The Science of Dunking Biscuits

If we've recently sent you a tin of biscuits, enjoy! Biscuits have been around for about 2300 years and have been dunked for almost as long but has any research gone into the science of dunking biscuits?
 

Well, the answer is yes. In 1998, Dr. Len Fisher from the University of Bristol looked at the physics of biscuit dunking. Conducting experiments involving Gold, an X-ray machine and a belt sander he developed the optimal way to dunk a biscuit. And scientists from the University of Nottingham have recently developed a device, called MS-Nose, which measures the amount of aromas released when eating. One of their first experiments was comparing dunked to non-dunked biscuits, finding that dunked biscuits released more than twice as much aroma tha their dry counter parts.
 

Of course, the best way to understand the science of something is to conduct your own experiments. Please accept this tin of scientific materials to do just that. There are countless factors and variables to explore, from the length and angle of dunk, to the temperature of the liquid and even how dunking changes the flavour of the biscuit itself. Don’t feel you have to go to the lengths of the scientists mentioned above though.
 

That kettle should be boiled about now, so make yourself a brew and sit down to perform a couple of experiments of your own. Because science never stops, not even for a tea break.