Jacob's Cracker Crisps Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar, 150g

Cracker Crisps are Jacob's thin, square crackers made to eat like crisps, and Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar is the sweet and sharp one. This is the 150g sharing bag, and the label gives its figures per 100g and for a 25g serving, which makes six servings in the bag.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the crackers are made from flour (wheat flour with calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin), vegetable oils (sunflower and palm), dried potato, starch, a sea salt and balsamic vinegar flavour (sugar, maltodextrin, acidity regulators: sodium diacetate, citric acid and tricalcium phosphate, sea salt, dextrose, natural flavouring and palm oil), maltodextrin, sugar, glucose syrup, raising agents (ammonium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate and disodium diphosphate), salt and an emulsifier (E472e).

A cracker that eats like a crisp

The dough is wheat flour with dried potato and starch, raised like a cracker with three raising agents and shaped into thin squares. The result sits between a cracker and a crisp: light, flat and snappy, with the docking holes of a cracker on top.

Balsamic without balsamic

No vinegar is named on the list. The sharp side of the flavour comes from sodium diacetate, made from the acid of vinegar, and citric acid, and the natural flavouring carries the balsamic taste.

The sweet

Balsamic vinegar is sweet as well as sharp, and the seasoning follows: sugar leads the flavour, dextrose follows, and there is more sugar and glucose syrup in the dough. The label gives 7.5g of sugars per 100g, amber on the front of pack scale.

Sea salt

Sea salt sits in the seasoning, and plain salt in the dough. The label gives 1.8g of salt per 100g and 0.5g in a 25g serving, red on the front of pack scale.

The raising agents

Ammonium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate and disodium diphosphate are the raising agents of a cracker: they release gas as the dough cooks and lighten it into a crisp, airy square.

E472e

E472e is an emulsifier used in baking to strengthen the dough and give an even texture.

Palm oil

Palm oil is among the oils in the dough and in the seasoning. The label gives 4.8g of saturates per 100g, amber, just under the red line at 5g.

Tricalcium phosphate

Tricalcium phosphate is listed with the acidity regulators; in a seasoning it is often used to keep the powder free flowing.

Fortified flour

UK wheat flour is fortified with calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin, which is why those four appear in brackets after the flour.

Numbers per serving

The label gives 117 kcal (493 kJ), 4.8g of fat, 1.2g of saturates, 16.8g of carbohydrate, 1.9g of sugars, 0.6g of fibre, 1.3g of protein and 0.5g of salt for a 25g serving. That is about 6% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 7% of the fat and 8% of the salt.

Numbers per 100g

Per 100g the label gives 470 kcal (1971 kJ), 19.3g of fat, 4.8g of saturates, 67g of carbohydrate, 7.5g of sugars, 2.4g of fibre, 5.2g of protein and 1.8g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 19.3g is red. Saturates at 4.8g are amber. Sugars at 7.5g are amber. Salt at 1.8g is red.

Carbohydrate

The label gives 67g of carbohydrate per 100g, of which 7.5g are sugars; the rest is starch and maltodextrin, from the flour, the potato, the added starch and the seasoning.

Dried potato

Dried potato is the third ingredient, after the flour and the oils, so the squares are part cracker and part potato snack.

Maltodextrin and glucose syrup

Maltodextrin appears twice, in the seasoning and in the dough, and glucose syrup adds a little more sweetness to the cracker.

Fibre and protein

The label gives 2.4g of fibre and 5.2g of protein per 100g.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients name wheat, in the flour. The pack's allergy advice says it may contain eggs, milk, mustard, sesame and soya. The pack says it is suitable for vegetarians. It makes no vegan statement. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Six servings

At 150g, the bag holds six of the label's 25g servings. Tip a serving into a bowl rather than eating from the bag, and clip it shut between servings.

The pack

The bag is black at the top with a pale diamond pattern and blue at the bottom. It carries the orange Jacob's badge, the word cracker in white and crisps in blue script, a bowl of sea salt, a bottle of balsamic vinegar, a few square crackers, and the words sea salt and balsamic vinegar with the 150g weight.

Who it suits

A sweet and sharp cracker crisp suits anyone who likes salt and vinegar with a softer, fruitier edge and a light, snappy bite. It is not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten.

Serving ideas

Serve the cracker crisps on a snack board with mozzarella, tomatoes and olives, or with a glass of red wine.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the crackers make a sweet and sharp crumb for the top of a tomato salad or a bowl of tomato soup.

Storage

The published listing gives no storage advice. Keep the bag cool and dry, and clip it shut between servings.

With a dip

A flat, sturdy cracker crisp scoops a thick dip well: try a cream cheese and chive dip or a tzatziki.

At a party

Tip the bag into a bowl beside olives and cured meats for drinks.

Other Cracker Crisps

Jacob's Cracker Crisps also come in Sour Cream and Chive.

The tasting notes on this page are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.