expert scientist has ranked popular biscuit maker, McVitie's, top 10 biscuits, based on the optimum length of time each one can be submerged in a drink.
The chocolatey Penguin bar is the most hardy treat, with a prime dunking time of six-and-a-half seconds. And the Chocolate Caramel Digestive, and Milk Chocolate Hobnob, follow behind, with a recommended dunk of five seconds, and 3.7 seconds, respectively.
Meanwhile, Jaffa Cakes and Rich Tea biscuits should only be popped into hot liquids for 0.6 seconds – and Ginger Nuts and Fruit Shortcakes need even less time, just 0.3 seconds.
The experiment was carried out by Dr Helen Pilcher, who has a PhD in stem cell biology – and says that a biscuit should absorb a fifth of its original weight in liquid, for the optimal dunking experience.
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She also pushed each of the tasty treats to its “dunking danger zone” – the point at which it is at risk of crumbling into the drink. Fruit Shortcakes reach this point the quickest, after just 5.3 seconds, followed by Ginger Nuts, at 7.3 seconds.
Meanwhile, the Chocolate Caramel Digestive can withstand just over 40 seconds before reaching its breaking point – and Penguins take a whopping nine minutes to hit their “danger zone”.
Dr Helen Pilcher testing the dunkability of some of the nation's favourite McVitie's biscuits (PinPep)Dr Pilcher has been appointed by McVitie's as their “Chief Dunking Officer” (CDO) to carry out the study, in which each of the biscuits involved were dunked vertically, to its mid-point, in a mug of freshly prepared tea – with milk, no sugar – and maintained at a temperature of 60 to 65°C.
Taking on the role of CDO, Dr Pilcher is aiming to make biscuit- and beverage-related woes a thing of the past, by taking the guesswork out of the dunk.
The appointment of the new role comes after a poll, commissioned by the biscuit maker, revealed the average dunker loses 83 snacks every year to the depths of a mug, due to poor dunking techniques.
As a result, 43% have even become anxious about losing their sweet treats when dipping – with 29% confessing they need to perfect their dunking technique.
Dr Helen Pilcher said: “The natural porosity of a biscuit makes it an ideal snack to be dipped into a drink, and soak up all the deliciousness.
“However, Brits are still susceptible to over-dunking their biscuits – which is why we have identified the Optimum Dunking Time, and the Dunking Danger Zone.
“Each biscuit is unique in texture, structure, flavour, and size, and all these factors affect its dunkability. Respect the Dunking Danger Zone, and we can save the nation from future dunking disasters.”
Those who like to dunk their biscuits typically lose 83 snacks a year - due to submerging them for too long (PinPep)It also emerged from the poll, of 2,000 biscuit dunkers, that Digestives are the favourite treat to submerge, closely followed by the Chocolate Digestive, and Rich Tea.
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Tea, coffee, and hot chocolate are the most popular beverages to dunk in – although some also dunk in cold or warm milk, milkshakes, and even orange juice.
Over half (53%) of those polled, via OnePoll, say they dunk their biscuits because they like the flavour, while 50% like the change in texture.
And Generation X dunk the most biscuits, with one in three saying they dunk “often” – closely followed by Millennials (29%) and Baby Boomers (29%).
James King, from McVitie’s UK & Ireland, said: “We were shocked, following the results of our survey, to discover just how many biscuits are being lost to dodgy dunking each week.
“As the baker of the nation’s true original biscuits, we feel we have a duty to help – which is why we’ve appointed a Chief Dunking Officer, to save the Great British public from dunking debacles, and achieve the perfect dunk, every time.”
TOP 10 BISCUITS BY OPTIMAL DUNKING TIME – AND DUNKING DANGER ZONE TIME (in seconds):
- Ginger Nuts – 0.3 seconds/7.3 seconds
- Fruit Shortcake – 0.3 seconds/5.3 seconds
- Digestives – 0.4 seconds/11.2 seconds
- Hobnobs – 0.5 seconds/12.5 seconds
- Rich Tea – 0.6 seconds/8.8 seconds
- Jaffa Cakes – 0.6 seconds/9.2 seconds
- Milk Chocolate Digestives – 3.6 seconds/12.0 seconds
- Milk Chocolate Hobnobs – 3.7 seconds/19.5 seconds
- Chocolate Caramel Digestives – 5.0 seconds/40.1 seconds
- Penguins – 6.5 seconds/540.0 seconds
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