Why Are Canned Biscuits Packaged In Noisy Tubes?

Pre-packaged dough is a godsend when you don't have time to make biscuits from scratch. It's ready to toss in the oven, only takes a few minutes, and, thanks to a decades-old packaging design, can stay fresh in the fridge for up to two months. The only con of pre-packaged canned biscuits is that you can hear them from a mile away. The cylinder cardboard container lets out an echoing "pop" when opened and the secret behind the signature sound is pressure. 

Once the tube's seal snaps off, carbon dioxide escapes in a rush, leading to the alarming noise. The pressurized tube almost acts as a vacuum seal, keeping the notoriously temperamental biscuit dough fresh (and ready to bake) for weeks. The thick packaging keeps each biscuit uniform and safe for travel, but it also controls the dough's otherwise rapid rise. Leavening agents like baking powder are what make biscuits so light and fluffy, and the aluminum lined tube puts a halt on the expansion until it's smacked open on the counter. Before this tube design, packaged dough would continue to expand, overproof, and spoil. 

Aside from the startling noise, breaking open one of Pillsbury's tubular paperboard containers is fairly uneventful, but the first patent for the innovative packaging, secured in 1931 by Kentucky baker Lively B. Willoughby, was a bit harder to navigate.

Willoughby was a hardworking baker running his own business and he was fed up with the logistics of transporting fresh biscuit dough rising by the minute. He brilliantly lined a cardboard tube with baking powder and epsom salt in an effort to keep his biscuit dough fresh, and it worked wonders. His brand, Ye Olde Kentuckie Buttermilk Biscuits, partnered with Ballard Flour down the line, and was then bought out by Pillsbury in the early 1950s. Chances are, Willoughby's powerful packaging had something to do with it.

While the tube kept the dough fresh, trying to retrieve sticky biscuit dough from a narrow can was nearly impossible. Pillsbury ultimately invented the spiral wraparound cardboard tube that pops open, making the dough easy to remove and roll out. There's no way to avoid the epic noise, but it's a small price to pay for fresh biscuits in under twenty minutes. It's not only flaky biscuits that utilize this clever packaging, but any dough that will continue to rise after being sealed. Pillsbury dominates the refrigerated section with tubes of pre-made cinnamon rolls, crescent rolls, and even pizza dough.