Iced Gems

These cute little biscuits made me smile today and brought back some childhood memories. I am talking about elementary days.

I left the furries lounging in their favorite spots this morning to go grab some papaya salad or som tum at a Big C food court nearby. I’ve been wanting to go back since my post about som tum, but been procrastinating on it. I bought one to eat there and another for take away.

On my way out, I noticed nicely packed sweets and cakes on a counter. The iced gems caught my eye and I remembered liking them a lot as a kid. So I went ahead and got a pack. It was 30 Thai Baht or US$1 for one. I’ve been munching on them at the air-conditioned food court while skimming though a book. They didn’t taste quite like the ones from home which I used to gobble up all the time. But I liked these ones just the same.

The only brand I remember my mom getting us was one called ‘Iced Gem’. She would bring home packs and huge packs of them along with various other brands of biscuits we liked. My siblings and I would bring some with us to school along with a pack each of Zest-O fruit-flavored juice for snacks during recess time 🙂

It looks like iced gems date back to the 1850s according to the following article – The Cult of Iced Gem Biscuits aka Biskut Ais Jem.