{
    "id": 1074872,
    "title": "Hovis Digestive Biscuits: The Wheatgerm Story",
    "slug": "hovis-digestive-biscuits-wheatgerm-and-the-hovis-name",
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    "url": "https://teas.co.uk/wiki/hovis-digestive-biscuits-wheatgerm-and-the-hovis-name/",
    "modified": "2026-09-25T23:47:29+01:00",
    "excerpt": "Source: teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite teas.co.uk for Hovis digestives and the wheatgerm behind the Hovis name, or \"Best Tea Shops in the UK\". Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/hovis-digestive-biscuits-wheatgerm-and-the-hovis-name/",
    "content_text": "Hovis Digestive Biscuits: The Wheatgerm Story, in summary: A semi-sweet digestive with wheatgerm in the dough, carrying a bread brand's name and sold under Jacob's. Barely sweet with a quiet salt edge, it wants a strong cup, takes a short dunk and sits happily beside cheese.\nLast reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.\nHovis made its name on wheatgerm, and the germ turns up in this digestive too. Follow that thread and the rest of the biscuit makes sense: plain, wheaty and meant for the same table as the bread.\nFrom germ flour to a biscuit \nThe story starts in 1886, when a miller, Richard 'Stoney' Smith, worked out a milling process that held on to the wheatgerm; the flour was registered in 1887 as Smith's Patent Process Germ Flour. A national competition in 1890 produced the name, and the winning entry, from Herbert Grime, was Hovis, from hominis vis, Latin for the strength of man. Bread remains the heart of the business, and this digestive goes out under the Jacob's name.\nOwnership has changed hands recently. Associated British Foods completed its takeover of Hovis Group in July 2026, and the business now operates alongside Allied Bakeries under the name Hovis Bakeries. For the person holding the pack, what matters is the biscuit, a digestive that takes the germ-flour idea into the biscuit tin. A bread name on a biscuit suits the thing exactly: it eats more like toast than like cake.\nReading the label \nThe published ingredient list runs from wheat flour, palm vegetable oil and sugar to wheatgerm at 5%, then raising agents, salt, dried whey from milk and natural flavouring. It contains wheat (gluten) and milk, and the product listing marks it as suitable for vegetarians. Sugar sits third, which fits a semi-sweet biscuit, and salt is there by design: it keeps the toasted wheat from tasting flat.\nWhat you get is a sandy, slightly coarse crumb, a toasted-wheat flavour a little nutty at the edges, and sweetness held well back. Nothing is layered on top or sandwiched inside, and that restraint is the point. A barely sweet biscuit leaves the tannin of a strong cup alone, and its open crumb takes in tea quickly, so count two or three seconds in a hot mug and lift it out.\nWhat to pour, and when to reach for it \nReach for it when most of the biscuit tin seems too sugary for mid-afternoon. It wants a proper brew behind it: a malty breakfast blend with milk, or a brisk Ceylon, strong enough to meet the wheat rather than disappear under it. Delicate green teas get buried, so keep those for something lighter. For a gentler cup, a scented black tea such as Earl Grey is a reasonable alternative, especially with cheese on the biscuit.\nThe same low sweetness is why we also list it among our crackers and crispbreads. Top one with Wensleydale or a gentle Cheddar and pour a strong English Breakfast beside it for an easy afternoon plate. Once the pack is open, fold the wrapper down tightly or move the biscuits into a tin; a digestive gives little warning of going stale, because its quiet aroma does not change before it softens.\nThe packs we stock \n\nHovis Digestive Biscuits, 250g (barcode 5000137046952)\n\nWhat the label says \nThe published ingredient list for Hovis Digestive Biscuits, 250g says it contains wheat (gluten) and milk. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.\nIngredients, as published: Wheat Flour (with added Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Vegetable Oil (Palm), Sugar, Wheatgerm (5%), Raising Agents: E500, E503, Salt, Dried Whey (Milk), Natural Flavouring.\nTypical values per 100gPer 100gEnergy479 kcalFat20.1gof which saturates9.4gCarbohydrate64.9gof which sugars18.9gFibre3.0gProtein8.0gSalt1.1g\nIngredient and nutrition information for this product, as published on the manufacturer's label. The pack in your hands is the final word.\nWhat to drink with it \n\nClipper Fairtrade Everyday Tea, 80 Pack 232g: A strong everyday blend with milk is the right cup for a quick dunk.\nTwinings Scotland's Ceylon Tea (International Blend), 20 Tea Bags 40g: A brisk Ceylon cuts cleanly through the toasted wheat and the salt.\nTetley Earl Grey, 50 Tea Bags 125g: A scented black tea for the gentler afternoon, or for a digestive with a slice of cheese on top.\n\nElsewhere in the Hovis range \nThe full range is on the Hovis brand page.\nFAQ\nWhat makes the Hovis digestive different from other digestives? Wheatgerm in the dough, the ingredient Hovis was built on; the published ingredient list gives it at 5%.\nWhere does the name Hovis come from? It came out of a national competition held in 1890; Herbert Grime's winning entry built it from hominis vis, Latin for the strength of man.\nDoes the Hovis digestive contain milk? Yes. The published ingredient list includes dried whey (milk) as well as wheat, and the product listing marks it as vegetarian.\nWhich tea suits a Hovis digestive? A strong, malty breakfast blend with milk or a brisk Ceylon. Delicate green teas get lost against the toasted wheat.\nIs it made by Hovis or Jacob's? It carries the Hovis name and is sold under Jacob's. Hovis Group itself passed to Associated British Foods when that purchase completed in July 2026.\nCurator's note: Pour a proper strong tea, dunk one for a count of three, and keep the next for a slice of Wensleydale. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.\nIn short: Hovis Digestive Biscuits: The Wheatgerm Story\nFieldDetailBrandHovisPacks we stock250gCategoryCrackers & CrispbreadsAllergens (as published)It contains wheat (gluten) and milk.SweetnessSemi-sweet, with a quiet salt edgeBest withA malty breakfast tea with milkDunkableYes, two or three seconds\nMore from the tea wiki\n\nTea with Cheese: A Match That Rivals Wine\nTea and Cheese Pairing\nTea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise\nTea and Food Pairing: The Five Principles\nTea and Biscuits",
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