Cheese and crackers, also known as cheese and biscuits in the UK,
is a dish consisting of
crackers paired with
cheese. Historically the fare of sailors, soldiers, and pioneers, it had become a regular menu item in American restaurants and bars by the 1850s. Many types of cheeses are used, and it is often
paired with wine. It may also be served with
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
products or
preserves
Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread.
There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...
, or
preserved meats, such as
pepperoni
Pepperoni is an American variety of spicy salami made from cured pork and beef seasoned with paprika or other chili pepper.
Prior to cooking, pepperoni is characteristically soft, slightly smoky, and bright red. Thinly sliced pepperoni is one ...
or
salami
Salami ( ) is a cured sausage consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for up to 45 days ...
.
Mass-produced
Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and ba ...
cheese and crackers include
Handi-Snacks
Cheese and crackers, also known as cheese and biscuits in the UK, is a dish consisting of crackers paired with cheese. Historically the fare of sailors, soldiers, and pioneers, it had become a regular menu item in American restaurants and bars ...
,
Ritz,
Jatz and
Lunchables
Lunchables is a brand of food and snacks manufactured by Kraft Heinz in Chicago, Illinois and marketed under the Oscar Mayer brand. They were initially introduced in Seattle in 1988 before being released nationally in 1989. Many Lunchables produc ...
.
Overview
![Cheese and crackers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Cheese_and_crackers.jpg)
Cheese and crackers is a common
snack food or ''
hors d'oeuvre'' consisting of
crackers paired with various
cheeses.
In the United States it has also been served as a dessert, with the addition of ingredients such as jam, jelly, marmalade or preserves.
It is also commonly served at parties in the U.S., and in the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, it is relatively common for hot chili
pepper jelly
Pepper jelly is a preserve made with peppers, sugar, and salt in a pectin or vinegar base. The product, which rose in popularity in the United States from the 1980s to mid-1990s, can be described as a piquant mix of sweetness and heat, and is us ...
to be served atop
cream cheese
Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream.Oxford English Dictionary Stabilizers such as carob bean gum and carrageenan are often added in industrial production.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration de ...
and crackers at cocktail parties.
Cheese and crackers has a relatively high amount of protein, per the cheese as an ingredient.
Cheese and crackers is a common
food pairing
Foodpairing, or the non-registered trademarked term food pairing, is a method for identifying which foods go well together from a flavor standpoint. The method is based on the principle that foods combine well with one another when they share ke ...
that can serve to complement various cheeses, and the dish can be
paired with
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
s.
The cheese can be sliced or cubed, and served separately with crackers or pre-placed atop the crackers.
History
![Cheese with three crackers raphaelle peale](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Cheese_with_three_crackers_raphaelle_peale.jpg)
Cheese and crackers has been consumed by various sailors such as immigrants, whalers and explorers before refrigeration existed, using
hardtack
Hardtack (or hard tack) is a simple type of dense biscuit or cracker made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Hardtack is inexpensive and long-lasting. It is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voy ...
crackers and cheese.
It has also been consumed by various land explorers.
United States
![Cheese 46 bg 060106](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Cheese_46_bg_060106.jpg)
Cheese and crackers increased in popularity circa the 1850s, when bakers began producing thinner crackers with a lighter texture compared to hard tack.
During this time period, the combination was placed on restaurant menus as an after-dessert course and was also served in
saloons.
Cheese and crackers was a
food ration used by soldiers during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
(1861–1865).
Some soldiers at the time referred to cheese and crackers as a "square meal".
Cheese and hardtack was consumed along with dried venison meat by
Ezra Meeker
Ezra Morgan Meeker (December 29, 1830December 3, 1928) was an American pioneer who traveled the Oregon Trail by ox-drawn wagon as a young man, migrating from Iowa to the Pacific Coast. Later in life he worked to memorialize the Trail, repeated ...
during his time on the
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...
in 1852.
In 1915, mountaineer Philip Rogers consumed cheese and hardtack along with raisins and nuts during his expedition around
Mount Rainier in Washington state.
By the beginning of the 20th century, cheese and crackers was being prepared in homes and cooked by baking it and adding additional ingredients after cooking, such as paprika and mustard. At this time, the combination was sometimes served with soups and salads, and was used on salads for decades thereafter.
It was also commonly served at parties beginning around this time.
It was consumed as a dessert, rather than after-dessert by some during the
Great Depression in the United States, and was sometimes consumed by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
and
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...
in the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
for dessert, along with other foods.
Beginning in the 1950s, cheese and crackers was recommended as a snack for children by parenting experts,
home economist
Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences, is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and food preparation, as well as texti ...
s and authors of cookbooks.
Consumption of the snack increased during the mid-1980s when
Oscar Mayer
Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut producer known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Illinois.
History Early years
German im ...
introduced its
Lunchables
Lunchables is a brand of food and snacks manufactured by Kraft Heinz in Chicago, Illinois and marketed under the Oscar Mayer brand. They were initially introduced in Seattle in 1988 before being released nationally in 1989. Many Lunchables produc ...
product, which included cheese, crackers and lunch meat, and occurred in part to boost the company's lunch meat sales.
Mass production
![Handi-Snacks - open](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Handi-Snacks_-_open.jpg)
* Handi-Snacks are a
mass-produced
Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and ba ...
cheese and crackers snack food that are prepared using
processed cheese
Processed cheese (also known as process cheese, cheese food, prepared cheese, cheese product, or plastic cheese) is a food product made from cheese and unfermented dairy ingredients mixed with emulsifiers. Additional ingredients, such as vegeta ...
.
*
Lunchables
Lunchables is a brand of food and snacks manufactured by Kraft Heinz in Chicago, Illinois and marketed under the Oscar Mayer brand. They were initially introduced in Seattle in 1988 before being released nationally in 1989. Many Lunchables produc ...
is another commercial product that includes cheese and crackers as ingredients.
* "Fancy cheese and crackers" was a cheese and crackers lunch product purveyed by
Oscar Mayer
Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut producer known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Illinois.
History Early years
German im ...
in the mid-1980s that included additional foods such as lunch meat and a dessert.
In language
The term "cheese and crackers" was used as a
minced oath in the United States in the 1920s (from "
Jesus Christ!"), and as a
slang
Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-g ...
term for
testicle
A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testoste ...
s in the United Kingdom circa the late 1990s.
It was the
catchphrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
of the
burlesque comic
Billy Hagan.
See also
*
Bagel and cream cheese
*
Cheese cracker
The cheese cracker is a type of cracker prepared using cheese as a main ingredient. Additional common cracker ingredients are typically used, such as grain, flour, shortening, leavening, salt and various seasonings. The ingredients are formed in ...
*
List of cheese dishes
This is a list of notable cheese dishes in which cheese is used as a primary ingredient or as a significant component of a dish or a food. Cheese is a food derived from milk that is produced in a wide range of flavors, textures, and forms by coa ...
*
List of hors d'oeuvre
This is a list of notable hors d'oeuvre, also referred to as appetisers or starters, which may be served either hot or cold. They are food items served before the main courses of a meal, and are also sometimes served at the dinner table as a part ...
References
Further reading
*
* {{cite web , author=Alexander, Saffron , date=December 15, 2016 , title=The secret to perfect cheese and crackers (according to science) , website=The Telegraph , url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/news/secret-perfect-cheese-crackers-according-science/ , ref={{sfnref , The Telegraph , access-date=July 10, 2017
External links
7 Spins on Cheese and Crackers Food Network
Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...
Appetizers
Cheese dishes
Food combinations