The Astonishingly High Number Of Biscuits Cracker Barrel Makes Per Day
Cracker Barrel's menu has changed a lot since the first location opened in 1969. One fixture of the chain is its buttermilk biscuits. Cracker Barrel claims that customers love the experience of this side-dish staple, and it's got the numbers to prove it.
Since Dan Evans opened his first Cracker Barrel gas station (no, really, it's true), he wanted the country spirit of Southern general stores he had always loved to shine through in the paraphernalia, food, and décor. He knew there was no element as essential to this as good biscuits, so he made sure to have them handmade and freshly baked at every location as the restaurants grew.
Today, Cracker Barrel says it serves more than 210 million biscuits annually. That means there are 661 restaurants throughout the country making a combined 825,000 biscuits daily. Cracker Barrel's patrons love their biscuits, which clearly shows when you look at these numbers.
How to make your own Cracker Barrel biscuits at home
If you've ever found yourself wishing that you could enjoy all of those delicious Cracker Barrel biscuits at home, then you are in luck. Sure, you could spend hours online looking up copycat recipes and dupes, but why bother when Cracker Barrel happily shares its recipe?
Like any good Southern neighbor, Cracker Barrel has passed along its world-famous biscuit recipe. In its online store — where you can also purchase Cracker Barrel kitchenware — you have the option to buy a pre-made mix to bake all of the biscuits you'd like at home. All you need to do is add water.
Even better, this same mix doubles as the recipe for Cracker Barrel's famous dumplings. Everyone knows its Chicken n' Dumplins are a cut above the rest. With this baking kit, you'll be able to enjoy both of these legendary foods at home.
History of the biscuit
The restaurant's Southern roots inspired Cracker Barrel's biscuits, but they aren't technically all that Southern. They actually have highly ancient roots that can be traced back to Europe.
The first foods called biscuits were high-preservative baked goods given as rations to soldiers in the legions of ancient Rome. These biscuits were baked twice to dry them out and make them less perishable than other fresh foods.
By the time biscuits made their way to the American South, they were playing second fiddle to cornbread. Corn was less expensive than wheat from the Northern states, so only upper-class families could afford biscuits made with wheat flour. The modern biscuit wouldn't be born until sometime in the 19th century when culinary innovations like flour mills and baking soda created a biscuit far closer to what we imagine today.
So, while Evans might have known the biscuit as a Southern staple, it was a cultural newcomer. Thankfully, Cracker Barrel makes great cornbread too.