Hobnob is a brand name of biscuit

Biscuit

A biscuit is a baked, edible, and commonly flour-based product. The term is used to apply to two distinctly different products in North America and the Commonwealth Nations....

 made from rolled oats

Rolled oats

Rolled oats are traditionally oat groats that have been rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers and then steamed and lightly toasted. The oat, like the other cereals, has a hard, inedible outer husk that must be removed before the grain can be eaten. After the outer husk has been removed from...

 and jumbo oats, similar to a flapjack/digestive biscuit

Digestive biscuit

A digestive biscuit, sometimes referred to as a sweet-meal biscuit, is a semi-sweet biscuit originated in the United Kingdom and popular worldwide. The term 'digestive' is derived from the belief that they had antacid properties due to the use of sodium bicarbonate when they were first developed...

 hybrid. They are mainly sold in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. In Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 they are now marketed as a variety of Digestive, having previously been known as Suncrok.

History

The recipe was introduced by McVitie's

McVitie's

McVitie's is a snack food brand owned by United Biscuits. The name derives from the original Scottish biscuit maker, McVitie & Price, Ltd., established in 1830 on Rose Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. The firm moved to various sites in the city before completing the St...

 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 in 1984. The biscuit is currently available in many varieties, including dark chocolate, chocolate orange, and Hobnob bars. Other Hobnob-branded snacks include a Hobnob flapjack. Hobnobs contains approx 0.16g of sodium per biscuit.

Manufacture

Plain hobnobs are made at the Tollcross

Tollcross, Glasgow

Tollcross is an area north of the River Clyde in Glasgow and has a popular park which is famed for its international rose trials. It lies approximately a mile east of the neighbouring suburb of Parkhead, and just north of Braidfauld and south of Shettleston....

 factory in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

. The chocolate variety is made at the Harlesden

Harlesden

Harlesden is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London, UK. Its main focal point is the Jubilee Clock which commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee....

 factory. The basic ingredients for Hobnobs are oats.

Marketing

The original tagline of the Hobnob was "one nibble and you're nobbled", although it has been removed from the Chocolate Orange varieties.

Etymology

The name comes from an earlier phrase, to hob or nob, meaning "to drink together, taking turns toasting one another", probably from Middle English

Middle English

Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....

 habbe "to have" and nabbe, a contraction of ne + habbe, "to have not", hence, "to have and have not", "to give and take".

External links

• Milk Chocolate and Orange Hobnob on Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down
  Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down
  Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down is a website which mainly discusses tea and biscuits, with content including news and reviews of biscuit brands. It is owned and maintained by Stuart Payne and his wife Jenny Payne, who live in Cambridge, England, and has spawned a spin off book of the same...