Jacob's Crinklys Cheese and Onion Crisps, 6 x 23g

Crinklys are crinkle cut baked snacks from Jacob's, closer to a biscuit than a crisp, and Cheese and Onion is the classic flavour. This is the multipack of six 23g bags, 138g in all, and the pack gives figures for each bag. The full product name on the pack is cheese and onion flavour crinkled snack biscuits, and the pack gives a freepost address for Jacob's.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the snacks are made from flour (wheat flour with calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin), dried potato, sunflower oil, modified starch, dried whey (milk), a cheese and onion flavouring (milk: onion powder, maltodextrin, natural flavouring containing milk, salt, potassium chloride, citric acid, garlic powder and paprika extract), polydextrose, wheat gluten, lactic acid, raising agents (disodium diphosphate and sodium bicarbonate), an emulsifier (E472e), salt and natural flavourings.

A biscuit, not a crisp

The full product name calls Crinklys snack biscuits, and the list reads like one: wheat flour first, with dried potato, raising agents and an emulsifier, baked in the oven rather than fried. The crinkles give them a crisp, ridged bite.

Oven baked, not fried

The listing says oven baked, not fried. The label gives 14.8g of fat per 100g, amber on the front of pack scale, and 3.4g in a bag.

The cheese and onion

Dried whey and a cheese and onion flavouring carry the taste: onion powder leads the flavouring, with garlic, a natural flavouring that contains milk, and citric and lactic acids for the tang of a mature cheese.

A different recipe from the tube

The 200g Crinklys tube uses a shorter list, with natural flavourings but no dried whey, onion powder or garlic, and adds folic acid to the flour. The figures differ a little too: 453 kcal and 0.79g of salt per 100g here, against 465 kcal and 0.75g in the tube.

The raising agents

Disodium diphosphate and sodium bicarbonate are the two halves of baking powder: together they release gas in the oven and lighten the dough.

Polydextrose and E472e

Polydextrose is a soluble fibre used to add body, and E472e is an emulsifier used in baking to strengthen the dough and give an even texture. Wheat gluten adds more strength.

Potassium chloride

Potassium chloride sits in the flavouring beside the salt. It tastes salty but contains no sodium, and the salt figure on a UK label is worked out from sodium.

Numbers for one bag

The pack gives 104 kcal (438 kJ), 3.4g of fat, 0.4g of saturates, 15.8g of carbohydrate, 1.3g of sugars, 1.2g of fibre, 2g of protein and 0.18g of salt for each 23g bag, which it puts at 5% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 5% of the fat, 2% of the saturates, 1% of the sugars and 3% of the salt.

Numbers per 100g

Per 100g the pack gives 453 kcal (1905 kJ), 14.8g of fat, 1.7g of saturates, 68.6g of carbohydrate, 5.8g of sugars, 5.1g of fibre, 8.6g of protein and 0.79g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, every figure is amber: fat at 14.8g, saturates at 1.7g, sugars at 5.8g and salt at 0.79g. There is no red on the scale.

Salt

At 0.79g of salt per 100g, this is one of the least salty snacks in our Jacob's range; only the Crinklys tube, at 0.75g, carries less.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients highlight wheat, in the flour and the wheat gluten, and milk, in the dried whey and the flavouring. The published listing gives no may contain advice. The listing says the biscuits are suitable for vegetarians; they are not vegan, because of the milk, and they are not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Palm

No palm oil is named on the list, and the listing says the oil palm products the recipe contains are certified to come from RSPO segregated sources.

Fortified flour

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

Six small bags

Six 23g bags make a school week of lunchboxes with one to spare, and the listing counts them as six servings.

The pack

The green outer bag carries the Jacob's badge, the Crinklys name, an oven baked, not fried band, a stack of crinkled biscuits, a large 6 with cheese and onion flavour, a green roundel comparing its fat with fried crisps, a front of pack nutrition strip and a single bag shown beside it.

Who it suits

A baked cheese and onion snack in a small bag suits lunchboxes and anyone who likes a biscuit crunch and a gentle seasoning. It is not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten or milk.

In a lunchbox

A bag goes beside a sandwich, a yoghurt and a piece of fruit.

Serving ideas

Crinklys go beside a bowl of tomato soup, on a cheeseboard or in a party bowl with other snacks.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the biscuits make a crunchy, cheesy crumb for the top of a fish pie or a macaroni cheese.

Storage and packaging

The listing advises a cool, dry place. The published recycling guidance says the whole packaging can be recycled with carrier bags at large supermarkets and should not go in home recycling.

Trade mark

The listing notes that Crinklys is a registered trade mark of United Biscuits (UK) Limited.

Other Crinklys

We also stock Jacob's Crinklys Cheese and Onion in a 200g tube, and Crinklys come in a Prawn Cocktail multipack too.

Sizes of Jacob's Crinklys Cheese and Onion Crisps we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

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