Jacob's Mini Cheddars Red Leicester Snacks, 6 x 23g

This is the six bag multipack of Mini Cheddars Red Leicester: six 23g bags, 138g in all, of the small round baked cheese biscuits with a Cheddar and Red Leicester flavouring. The full product name on the pack is Cheese Snack Biscuits with Red Leicester Cheese Flavour.

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 powdered cheese (6%, milk), a Cheddar and Red Leicester cheese flavouring (milk), glucose syrup, sugar, dried whey (milk), barley malt extract, raising agents (ammonium bicarbonate and sodium bicarbonate), salt, lactic acid and natural flavourings.

What the flavouring adds

The Cheddar and Red Leicester flavouring lists salt, wheat flour, natural flavourings, dried buttermilk, maltodextrin, sugar, citric acid and gum arabic. The buttermilk and citric acid give a sharper tang than the Original, and the flavourings a deeper cheese note.

The same as the twelve pack

The six bag pack holds the same Red Leicester biscuits as the twelve bag pack, with the same figures for each bag.

Baked with real cheese

Dried powdered cheese makes up 6% of the recipe and is baked into the dough. The pack says the biscuits are never fried; they are rolled, cut and baked until golden.

A biscuit bite

Because they are baked biscuits, Mini Cheddars have a short, crumbly bite and light layers from the raising agents, ammonium bicarbonate and sodium bicarbonate, rather than the hard crunch of a fried crisp.

Malt and whey

Barley malt extract helps the biscuits brown and adds a malty note; dried whey and lactic acid round out the cheese.

Gum arabic

Gum arabic, from the sap of the acacia tree, is listed as an emulsifier in the flavouring. It helps the flavouring blend evenly.

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 one bag

The pack gives 121 kcal (506 kJ), 7.1g of fat, 3.5g of saturates, 11.8g of carbohydrate, 0.9g of sugars, 0.6g of fibre, 2g of protein and 0.6g of salt for each 23g bag. That is about 6% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 10% of the fat and 10% of the salt.

Numbers per 100g

Per 100g the label gives 527 kcal (2200 kJ), 31g of fat, 15.2g of saturates, 51.2g of carbohydrate, 4.1g of sugars, 2.6g of fibre, 8.9g of protein and 2.5g 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. A 23g bag is a small portion of a rich biscuit.

Against the Original

A bag of Red Leicester gives 121 kcal, 7.1g of fat and 0.6g of salt, against 117 kcal, 6.6g of fat and 0.5g of salt for a bag of the Original.

Buttermilk

Dried buttermilk, the slightly sour liquid left from churning butter, is in the flavouring. It gives the Red Leicester biscuits a softer, tangier dairy note than the Original.

Sugar and glucose syrup

Glucose syrup and sugar help the biscuits brown. The label gives 4.1g of sugars per 100g and 0.9g in each bag.

Protein and fibre

The label gives 8.9g of protein and 2.6g of fibre per 100g, and 2g of protein and 0.6g of fibre in each 23g bag.

Salt

Salt is 2.5g per 100g, red on the front of pack scale, and 0.6g in each small bag.

Gum arabic

Gum arabic, from the acacia tree, helps the flavouring blend into the dough.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients highlight wheat, barley and milk: wheat in the flour and the flavouring, barley in the malt extract, and milk in the cheese, buttermilk and whey. The allergy advice says the biscuits may also contain 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.

Six small bags

Six 23g bags make a school week of lunchboxes with one to spare.

In a lunchbox

A bag goes beside a sandwich and a piece of fruit, and the small biscuits travel well.

On a snack board

Red Leicester Mini Cheddars add a stronger cheese note to a snack board with grapes, cucumber and ham.

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 tangy crumb for the top of a pasta bake.

Storage and packaging

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

Other sizes

We stock Mini Cheddars Red Leicester in a twelve bag multipack too, and Original Mini Cheddars in six and twelve bag multipacks, a 45g grab bag and a 260g tube.

The published listing gives the United Kingdom as the country of origin. The tasting notes on this page are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.