sarahs mum said:

Dull Women’s Club (Original)
Julia Shepherd · 1 h ·
Arnott’s Ginger Nut Biscuits – A comparison
First post, and I promise that this may be so dull that some may nod off. I’ll try to give you the short version (yes, I have reduced it). My partner told me I was not right in the motor for doing this, please be kind.
Apologies in advance to all those outside of Australia who will have no idea what I’m on about.
It has long been known that the humble Arnott’s Ginger Nut biscuit looks, and tastes, different, depending on which state you are in.
The story goes that in the 1960s, a few companies amalgamated under the Arnott’s banner, and to streamline production, Arnott’s decided to use the NSW recipe for the whole country. Please keep this choice in mind, as it plays out later.
After receiving a fair amount of backlash, it was wisely decided to retain the regional recipes. There are 4.
I have been wanting to compare the nations varieties of the above bicky for some time and after seeing a post mentioning it, I decided to enlist the help of my sister, Dr Jan Shepherd to source said bickies from across the country (she is far more sociable than I). I would like to thank Jan (NSW) and her sources, Kerry Blyth (QLD) and Michele Legge (WA).
I will first provide you with the (very dull) Objective findings. I did have this in a table but I can’t do that here. So I will post as a photo. See below.
Now to the fun (ok, slightly less dull) bit, the Subjective findings, using Bite, Taste & Dunkability (in a cup of tea). I also used a scoring system of 1,2,3,4 for Intolerable, Tolerable, Good, & Very Good, respectively.
WA/SA/NT
Bite: This is a pretty solid dude, but it’s breakable with bottom front teeth, easier with molars though.
Taste: Subtle, gingery flavour, left some heat in the mouth. Very nice.
Dunkability: Great for dunking and tastes delicious this way.
QLD
Bite: Perfect.
Taste: Strong, gingery flavour, reflecting the higher % of ginger in the recipe, however it smells and tastes slightly burnt.
Dunkability: As it is thin, take care, it will fall apart quickly, and unfortunately, the burnt flavour is increased with dunking. Not pleasant at all.
TAS/VIC
Bite: Perfect. Just perfect.
Taste: Lovely, gingery flavour throughout with a nice heat left in the mouth.
Dunkability: Ok, but take care not to leave it too long. Still tastes lovely.
NSW/ACT
Bite: WHAT THE HECK STEROIDS IS THIS THING ON???? THIS IS CEMENT!! Even my molars were challenged to break this brick!
Taste: Bland, can’t taste the ginger.
Dunkability: Only way to eat these. Can leave them hanging in that cuppa for minutes without losing them. Kind of end up chewy. Not a bad bicky for dunking but still bland.
SCORES
Me – NSW/ACT 6, Tas/Vic 10, Qld 8, WA/SA/NT 8
Partner – NSW/ACT 4, Tas/Vic 12, Qld 6, WA/SA/NT 10
Overall, the Tas/Vic biscuit won, hands down!
Remember the recipe the company chose to use nationally? The NSW version. No wonder there was an uproar! They’re lucky there wasn’t a class action to pay for the dental bills!
Please enjoy the photos I took during this research. I hope there is at least one person still awake.
58 F, love my job as a midwife (not dull at all), love dogs (I have two), shoe size 8EE wide (darn bunions caused by squeezing my young feet into funky shoes for dancing), banana for scale in last pic.

Ha, brilliant post, not dull at all :)

Uncannily, I had noticed that Tasmanian Arnott’s Ginger Nuts are not as hard as the SA examples. I assumed the national recipe had been changed, but no, there is this regional culture still going on.

Oddly reassuring :)