To dunk or not to dunk? It's a controversial topic on either side of the debate

The question on everyone’s mind ahead of holiday season — is whether it's acceptable to dunk or not, particularly when in public places. Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal once announced that scientifically, biscuits taste better dunked in a hot drink, and TV chef Jamie Oliver was proud to say his top three "dunkers" are Hobnobs (plain and chocolate) and Ginger Nuts.

Should a Jammie Dodger be dunked? Does a chocolate HobNob rate higher than a chocolate Digestive? Is a Ginger Nut the same as a Ginger Snap or do they simply share a common biscuit ancestor? Is a Jaffa Cake in fact a biscuit at all? There are endless questions to be answered and few people will ever agree.

Given the shelves at Choithrams.com are stacked full of delightful biscuit options from all over the world, we thought it was time to open the floor for the world’s most lively debate. Please note: All biscuits were harmed in the making of this feature.

Tesco Malted Milk

Great for dunking and a staple for any biscuit barrel but let’s be honest, you’d probably make an excuse not to take this one to dinner if you had a better offer.

DUNKABILITY: 3

Walkers Chocolate Chip Shortbread

These guys have been baking shortbread in the Scottish Highlands for as long as they’ve been building flinging logs up there - or 1898 to be ever-so-slightly more precise. There’s no surprise they’ve got it right.

DUNKABILITY: 2

Arnott’s Tim Tams

Fact, the Australians eat 45 million packets of Tim Tams a year. Fact, they were named after the winning horse at the Kentucky Derby in 1958. Fact, the Tim Tam factory in Sydney produces 3,000 biscuits a minute. Fact, bite off each end, suck your warm (not boiling hot for obvious reasons) drink through, pop in the mouth. Melty. Gooey. Perfect.

DUNKABILITY: 5

McVitie’s HobNob

Decidedly more addictive than traditional biscuits – the slug line says it all "one nibble and you're nobbled" - a multipack is not a good idea.

It’s a Johnny-come-lately member of the upper echelons of the British biscuit market introduced only in 1984, but has nevertheless firmly established itself in the hearts (and mouths) of an international audience. Be warned, the flaky nature means a tendency to shed oat crumbs into your drink. You’ll survive.

DUNKABILITY: 5

Galaxy Flutes

Many view the Galaxy Flute as some form of decadent luxury item. It moved in similar social circles to that of the After Eight Mint – only coming out during holidays or birthdays if you were lucky. They ooze grandeur yet the reality is quite the opposite. They’re easy to find and go with everything.

DUNKABILITY: 3

Oreo Cookie

It’s main ingredient is sugar and it consists two dark cocoa biscuits with some white sugary creme stuff in between. The taste is undeniable but we’re pretty sure you can feel your arteries hardening as you chomp. Absurdly eating instructions come in six stages but the ads are the best if you need a tutorial from a five-year-old.

DUNKABILITY: 3

Fox's Butter Crinkle Crunch

With a higher sugar content than butter these guys don’t last once opened, which doesn’t really matter as the bigger challenge is not scoffing the lot in the ad break of your fav show. If ever there was a biscuit in need of a tin then this butter toffee flavour piece of joy is it.

DUNKABILITY: 3

Tesco Buttery Viennese Fingers

There are certain biscuits incapable of putting up any resistance to a coffee morning onslaught. Total biscuit consumption is the only real outcome of these high-class treats. Posh on the outside but don’t be fooled, they put up a fight on finding themselves face down in a cup of Rosy Lea. Buttery crumble, chocolate filling, individual compartments for easy transportation. A truly worthy winner.

DUNKABILITY: 5

McVitie’s Fruit Shortcake

Often viewed as a low-end biscuit this one is otherwise referred to (in the circles we operate) as the “squashed fly” biscuit – have a think about it. The unwary or inexperienced biscuit eater could easily work their way through half a packet of these clever little guys before they realise it.

Don’t leave them until last, you’ll wish you’d picked more wisely.

DUNKABILITY: 3

Crawford’s Nice

They’re ‘nice’ – pun very much intended – but as with #20, that’s about as far as it goes. The ‘coconut flavour’ is usually somewhat lost on most with the exception of any Gran, Nanna, Grandma worth her pint-sized weight in biscuit cupboard stockery.

DUNKABILITY: 4

Tiffany Custard Cream

They don't make them like they used to, it seems. This old-fashioned biscuit is a no-nonsense nibble with class and style. Pro biscuit expert (not sure how you get the job but we’d like to apply) says “It's a popular balance of having something a bit special, but not being vulgar”. The Baroque swirls grab this sweet treat a top spot.

DUNKABILITY: 4

Jacob’s Club

"If you like a lot of chocolate on your biscuit join our club" - the words to Jacob’s famous jingle which inspired mum’s all over the globe to pack one in every kiddie lunch box – even if they didn’t like them. One end of the chocolate – which has to be bitten before consumption in its entirety continued – is always thicker at one end. If you’re a sucker for a bit of nostalgia, go for it. Choccie melts into the tea when dunked. You’ve been warned.

DUNKABILITY: 2

Bahlsen Leibniz Butter Biscuits

These butter biscuits are a square version of the world-renowned Rich Tea biscuit. One of the biscuit world's elder statesmen, the Rich Tea causes controversy in active ‘dunk’ circles as the majority claim it’s “the only” dunker while others strongly disagree. It’s the archetypal British tea drinker's biscuit and in 2004, Terry Wogan, a radio presenter for the BBC, described Rich tea as the "Lord of all Biscuits" on his Radio 2 breakfast show.

DUNKABILITY: 4

Tesco Jam Sandwich Creams

Release the inner 12-year-old and hunt through the cupboards (where mum’s have hidden them for fear of children inhaling in one sitting), this one is full of jammie mischief. Best bit about the sandwich cream – the younger sister to the famed Jammie Dodger – it doesn’t matter if they’re broken when you eat them, they still taste the same.

DUNKABILITY: 2

McVitie’s Milk Chocolate Digestive

Few garner respect like this one, a figurehead for the entire chocolate biscuit world. They outclass most other contenders with a quantity of chocolate showing thoughtful restraint. If you’re ever worried about which biscuits to serve for any particular occasion, simply choose the choccie Digestive. You won't go wrong.

DUNKABILITY: 5

Walker’s Belgian Chocolate Chunk

Seductive Belgian chocolate makes these biscuits a gourmet's delight. Perfect for sharing but we would advise against it. The dunking takes a bit of practice – too little and they remain a tad crunchy, too much and you’ll lose it. However, get it just right and words cannot explain.

DUNKABILITY: 4

Tiffany Delight Bourbon Cream

It’s a British standard, popular with dunkers and introduced in 1910 (originally under the name "Creola") by the biscuit company Peek Freans, of Bermondsey, London. You can feel history fill your digestive system as you bite. It’s an experience in a mouthful.

DUNKABILITY: 3

Fox’s Party Rings

It’s obvious these guys are aimed at a younger audience but take our word for it, they taste great even if not engaged in any kind of “party activity” as the pack suggests. Best eaten in public, especially if you plan to lick the icing off as we did. Dunking can lead to premature loss of colourful icing.

DUNKABILITY: 2

McVitie’s Ginger Nuts

This unassuming little guy is the Marine Corps of the biscuit world. Dunk him once and he’ll dare you to do it again, his buff outer layer still fully intact. The levels of durability are as enormous as they are impressive.

DUNKABILITY: 5

Wernli Dark Chocolate Petit Beurre

Honestly, it’s a pretty unremarkable biscuit with a large slab of chocolate on top. It’s a bit like eating a Rich Tea with a chunk of Galaxy in every mouthful. The flagship biscuit for leading French biscuit manufacturer LU, it’s been redone by others. It's the chocolate that wins it. Well played, well played.

DUNKABILITY: 3

The facts

Think you’re on familiar terms with your beloved digestive biscuit, bourbon or custard cream? Think again. Here are eight facts you probably didn’t know about biscuits.

1. The word 'biscuit' comes from Latin words 'Bis' meaning twice, and 'Coctus', which means baked. Yup, the sweet snack used to be cooked at least twice.
2. McVities recently dropped the bombshell that Chocolate Digestives have the chocolate at the bottom of the biscuit, not the top. You've been eating them upside down all this time.
3. A 2009 study revealed 25 million people in Britain had been injured by biscuits. Most happened while trying to fish for ‘dunk’ remnants in a scalding cup of tea.
4. Ask for a biscuit in America and you'll get a 'quick bread' resembling more of a soft British scone than a crunchy biscuit. Delicious but not quite the same thing.
5. Glendale Country Show near Wooler, Northumberland hosts the annual World Biscuit Throwing Championship. Contestants have to throw a McVities Rich Tea biscuit as far as they can.
6. There is a British Biscuit Advisory board, which claims to be ‘The Voice of Biscuits’.
7. In 1991, a VAT tribunal in the UK ruled that a Jaffa Cake is not a biscuit, saving Jaffa 17.5 per cent tax as VAT has to be paid on chocolate covered biscuits but not on chocolate covered cakes.
8. The Biscuit Eater was a Hollywood film made in the 1940s, which became an unexpected smash hit. It stars a biscuit-eating dog called Promise.
9. In March 2011, it was announced that Prince William had chosen a groom's cake for his wedding reception, made from 1,700 McVities Rich tea biscuits and 17kg of chocolate, just another reason to love him.