Jacob's Mini Cheddars Original Snacks, 260g

This is Mini Cheddars Original in a 260g tube with a lid, dressed for Christmas in a knitted jumper design: the same small, round cheese biscuits as the lunchbox bags, in a size for sharing. The label counts ten 25g servings. The full product name on the pack is Cheese Snack Biscuits.

A Christmas edition

The tube belongs to Jacob's Christmas knits, a festive set that also includes Mini Twiglets, Crinklys Cheese and Onion and Treeselets. The biscuits inside are the everyday Original Mini Cheddars.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the biscuits are made from flour (wheat flour with calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin), palm oil, dried cheese (10%, from milk, with a natural flavouring), sugar, glucose syrup, salt, dried whey (milk), barley malt extract, raising agents (ammonium bicarbonate and sodium bicarbonate), lactic acid and natural flavourings.

The same biscuit as the bags

The recipe and the figures per 100g are the same as the Original Mini Cheddars in the six and twelve bag multipacks. The tube simply holds more, with a lid to keep them crisp between servings.

Baked with real cheese

Dried cheese makes up 10% of the recipe and is mixed into the dough, so each biscuit tastes of cheese all the way through. The listing says the biscuits are baked with real cheese and oven baked.

Biscuit, not crisp

The dough is rolled, cut into small rounds and baked, which gives a short, crumbly biscuit bite rather than the hard crunch of a fried crisp.

Malt, whey and tang

Barley malt extract helps the biscuits brown and adds a gentle malty note; dried whey and lactic acid give the cheese a sharper, tangier edge.

The raising agents

Ammonium bicarbonate and sodium bicarbonate raise the dough in the oven for light, flaky layers, and ammonium bicarbonate bakes off completely.

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 for a serving

The label gives 128 kcal (534 kJ), 7.1g of fat, 3.6g of saturates, 12.9g of carbohydrate, 1.1g of sugars, 0.6g of fibre, 2.6g of protein and 0.6g of salt for a 25g serving. That is about 6% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 10% of the fat, 18% of the saturates and 10% of the salt.

Numbers per 100g

Per 100g the label gives 511 kcal (2134 kJ), 28.6g of fat, 14.4g of saturates, 51.5g of carbohydrate, 4.6g of sugars, 2.6g of fibre, 10.3g of protein and 2.4g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat, saturates and salt are red and sugars are green. The label's 25g serving is a small bowlful, and the tube holds about ten of them.

Sugar and glucose syrup

Sugar and glucose syrup sit just after the cheese in the list. They help the dough colour and crisp in the oven; the label gives 4.6g of sugars per 100g and 1.1g in a 25g serving.

Protein

With 10% cheese in the dough, the biscuits carry 10.3g of protein per 100g and 2.6g in a serving.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients highlight wheat, barley and milk: wheat in the flour, barley in the malt extract, and milk in the cheese and whey. The allergy advice says the biscuits may also contain egg and soya. The listing makes no vegetarian or vegan statement, and the biscuits are not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten or milk. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

No artificial colours or flavours

The listing says there are no artificial colours or flavours.

The tube

The recycling guidance says the foil seal, the lid and the tube can all be recycled. The listing notes that the contents may settle in transit, so the tube may not look full when it is opened; the weight is 260g. The best before date is on the base.

At Christmas

A tube on the table at Christmas is a snack for guests arriving, a bowl beside the drinks, or something to pass round during a film. Tip them into a bowl with Twiglets and Treeselets for a festive mix.

On a cheese board

Mini Cheddars add a cheesy crunch to a Christmas cheese board, beside grapes, chutney and a slice of cheddar.

With soup

A handful on a bowl of tomato or winter vegetable soup softens at the edges into something like a cheese scone.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the biscuits make a cheesy crumb for a macaroni cheese, a cauliflower cheese or a fish pie.

Who it suits

The tube suits a family or a party, and anyone who wants their Mini Cheddars kept crisp under a lid rather than in single bags.

Storage

The listing advises a cool, dry place. Press the lid back on after each serving.

Other sizes

We stock the same Original Mini Cheddars in six and twelve bag multipacks and a 45g grab bag, and Mini Cheddars Red Leicester in six and twelve bag multipacks.

Sizes of Jacob's Mini Cheddars Original Snacks 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.