{{Short description|Australian cracker biscuit}} {{Use Australian English|date=November 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}} {{Infobox brand | logo = | name = SAO | image = 200px | caption = Three SAO crackers | type = Snack food | currentowner = Arnott's Biscuits Holdings | origin = Australia | introduced = 1904<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113298367 |title=Advertising |newspaper=Evening News |issue=11,570 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=11 July 1904 |accessdate=14 August 2018 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> | discontinued = | related = | markets = | previousowners = | trademarkregistrations = | tagline = | website = }} '''SAO biscuits''' are a savoury cracker biscuit that was launched in Australia in 1904 by Arnott's, the term SAO being trade marked in 1904.<ref>National Archives of Australia: Patent Office; A11708, Applications for Registration of Trade Marks, 1904, 3987, Application for Trade Mark titled SAO in respect of biscuits - by William Arnott Limited.</ref>
thumb|left|150px|Arthur Arnott, for whom the biscuits may have been named. The origin of the name "SAO" is unknown. A widely held belief is that the name is an acronym for "Salvation Army Officer", and was named for Arthur, one of the Arnott brothers, who was indeed an officer in the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army Australia somewhat cautiously mentions this on its website, calling it "Arguably Fact" and saying "...it is understood they named it in honour of their brother Arthur Arnott, a Salvation Army Officer.<ref name=salvationarmy>{{cite web|url=http://www.salvationarmy.org.au/en/Who-We-Are/History-and-heritage/Fact-and-fiction/ |title=Fact and fiction: Does the "SAO" biscuit really stand for Salvation Army Officer? |publisher=Salvation Army Australia|accessdate=20 June 2017}}</ref> In the 1993 book ''The Story of Arnott's Famous Biscuits'', Ross Arnott states that ''Sao'' was the name of a sailing boat{{efn|Perhaps Dr Milford's<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228949696 |title=Death of Dr Milford |newspaper=The Australian Star |issue=4514 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=4 August 1902 |accessdate=16 July 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> 6-ton yacht ''Sao'' built by W. M. Ford and launched 15 December 1883. She took part in a famous race with ''Iolanthe'' and ''Assegai'' in 1887.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article227683834 |title=By "Eagle" |newspaper=The Sportsman (Melbourne) |issue=371 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=28 March 1888 |access-date=16 July 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> A few owners later, she was still competitive in 1897.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article238425818 |title=Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |issue=5502 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=6 February 1897 |access-date=16 July 2023 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>}} which his grandfather (Arnott's founder William Arnott) saw on Lake Macquarie, of which he said "That would make a good name for a biscuit."<ref name=boldpalates>{{cite book|last=Santich|first=Barbara|title=Bold Palates: Australia's Gastronomic Heritage|year=2013|publisher=Wakefield Press|isbn=978-1743050941|page=285}}</ref> [[File:SAO advertisement, 1905.jpg|thumb|1905 advertisement for SAO biscuits in the Sydney Morning Herald]]
SAOs are often eaten as a light snack, topped with butter and Vegemite, or other ingredients.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news |last1=Woodgate |first1=Thomas |title=Australian food: 40 dishes locals like to call their own |url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/australian-food/index.html |access-date=1 April 2022 |work=CNN |date=19 December 2017 |language=en}}</ref> They were also a common base for home-made vanilla slice in Australian homes.<ref name="startsat60">{{cite web |title=It's 1962 and the classic vanilla slice made with Sao biscuits is born |url=https://startsat60.com/media/opinion/vanilla-slice-sao-biscuits-advertisement-aussie-1964-australian-recipes-nostalgia |website=Starts at 60 |date=21 February 2018 |access-date=1 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="courier mail">{{cite news |title=Vanilla slice: great Oz tucker with a slice of life |url=https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/sunshine-coast/vanilla-slice-great-oz-tucker-with-a-slice-of-life/news-story/71a3190e23dc3792bf13eaa42d206d3b |access-date=1 April 2022 |work=The Courier Mail |date=2 February 2016}}</ref>
==Notes== {{Notelist}} ==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c05_nlkdNDs 1951 video of manufacture of biscuits, including SAOs (2 min 24 sec video with audio)]
Category:Australian snack foods Category:Australian brands Category:Brand name crackers Category:1904 establishments in Australia