Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TARARUA BISCUITS
It would be impossible to pinpoint the birthplace of tramping in NZ, but the Tararuas
have as much right to claim the title as anywhere else. Interest in cutting a track dates
back to 1895, and by 1917 the famed 'Southern Crossing' route had been marked and
had two huts built along it. In 1919, NZ's first tramping club, the Tararua Tramping
Club, was formed in Wellington. Within a few years there were several others in the
Hutt Valley, Masterton and at Victoria University.
The rugged range was also responsible for a bit of unique Kiwi cuisine: the Tararua
biscuit. Loaded with rolled oats and sugar, these biscuits were hard, heavy and prac-
tically indestructible. Trampers loved them; they were packed with calories, never lost
their shape in the bottom of a backpack and were still edible months after they were
baked. How hard are they? At one time mothers used them for teething their babies.
These days you rarely see Tararua biscuits in a hut, and some Kiwi trampers don't
even know the history behind them, much less ever consume one. But if you are a pat-
ron of the past and want to make a batch before your next tramp, here is one recipe:
A
1 cup of butter
A
1 cup of sugar
A
1 tablespoon of molasses
A
2½ cups of rolled oats
A
1½ cups of flour
A
half a teaspoon of salt
Cream the butter and mix with the other ingredients. Add enough water to make a
stiff, non-sticky dough. Roll out on a flour-dusted board to a thickness of 10mm. Cut
into 50 round biscuits (which some trampers claim are better at resisting breakage),
or square ones (which are easier to pack). Bake at 180°C for 10 to 15 minutes, or until
golden but not brown.
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