A Cake or a Biscuit? - The Lengthy and Expensive Saga of the Jaffa Cake

[@TodayIFoundOut]

Hungry for more fun food fact videos? Then check out this video and find out how you can Have Your Cake and Eat It Too: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIaTdGaChNx4hpI

[@8mu-]

McVities should make a new line of ‘Jaffa Biscuits’ just to throw a spanner in the works.

[@8mu-]

I’m sure the majority of British people would call a wrench a spanner too.

[@STSWB5SG1FAN]

Where does "hydro-spanner" come from (SW reference)

[@crunch1757]

Eightminutesupsidedown it will be the size of a cake and really crumbley

[@That_Guy42]

They should call them Jaffa Cookies to add some confusion.

[@AdZS848]

Eightminutesupsidedown 😄😄

[@matthewdooley9046]

Fun fact, because of the high sugar content, Subway's 'bread' is actually considered to be CAKE.

[@H3xx99]

I always thought Jaffa cake was what the Goa'uld fed their servants....

[@wight1984]

Surely it would be weird not to in a video about UK tax law presented by a British person?

[@H3xx99]

wight1984 I actually didn't have time to watch. Just saw Jaffa and made a stargate joke.

[@AidanMillward]

Niche gag. Love it.

[@Shinzon23]

Jaffa...Kree!

[@baron_von_brunk]

I want my next birthday cake to be made from solid Pringle® material.

[@austinedwards6716]

Julius von Brunk ewww dude that would be a super weird texture what flavor tho ? 😂

[@hobknoker2011]

its gotta be their Pringles® Nissin Top Ramen® Chicken

[@a54109]

No you don't

[@emmitstewart1921]

If you make them thick enough to hold up candles, they would be very hard to chew. You could, however make the bottom layers hollow, and, as the cake is being assembled, insert a Tupperware container of Pringles.

[@EweChewBrrr01]

Prignle material. Hahaha

[@Dsdcain]

That problem with this video is now I'm hungry and can't decide between cookies (A US biscuit), cake, or Pringles. I may be forced to eat all three and will have to lay the blame on *TIFO,* rather than accept responsibility for my own lack of self control. Great video Simon and crew, thank you.

[@TodayIFoundOut]

You should try researching these things. Sooooo hungry by the end ;-)

[@jackielinde7568]

*Dsdcain* The problem with this video is that it came out during Passover, and the only way I can have either is by grinding up Matzo, making a batter or dough out of it, and baking it. And, if it doesn't sound very appealing to you, well, that's because it isn't. (Thank goodness GSoA moved their Girl Scout cookie sale to earlier in the year.)

[@CaalamusTube]

Hey Simon, Daven & friends ...you call ( our idea of ) "cookies" "biscuits". But what do you call ( our idea of ) biscuits? Rolls?

[@dannosaur7]

American biscuits I tend to classify more as "scones", however an American biscuit is bit more dense and tastes more savoury to our lighter, slightly sweeter scones. In the UK we don't have a direct alternative to American biscuits.

[@CaalamusTube]

Thanks Dan :]

[@JonnyD3ath]

If it goes hard when left out - cake If it goes soft when left out - biscuit

[@evanbranham4319]

Plot twist- It’s actually a donut

[@rmsgrey]

But doughnuts are cakes. Unless they're bagels, which are bread.

[@xcalium9346]

Plot Twist: Its a vegetable

[@h0ckeyd]

Or a doughnut even....come on, it's English.

[@h0ckeyd]

That's no moon....sorry, couldn't resists.

[@FunSizeSpamberguesa]

American here, who was fortunate enough to have one of those once, and is quite annoyed they're not sold in the U.S. Whatever a person wants to call them, they're criminally tasty.

[@h0ckeyd]

I'm sure you should be able to get your hands on them somewhere. The people I often stay with in Virginia always manage to find the most obscure English foodstuff for me.....perhaps they've got magic elves however...Although my favourite Jaffa cake is generally an ASDA one and they're owned by Walmart so you never know.

[@NicholasJH96]

Try Lidl’s or Aldi’s they do they own under a fake brand Lidl’s is Sonaday

[@michaelparker2449]

I'm glad Pringles lost their case because it's a whole lot of stupid to call it a cake, but a Jaffa cake is definitely a cake and not just technically a cake.

[@eZU4nQsWN9pAGsU38aHj]

It’s interesting to see how Simon over time has become more and more energetic / funny on the main show :D

[@Jedonai]

A biscuit comes from the French meaning "twice baked". It was the word used for what in English is called "Hard Tack". Hard Tack is a bread made for long distance travel, primarily on ships. It is made with water, flour, and little to no oil/fats then baked twice to reduce the chances of spoiling over months of travel. When settlers got to the US they still made this hard tack but they started to stop baking it twice, added fats like milk/buttermilk/butter and the like turning it into a savory bread often used as a part of breakfast with a cream gravy (based on French Bechamel Sauce) or with jelly/jam. The British for some reason took the same word, stopped baking it twice and started adding fats and sugar to make a dessert. Miniature cake like objects that the US calls cookies which is from the Dutch for "little cakes". So in summary, biscuits for the UK are cookies which means they are all little cakes.

[@rmsgrey]

The cake/biscuit distinction was a plot point in one of Jasper Fforde's Nursery Crime novels, where the question of whether the Gingerbread Man was a cake or a biscuit turned out to be crucial.

[@OneOnOne1162]

My main question is: Why are chocolate covered cakes exempt from VAT but not chocolate covered biscuits?

[@meredithnavin1358]

OneOnOne1162 because logic.

[@rachstone9491]

Biscuits are considered staples in the uk, given to soldiers fighting wars, provided as go-to refreshment in emergency situations etc. However ridiculous you find that, chocolate covered ones ARE more luxurious, more expensive to make and to buy.

[@ciaragarrity6425]

@@rachstone9491 And the fact that chocolate requires processing.

[@joshuanorman2]

The fact that Jaffa Cake cakes exist convinces me that it's a biscuit.

[@LosgehtsFCB]

Exactly. They have Jaffa cake bars so the original thing must be biscuits

[@NicholasJH96]

No it’s a cake they do opposite of biscuits when out of date. Jaffa cake cake is just a Jaffa cake in a larger size

[@siramea]

Polish shops have nicer jaffa cakes than UK ones. In my opinion. They also a wider range of similar cakes like blueberry, apricot and ones with white chocolate and strawberry jam.

[@richard1113]

Never had a Jaffa Cake but I have had Pim's cookies by Lu. Sounds the same. And they are delicious!

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

I don't mind calling it anything as long as I can eat it

[@juststeve5542]

Eastern Europe have their own version of Jaffa Cakes, called Delicje in Poland. They are available in different flavours, which can be a shock to the tastebuds when you eat the first one and are hit with strawberry instead of the orange you expected. As a Brit it pains me to have to admit it, but I find the orange Delicje is superior to the Jaffa Cake. :'( Luckily they sometimes appear in the "foreign foods" isle at my local supermarket.

[@jonsouth1545]

living in Prague I have become addicted to the sour cherry flavor

[@juststeve5542]

Simon's an expat in Czech land (or whatever they've renamed it to this year!). He should give them a test.

[@chandrasekharghosh222]

M FROM INDIA BUT HAVE EATEN JAFFA CAKES SINCE MY CHILDHOOD AND I LOVE IT . THEY ARE SOLD HERE BY LOTTE

[@connormccloy9399]

Never thought I would spend so much of my life watching a video about out of state taxes.

[@amdreallyfast]

While this may have been a vicious court battle at the time, it sounds just quaint (and delicious) to my American ears.

[@catherine_404]

We have clones of these cakes/biscuits in Russia! I don't particularity like them myself, but I appreciate them, I understand why many people like them.

[@mr.dr.genius6997]

I'm not even kidding, this is the only video I watched today that isn't an April Fools video.

[@fcukugimmeausername]

If it is sponge, it's a cake. Plain and simple.

[@VileVeil]

Strictly speaking it isn't a "jam" inside, it is a marmalade as it is made from a citrus fruit. Now make a TIFO about the difference between jam and marmalade.

[@petuniasevan]

AND make mention of the fact that marmalades in Britain often use the bitter Seville orange, while US marmalades are not bitter.

[@TheFaithb420]

kind of reminds me of a time I made "black and white cookies" at a bakery they were essential the tops of cupcakes cut off and dipped into half chocolate icing/vanilla icing... they were delicious though

[@lauraireson6358]

I think the most surprising thing is that they left out 12 Jaffa cakes and they didn’t get eaten. A thing I’ve never heard of.

[@daltongrowley5280]

you guys have some very excellent authors/contibutors

[@Otokichi786]

If it falls on your foot and breaks it, Biscuit injury! If it falls on your foot and DOESEN'T break it, cake bounce!;)

[@elizabethfoster4297]

And because of 'Today I Found Out', I learned that the inventor of the Pringles can was cremated and buried in a Pringles can!

[@Jason-io2vy]

I didn't realize the Jaffa from Star Gate SG-1 had setup a bake shop in England making Jaffa cakes.

[@rparl]

This was a plot point in a Nursery Crime novel about the Gingerbread Man.

[@adammoore251]

Cakes go hard when stale, biscuits go soft.

[@forbiddentemptations2484]

Is it a coincidence that the person talking about Jaffa cakes here is named Simon? I think not

[@MrSwagTurtle]

Forbidden Temptations Honeydew

[@charlotte-mg9wj]

I did a great impression of a drooling Homer Simpson when you bought up the 12 inch Jaffa cake.

[@busdriver8980]

Bonus fact. Pringles are shaped the way they are so the production line can run faster.

[@paranoiarpincess]

We have something similar in Canada, called Pims.

[@AlextheHistorian]

So Pringles are cakes and cakes are biscuits, and biscuits are also cookies. I think I got it now

[@gc4397]

"SHULVA CREE!" You're awesome if you know this jaffa reference.

[@jaspr1999]

Oh lord, I MISS Jaffa Cakes! No place around here sells them very often, or at all.

[@TheWanderingLPer]

Maybe Pringles should have taken a page from McVitties. Bake a giant, cake-sized pringle chip and try to pass it off as a cake. Except, when they try to cut into it, it'd just fall apart...

[@ConnorNotyerbidness]

As an american i was able to get a hold of some jaffa cakes on a trip to europe and i can confirm to my fellow mericans that yes they are delicious its not just a british thing

[@ToryuMau]

... There's a similar snack called "Choco Pie" in Korea that's basically two Jaffa Cake sandwiched with marshmallow cream. There's an old tradition of poor single people stacking a whole box of this... "Pie" on their birthday and putting a single candle on top, calling it "Sad Cake". >):'^c

[@ROGER2095]

I live in the high-tax (and confusing-tax) state of Illinois. Fresh grapes are taxed at one rate, grape juice at a different rate, grape wine at a different rate, grape vodka at a different rate, a magazine about grapes at different rate, and a book about grapes at still another rate. Plus, all the rates can vary from one county to another, and one town to another. This is big government: Politicians start out with one plan which anyone can understand and then carve out exceptions for one (voting) group after another until nobody can understand it. PS - Illinois is deep in debt and going broke because in Illinois the purpose of taxes isn't to raise revenue.

[@madhonib]

they are called Pims here in the USA. they come in orange & raspberry we call them cookies. . so yummy. I swear I am only going to eat two. next thing I know the package is gone!

[@Sam-lr9oi]

Oh dang I wanted to comment the Pringles thing and look cool. Great video!

[@TheGadgetPanda]

Ditto. I was already typing it, when they got to the bonus fact section and ruined my day.

[@delboytrotter8806]

Love em, Could do a whole box.......

[@aussiebloke609]

I used to go through a couple of packets of Jaffa Cakes a day. Boy, do I miss their delicious yumminess now. Nothing even close to that good in the US. :-(

[@TELBOYO10]

It is simple, biscuits go soft and cakes go hard if left out in the open for a while.

[@Adam-um4oi]

Yes, you did hear him correctly, apparently tampons and sanitary pads are not "essential" I too question this every time I hear it

[@NathansWargames]

well not Essential to you unless you're an Aussie Shiela named adam.

[@calichef1962]

@Nathan Watts-- So, according to you, non-transgendered women (cisgendered women) are supposed to just "free bleed" down their leg for five days each month? Riiiiiight. Your bigotry and misogyny are showing and it's ugly.

[@Adam-um4oi]

Nathan Watts well there not essential to me but I still don't understand why the government say they're not essential for anyone

[@Adam-um4oi]

Nathan Watts also you made me laugh for like 2 minutes and I tried to think of something funny to say back but my mind went blank haha

[@darealpoopster]

calichef1962 Well, you can live without them right?

[@deonmurphy6383]

Ho ho, Pringles doesn't pay the VAT, they just pass it along in the price of the crisps, and the consumer pays the price including all of the pancaked VAT's.

[@xXxKAMIKAZExXx]

Best snacks ever.

[@diyeana]

I am from the US and I LOVE the Jaffa Cake!!!!

[@tessat338]

What do we eat when traveling in Great Britain? Pringles and Jaffa Cakes. I don't remember if I had to pay VAT. My dad, a health-nut since the 70s, eats Toblerone bars. None of these things would he eat here in the US. We get Pringles when going to the beach and Pims cookies which are the closest things to Jaffa Cakes you can get in the US.

[@lordrabbit7713]

Ah the yogcast.

[@yourbrainisaghetto]

If you can't put gravy on it, it's not a biscuit.

[@pestilenceplague4765]

ThatAussieGirl have you ever had biscuits and gravy?

[@randomthings9158]

People in Europe call cookies *biscuits*

[@TheVillainInGlasses]

Random Things Yet another reason I’m glad we kicked them out of our country. Biscuits are biscuits and cookies are cookies, dammit.

[@sapphiro]

The question is wth the only ones I can find on the shelves are orange flavoured? In my country we have at least 10 different filling flavours and chocolate coatings. My favourite are blueberry jam with white chocolate top.

[@DJDonnelly]

It is cake it even has cake in the name.

[@KuLaydMahn]

I love Pringles chips, but whoever decided to try to have them classified as cake can heck off. That's how good things get ruined for everyone!

[@ettanasf]

I always buy Jaffa cakes for Thanksgiving. :)

[@Jeff121456]

I've taken to ordering (McVities) Jaffa cakes shipped to my US home. A little expensive (cough) but addictive. Something about that orange jelly.

[@dukefrywokker6470]

Taxing a product during production, distribution, and consumption? That's how revolutions start.

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

As any fule knos they are cakes as cakes go hard when as they go stake, whilst a biscuit goes soft it's that simple. This was sorted out years ago.

[@sandrastreifel6452]

I’m Canadian. I love Jaffa Cakes.

[@Jemima1377]

That was a great video, thanks! ^_^

[@DarkLight748]

Cakes are more luxury than biscuits.

[@1969Kismet]

Hello Simon, would you consider making a video of how you make your videos? I'd like to know how you do your research, how you prepare for the recording and the editing too. What do you think?

[@MrMasterbiker]

Now I'm going to have to go to the shops to get a pack of jaffa cakes....

[@darkmagician2904]

Jaffa cakes sound amazing. I wish those were in the u.s.

[@tychoazrephet3794]

I love Pringles Cakes.

[@alexandermitchell9070]

Not being British, this sounded like a really long April fool’s day joke

[@DZrache]

Something similar happened regarding M&S's chocolate teacakes

[@katrinhaerterich2454]

Who created the pizza box?/ When did people start delivering pizza in boxes?

[@TheInselaffen]

They're cake; cake it says it in their name. They are made of cake, that is a clue. Cake, Jaffa Cake. Cake.

[@northdwarf]

Fun video today!

[@micheleoftheoaks5506]

What? Britt pay 25% VAT? That's outrageous! Nice try Pringles, calling yourself a cake to get out of paying outrageous taxes.

[@richiewong1]

So what’s a Terry’s Chocolate Orange? 😉

[@Ozzy_2014]

Richie Wong disgusting.

[@jdb47games]

There is an inaccuracy in this video. Food is mostly zero-rated for VAT, not exempt. Exempt and zero-rated are different things. Although in both cases there is no VAT charged to the consumer, in the case of zero-rating the businesses in the supply chain can reclaim VAT paid on costs, whereas in the case of exempt items they cannot.

[@oceanbint]

Mcvities left a bunch of Jaffa cakes out in open and five minutes they were all gone is how that story really ended.

[@oledshwfgk3068]

thats a damn cookie.

[@MrGrey-zc2cy]

The fight is based on a odd premise. Why is a chocolate covered biscuit, or potato chip, taxed as a luxury but a *cake* is not?

[@jaffacake6623]

I'm a dam tasty treat that hangs out in the biscuit isle

[@Tardisntimbits]

I am Canadian, and I go to our local import shop to buy Jaffa Cakes. I blame my English Great Grandmother for introducing them to me, lol.

[@minuteman4199]

Tardisntimbits - I can buy them at Loblaws in Ontario, but they don't always have them.

[@rui_si]

Over time cake goes hard and biscuits go soft. Yeah right as if either last long enough for that to happen. They both turn to crumbs and guilt.

[@elmoandporkchop2724]

Another side effect of the decision was that McVities couldn't hold onto the copyright for the name "Jaffa Cakes" since it was now the name of a recipe and recipes can't be patented so now any company that produces orange sponge biscuits may call them Jaffa Cakes.

[@katherinewolfe9976]

Love your channel! Say hi to Karl!

[@minecrafteramedney]

For Simon Lane!

[@ShadowDrakken]

Usually one considers cake to be a luxury... it's odd that it's exempt from a luxury tax like VAT. Seems like the court could solve a lot of cases simply by correcting that classification :)

[@cypherglitch]

So Vat is added 20% on every ongoing sale? like they are doing with original artwork now? So if something is sold five times the original vat is over 100% of the original price?

[@conorkiddell9245]

It's a cake. A cake it's not a biscuit

[@CaalamusTube]

So, since we refer to the things you consider "biscuits" as "cookies" ...what do you call the things we consider "biscuits"??? Rolls?

[@2010mistersoftee]

Tell me about angel bread from Australia and the UK, my understanding is buttered white bread with rainbow sprinkles please tell me more

[@mygreenfroggy]

Well, I always wondered what VAT was. I do a lot of reading of books set in England.

[@will2003michael2003]

I love that we don’t tax food in the USA. I am kind of shocked by VAT. Seems really bad on consumers and manufactures.

[@ArmadaAsesino]

20% wow... GST is 10% here in Australia

[@EweChewBrrr01]

I always wondered if they were a biscuit, a cookie or a bikkie.

[@MetalMe55iah]

Its quite easy really a biscuit goes soft when left out a cake goes hard when left out and a Jaffa cake goes hard therefore a Jaffa cake is indeed a cake

[@MrEvanfriend]

Value Added Tax is an absurd idea to begin with.

[@Trav2016]

Take a drink every time he mentions UK