The cookie section of my local Shop-Rite came through again. A couple of months ago I saw something new--Minuet tea biscuits from Turkey. I quickly snapped up the two types available, which were their original plain ones, and the butter flavor kind.
Minuet is a brand of the Imisk Group. Imisk is a moderately old business, having started back in 1959. A man named Ibraham Miskavi founded his company in the Turkish town of Mersin, and initially he traded citrus and cotton. However, his business continued to expand, both in size and on the number of industries it was involved with. By 1976 Miskavi's company had started transporting goods to the Middle East, and especially to Iraq. In 1987 the company changed its (unspecified) name to Imisk. Imisk is derived from the signature of Ibraham Miskavi, as well as the telegraphic address of the company in the 1960's. In 1989 Imisk expanded into the area formerly known as the Soviet Union. And by 2016 the Dinamik Power Plant was started. All told Imisk is involved with warehousing, heavy lift transportation equipment, terminals, port operations, construction materials, power plants, and foodstuffs. It employs over 1500 people, and has offices in over 18 countries, including some in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Europe, and the U.S. Getting back to the Minuet brand, its products include biscuits, cream cookies, wafers, crackers, and cakes.
Minuet tea time biscuits, plain flavor: These were rectangular in shape, about 2.25 inches (about 5.5 cm.) by 1.25 inches (about 3 cm.), with a yellow-brown color. "Tea biscuit" is embossed on them, and the edges were scalloped, and some small holes were also punched in the biscuits. They were a fairly typical tea biscuit. Crunchy, and not very sweet. Blandish. Maybe a tad better than the average European biscuit, but only slightly. Still a weak cookie/biscuit overall.
Minuet tea time biscuits, butter flavor: Same size, shape, and color as the previous. Also dry and crunchy. And still weak. Maybe slightly better than the plain kind, but still not enough. Pretty boring. I get that many consumers dip the biscuits into their tea or coffee, but given my disdain for hot beverages I wasn't about to do this. So I didn't enjoy either of these, and wouldn't recommend them, unless you like really bland biscuits that don't taste like much. Very disappointing as a dessert.
If you're curious, a minuet was a social dance (for two people) most popular from about 1650-1750. French in origin, it was also popular in England. The origin of the name itself is cloudy, but some think it's related to the French word for "menu," which also meant "slender." The dance steps for the minuet were small and neat, which were considered by some to be "slender." But, you may be saying, this is all fine and good, but what does a French dance from over 250 years ago have to do with Turkish baked goods? Which is a compelling question, and I can't provide a good answer. I guess Imisk thought the minuet dance was considered stately and elegant, and they wanted people to associate their cookies and cakes and such with these attributes as well.
Also, I was amused to see that a few of the Minuet cookies are named, "pinkos." Which used to be a slur for someone considered to be a Communist sympathizer in the U.S. in the 1940's, 50's and 60's or so. As in, you weren't a full on "Red," but you were somewhat soft on Communism, or "pink." Granted, I doubt many people use the term "pinko" much anymore, and those that do are probably well into the 70's or older. But still, I guess Imisk didn't realize the meaning of the word in the U.S. Cultural differences can be tricky. Finally, some of the products in the Minuet line are labeled as being, "Super Kosher." Which again, kind of tickles me. Isn't being kosher kind of like being pregnant--as in, something is, or is not? Are there degrees of kosher-ness? (Actually, I looked it up, and evidently there are different levels of kosher-ness. Based on how strict a person's diet is, and other factors. But as far as I could tell none of them are called "super," so I stand by my amusement about Minuet's labeling.)
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