Overview
- In an Instagram video, Bryony of Manchester Museum said the design depicts unfurling ferns linked to 19th-century Pteridomania.
- The explanation circulated widely in UK outlets after surprising viewers who had assumed art nouveau or wrought-iron inspirations.
- Custard creams are reported to have first appeared in Britain in 1908 with the now-familiar ornate stamp.
- Traditional recipes use custard powder rather than egg, a product credited to Alfred Bird, devised for his wife’s egg allergy.
- Food historian Lizzie Collingham told the BBC that custard creams exemplified early machine-made foods and a modern use of custard powder.