Jacob's Mini Cheddars Original Snacks, 45g

This is the grab bag of Jacob's Mini Cheddars Original: 45g of the small, round, baked cheese biscuits, about twice a lunchbox bag, for a journey or a break. The label counts two 22.5g servings in the bag. The full product name on the pack is Cheese Snack Biscuits.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the biscuits are made from flour (wheat flour with calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin), vegetable oil (palm), 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.

Two servings in one bag

The label treats the 45g bag as two servings of 22.5g. Eaten in one go, the bag gives about 230 kcal and 1.1g of salt, so folding the top over and saving half for later is worth doing.

Real cheese

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

Never fried

The pack says the biscuits are never fried: the dough is rolled, cut into rounds and baked until golden, which gives the short, crumbly bite of a biscuit.

Whey, lactic acid and malt

Dried whey and lactic acid give the cheese a tang, and barley malt extract adds colour and a malty depth.

Light and flaky

Ammonium bicarbonate and sodium bicarbonate raise the dough in the oven for light, flaky layers.

Fortified flour

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

Palm oil

The palm oil is the fat of the dough. The listing says the oil palm products are certified to come from RSPO segregated sources.

Numbers for a serving

The label gives 115 kcal (480 kJ), 6.4g of fat, 3.2g of saturates, 11.6g of carbohydrate, 1g of sugars, 0.6g of fibre, 2.3g of protein and 0.5g of salt for a 22.5g serving. That is about 6% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 9% of the fat, 16% of the saturates and 8% of the salt.

Numbers for the whole bag

Worked out from the label's per 100g figures, the whole 45g bag gives about 230 kcal (960 kJ), 12.9g of fat, 6.5g of saturates, 23.2g of carbohydrate, 2.1g of sugars, 1.2g of fibre, 4.6g of protein and 1.08g of 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 front of pack box on the listing marks each 22.5g serving as medium for fat, saturates, sugars and salt.

Sugar and glucose syrup

Sugar and glucose syrup help the dough colour in the oven. The label gives 4.6g of sugars per 100g and 1g in a 22.5g serving.

Protein

With 10% cheese in the dough, the biscuits carry 10.3g of protein per 100g and 2.3g in a serving.

Lactic acid

Lactic acid is the acid that forms as milk sours into cheese; here it sharpens the cheese flavour.

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.

A grab bag

The front of the bag reads grab bag, and at 45g it holds nearly twice as much as a 23g multipack bag. It suits a car journey, a train or a long afternoon.

Once opened

The listing advises keeping the biscuits in an airtight container once the bag is open, which keeps the second serving crisp.

At the desk

A grab bag in a drawer is an afternoon snack for two days, if the second half is kept sealed.

With a drink

Mini Cheddars go with a cup of tea, a glass of milk or a cold apple juice.

With soup

A handful on a bowl of tomato soup softens into something like a cheese scone.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the biscuits make a cheesy crumb for a macaroni cheese or a pasta bake.

Storage and packaging

The listing advises a cool, dry place. The recycling guidance says the bag is certified as recyclable, and the packaging can be recycled with carrier bags at larger supermarkets rather than at home.

Other sizes

We stock the same Original Mini Cheddars in six and twelve bag multipacks of 23g bags and a 260g tube, 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.