That little round biscuit with a heart of red

I was raised with round holed Jammie Dodgers. I remember them quite clearly having round holes, rather than the current heart-shaped hole biscuit. Since this morning, the shape of the hole in Jammie Dodgers has become a matter of concern. There's 'talk' on the internet that only J.Ds with heart shaped holes are the authentic biscuit, and those with round holes are imposters. I appreciate that the current design is more appropriate in maintaining links with certain sectors of the health industry. Blood UK have a heart as their logo. And as I mentioned in the previous blog, I eat them when I go blood doning. JDs are always part of the Blood Donors biscuit box. Then there's the British Heart Foundation with an outline of a heart for their logo. I am assuming that the BHF have heart hole shaped JDs somewhere on the premises. So I can see the point. Heart/Red and all that. However there are generations of us who were brought up on round-holed Jammie Dodgers and I don't want to hear this late on that they weren't the real thing.

In any case how can it be so when Dr. Who uses round-holed J.D's. Want proof? Here it is. I don't know who took the photo, but thank you, it's a vital piece of evidence.  There were J.Ds with round holes. Come on peeps! Dr. Who could not possibly have convinced the Daleks that his Jammie Dodger was a self-destruct button, using a J.D. with a heart-shaped hole! Ever heard a Dalek snigger - that would have been the moment. I trust Dr. Who. Many's the time that J.Ds have got him out of a tight spot. In any case (by all accounts) they are his favourite snack.

If the question of authenticity wasn't enough, now there's a possibility that etymologically the name Jammie Dodger isn't British but French, coming from the French Wars of  Religion, which were fought from the middle to the late 1500's. Apparently losses of men from towns and villages were so heavy, that ceremonial biscuits were made to remember those who never returned, and carried with them the legend Jamais de Guerre - no more war.  

My day has just got worse. If this story is true, the 'biscuit' consisted of two large pieces of unleavened bread with - I don't believe it -  heart-shaped holes!  The two halves were pressed together and filled with fresh or preserved fruit. Eventually in the twentieth century the idea and name were reworked to become the Jammie Dodger that many of us know and love. Feel a cup of tea coming on. Sadly there isn't a single J.D. in the house.
Ah well. Life is still worth living.