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A cracker is a flat, dry baked food typically made with
flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cul ...
. Flavorings or
seasoning Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, salts, and/or sugar, intended to enhance a particular flavour. General meaning Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". ...
s, such as
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
,
herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...
s,
seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...
s, or
cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During productio ...
, may be added to the dough or sprinkled on top before baking. Crackers are often branded as a nutritious and convenient way to consume a
staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply a staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard Diet (nutrition), diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of ...
or
cereal grain A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...
. Crackers can be eaten on their own, but can also accompany other food items such as cheese or meat slices, fruits, dips, or soft spreads such as jam, butter,
peanut butter Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Peanut butter is consumed in many countri ...
,
pâté ''Pâté'' ( , , ) is a paste, pie or loaf filled with a forcemeat. Common forcemeats include ground meat from pork, poultry, fish or beef; fat, vegetables, herbs, spices and either wine or brandy (often cognac or armagnac). It is often ser ...
, or
mousse A mousse (; ; "foam") is a soft prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. Depending on preparation techniques, it can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick. A mousse may be sweet or savory. as ...
. Bland or mild crackers are sometimes used as a palate cleanser in food product testing or flavor testing, between samples. Crackers may also be crumbled and added to soup. The modern cracker is somewhat similar to
nautical Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea." It involves topics ...
ship's biscuits,
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
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 ...
, chacknels, and
sacramental bread Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host ( la, hostia, lit=sacrificial victim), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two eleme ...
. Other early versions of the cracker can be found in ancient
flatbread A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread. Flatbreads r ...
s, such as
lavash Lavash ( hy, լավաշ) is a thin flatbread usually leavened, traditionally baked in a tandoor (''tonir'') or on a ''sajj'', and common to the cuisines of South Caucasus, Western Asia, and the areas surrounding the Caspian Sea. Lavash is on ...
,
pita Pita ( or ) or pitta (British English), is a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring areas. It includes the widely known version with an interior pocket, also ...
,
matzo Matzah or matzo ( he, מַצָּה, translit=maṣṣā'','' pl. matzot or Ashk. matzos) is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which '' chametz'' ( leaven ...
,
flatbrød Flatbrød (literally "flat-bread") is a traditional Norwegian unleavened bread which is usually eaten with fish, salted meats and soups. Originally it was the staple food of Norwegian farmers, shepherds and peasants. Flat bread is dry and free ...
, and crisp bread. Asian analogues include papadum and
senbei are a type of Japanese rice cracker. They come in various shapes, sizes, and flavors, usually savory but sometimes sweet. Senbei are often eaten with green tea as a casual snack and offered to visiting house guests as a courtesy refreshment. ...
. The characteristic holes found in many crackers are called " docking" holes. The holes are poked in the dough to stop overly large air pockets from forming in the cracker while baking.


Names

In American English, the name "cracker" usually refers to savory or salty flat biscuits, whereas the term "
cookie A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, nu ...
" is used for sweet items. Crackers are also generally made differently: crackers are made by layering dough, while cookies, besides the addition of sugar, usually use a chemical leavening agent, may contain eggs, and in other ways are made more like a cake. In British English, crackers are sometimes called
water biscuit A water biscuit or water cracker is a type of savoury cracker. They are thin, hard and brittle, and usually served with cheese or wine. Originally produced in the 19th century as a version of the ship's biscuit, water biscuits continue to be po ...
s, or savory biscuits.


Types

Crackers come in many shapes and sizes, such as round,
rectangular In Euclidean plane geometry, a rectangle is a quadrilateral with four right angles. It can also be defined as: an equiangular quadrilateral, since equiangular means that all of its angles are equal (360°/4 = 90°); or a parallelogram containin ...
,
triangular A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- collinea ...
, or irregular. Crackers sometimes have
cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During productio ...
or
spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...
s as ingredients, or even
chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...
stock, such as In a Biskit, which is sold internationally with various flavors.
Saltines A saltine or soda cracker is a thin, usually square cracker usually made from white flour, sometimes yeast (although many are yeast free), and baking soda, with most varieties lightly sprinkled with coarse salt. It has perforations over its surf ...
and
oyster cracker Oyster crackers are small, salted crackers, typically rounds about in diameter, although a slightly smaller hexagonal variety is also common. The crackers are often served with oyster stew and clam chowder and contain similar ingredients to sal ...
s are often used in or served with
soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling soli ...
. Similar crackers include cream crackers and
water biscuit A water biscuit or water cracker is a type of savoury cracker. They are thin, hard and brittle, and usually served with cheese or wine. Originally produced in the 19th century as a version of the ship's biscuit, water biscuits continue to be po ...
s. Cheese crackers are prepared using cheese as a main ingredient. Commercial examples include
Cheez-It Cheez-It is a brand of cheese cracker manufactured by the Kellogg Company through its Sunshine Biscuits division. Approximately , the rectangular crackers are made with wheat flour, vegetable oil, cheese made with skim milk, salt, and spi ...
,
Cheese Nips Cheese Nips (originally stylized as "Cheese-Nips") were a small cheese-flavored cracker manufactured by Mondelez International under its brand, Nabisco, they were originally used to compete against Sunshine Biscuit's (now Kellogg's) Cheez-It cra ...
and
Goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have bec ...
.
Graham cracker A graham cracker (pronounced or in America) is a sweet flavored cracker made with graham flour that originated in the United States in the mid-19th century, with commercial development from about 1880. It is eaten as a snack food, usually ho ...
s and
digestive biscuit A digestive biscuit, sometimes described as a sweet-meal biscuit, is a semi- sweet biscuit that originated in Scotland. The digestive was first developed in 1839 by two Scottish doctors to aid digestion. The term ''digestive'' is derived from th ...
s are also treated more like cookies than crackers, although they were both invented for their supposed health benefits, and graham crackers are sweet.


Brands

Cracker brands include Bremner Wafers,
Captain's Wafers Captain's Wafers is an American brand of crackers that is made by Lance Inc. They are light buttery crackers typically served with soups and salads. They are mentioned specifically in the song "Camel Walk" by Southern Culture on the Skids Sout ...
,
Cheese Nips Cheese Nips (originally stylized as "Cheese-Nips") were a small cheese-flavored cracker manufactured by Mondelez International under its brand, Nabisco, they were originally used to compete against Sunshine Biscuit's (now Kellogg's) Cheez-It cra ...
,
Club Crackers Club Crackers are crackers made by the Kellogg Company. They are somewhat similar in resemblance to saltines, but are rectangular and have 18 holes in a 3x6 pattern instead of the 13 holes in a 3-2-3-2-3 pattern that are on a saltine. Also, the ...
,
Goldfish crackers Goldfish are fish-shaped crackers manufactured by Pepperidge Farm, which is a division of the Campbell Soup Company. The crackers have been available in several varieties and, since 1962, 40% of the crackers contain a small imprint of an eye and ...
, In a Biskit,
Jacob's Jacob's is a brand name for several lines of biscuits and crackers in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The brand name is owned by the Jacob Fruitfield Food Group, part of Valeo Foods, which produces snacks for the Irish market. ...
, Ritz Crackers,
Town House cracker The Keebler Company is an American cookie and former cracker manufacturer. Founded in 1853, it has produced numerous baked snacks, advertised with the Keebler Elves. Keebler had marketed its brands such as Cheez-It (which have the Sunshine Biscu ...
s, Triscuit, TUC, and Wheat Thins, among others.


Gallery

File:Arare.jpg,
Arare Arare may refer to: *Norimaki Arare or Arale Norimaki, the main character in ''Dr. Slump'' media *Arare (food), a bite-sized Japanese rice cracker *Japanese destroyer Arare, a warship sunk in 1942 {{disambig ...
, small Japanese rice crackers File:NY-Deli-Bagel-Chips.jpg,
Bagel A bagel ( yi, בײגל, translit=beygl; pl, bajgiel; also spelled beigel) is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. It is traditionally shaped by hand into a roughly hand-sized ring from yeasted wheat dough that is fi ...
chips File:Cheez-It-Crackers.jpg,
Cheez-It Cheez-It is a brand of cheese cracker manufactured by the Kellogg Company through its Sunshine Biscuits division. Approximately , the rectangular crackers are made with wheat flour, vegetable oil, cheese made with skim milk, salt, and spi ...
crackers made by Kellogg File:Goldfish-Crackers.jpg,
Cheddar cheese Cheddar cheese (or simply cheddar) is a natural cheese that is relatively hard, off-white (or orange if colourings such as annatto are added), and sometimes sharp-tasting. Cheddar originates from the English village of Cheddar in Somerset. Che ...
flavored
Goldfish crackers Goldfish are fish-shaped crackers manufactured by Pepperidge Farm, which is a division of the Campbell Soup Company. The crackers have been available in several varieties and, since 1962, 40% of the crackers contain a small imprint of an eye and ...
File:Graham-Cracker-Stack.jpg,
Graham cracker A graham cracker (pronounced or in America) is a sweet flavored cracker made with graham flour that originated in the United States in the mid-19th century, with commercial development from about 1880. It is eaten as a snack food, usually ho ...
s which are lightly sweet rather than savory File:Oyster Crackers.jpg, A bowl of
oyster cracker Oyster crackers are small, salted crackers, typically rounds about in diameter, although a slightly smaller hexagonal variety is also common. The crackers are often served with oyster stew and clam chowder and contain similar ingredients to sal ...
s File:RitzCrackers.jpg, Ritz Crackers File:Saltine-Crackers.JPG, Saltine crackers File:Japanese Senbeis.jpg, Japanese
Senbei are a type of Japanese rice cracker. They come in various shapes, sizes, and flavors, usually savory but sometimes sweet. Senbei are often eaten with green tea as a casual snack and offered to visiting house guests as a courtesy refreshment. ...
rice cracker File:Triscuit-Crackers.jpg, Triscuit shredded wheat crackers File:WaterBiscuit-Trio.jpg, Trio of Water biscuits: Left: Supermarket own brand, Right: Excelsior from Jamaica, Top: Carr's Table Cracker File:Flickr stuart spivack 8254492--Beaten biscuits.jpg,
Beaten biscuit Beaten biscuits are a Southern food from the United States, dating from the 19th century. They differ from regular American soft-dough biscuits in that they are more like hardtack. In New England they are called "sea biscuits", as they were st ...
s are a relative of crackers


See also

* Cheese and crackers *
Kerupuk ''Krupuk'' ( Javanese), ''kerupuk'' (Indonesian), ''keropok'' ( Malay), ''kroepoek'' ( Dutch) or ''kropek'' ( Tagalog) is a cracker made from starch or animal skin and other ingredients that serve as flavouring. Most krupuk are deep fried, ...
*
Matzo Matzah or matzo ( he, מַצָּה, translit=maṣṣā'','' pl. matzot or Ashk. matzos) is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which '' chametz'' ( leaven ...
*
Pretzel A pretzel (), from German pronunciation, standard german: Breze(l) ( and French / Alsatian: ''Bretzel'') is a type of baked bread made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical f ...
*
Saltine cracker challenge The saltine cracker challenge or saltine challenge is a food challenge or competition in which a person has 60 seconds in which to eat six saltine soda crackers without drinking anything. Although the challenge may sound trivial, it is diffi ...
*
Tortilla A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indigenous peoples of M ...
*
List of crackers This is a list of crackers. A cracker is a baked good typically made from a grain-and-flour dough and usually manufactured in large quantities. Crackers (roughly equivalent to savory biscuits in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man) are usua ...


References


External links


Website of Bent's Cookie Factory in Milton, MA, purveyors of "water crackers" and hardtack during the American Civil War




{{Wheat Snack foods Wheat dishes