Mini Cheddars Cheeselets Cheese and Onion Baked Snacks, 6 x 24.5g

Cheeselets are thin, square baked crackers from the Mini Cheddars range, and this is the cheese and onion one, which the pack calls intensely cheese and onion. This is the multipack of six 24.5g bags, 147g in all, and the label gives its figures per 100g and for each bag.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the crackers are made from flour (wheat flour with calcium, niacin, iron, folic acid and thiamin), vegetable oils (palm, certified sustainable, and sunflower), dried potato, modified starch, natural flavouring (containing milk), dried powdered cheese (3%, milk), dried autolysed yeast, salt, sugar, a raising agent (ammonium bicarbonate) and paprika extract for colour.

Baked with real cheese

The front of the pack says baked with real cheese. Dried powdered cheese makes up 3% of the cracker, and the natural flavouring, which contains milk, carries the cheese and onion taste.

The onion

No onion is named on the list: the onion side of the flavour comes from the natural flavouring, which sits ahead of the cheese. The pack shows onion rings beside the crackers.

A thin, square cracker

Cheeselets are square and thin, with small docking holes across the top, closer to a cracker than a crisp. Dried potato, the third ingredient, sits in the dough with the flour.

Dried autolysed yeast

Dried autolysed yeast gives a savoury depth under the cheese and onion. Autolysed yeast is naturally rich in glutamates, worth knowing for anyone who avoids them altogether; there is no added MSG on the list.

Ammonium bicarbonate

Ammonium bicarbonate is a traditional baking raising agent. It releases gas in the oven, lightening the dough, and bakes off as it does.

One colour

Paprika extract is the only colour on the list, where the Intensely Cheesy Cheeselets also use annatto and curcumin.

Palm oil

Palm oil comes first among the oils, and the list says it is certified sustainable. Palm oil is high in saturated fat, which is why saturates are red on the front of pack scale: 8.9g per 100g.

Numbers for one bag

The label gives 123 kcal (513 kJ), 6.2g of fat, 2.2g of saturates, 14.3g of carbohydrate, 0.6g of sugars, 0.8g of fibre, 2g of protein and 0.5g of salt for each 24.5g bag. That is about 6% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 9% of the fat, 11% of the saturates and 8% of the salt.

Numbers per 100g

Per 100g the label gives 500 kcal (2093 kJ), 25.3g of fat, 8.9g of saturates, 58.3g of carbohydrate, 2.3g of sugars, 3.1g of fibre, 8.1g of protein and 2.1g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 25.3g is red. Saturates at 8.9g are red. Sugars at 2.3g are green. Salt at 2.1g is red.

Salt

The Mini Cheddars we stock carry 2.1g to 2.5g of salt per 100g, and Cheeselets Cheese and Onion, at 2.1g like the Intensely Cheesy, sit at the bottom of that range, still red on the front of pack scale.

Modified starch

Modified starch helps the dough hold its shape in the oven, so each cracker bakes flat and even.

Sugar

A little sugar sits near the end of the list. The label gives 2.3g of sugars per 100g, green on the front of pack scale.

Carbohydrate

The label gives 58.3g of carbohydrate per 100g, of which 2.3g are sugars; the rest is starch from the flour and the potato.

Fibre and protein

The label gives 3.1g of fibre and 8.1g of protein per 100g, from the wheat flour, the potato and the cheese.

Cheese on cheese

A Cheeselet goes well with a slice of mature cheddar, a spoon of chutney or a little cream cheese on top.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients name wheat, in the flour, and milk, in the cheese and the natural flavouring. The pack says it is suitable for vegetarians. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Six small bags

Six 24.5g bags make a week of lunchboxes with one to spare, or a bag each for a small group. A small bag stays sealed until it is opened, so the crackers stay crisp.

Cheeselets and Mini Cheddars

Mini Cheddars are the small round cheese biscuits; Cheeselets are the square, thinner cracker in the same family, with the Mini Cheddars badge on the pack.

The pack

The green outer bag carries a yellow new flash, the Mini Cheddars badge above the white Cheeselets name, a green banner reading intensely cheese and onion flavour, a red label reading baked with real cheese, square crackers, cheese wedges and onion rings, and a yellow 6 bags mark, with a single bag shown beside it.

Who it suits

A thin cheese and onion cracker suits anyone who likes a strong cheese and onion taste and a crisp snap. It is not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten or milk.

Serving ideas

A bag goes beside a ham sandwich, a bowl of tomato soup or a pickle and cheese roll.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the crackers make a cheese and onion crumb for the top of a potato bake or a macaroni cheese.

Storage

The published listing gives no storage advice. Keep the bags cool and dry.

Other Cheeselets

Cheeselets also come in Intensely Cheesy, in the same six bag multipack and in a 150g sharing bag.

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