Mini Cheddars Cheeselets Intensely Cheesy Snacks, 150g

Cheeselets are thin, square baked crackers from the Mini Cheddars range, and Intensely Cheesy is the plain cheese one. This is the 150g sharing bag, and the label gives its figures per 100g and for a 25g serving, which makes six servings in the 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, dried powdered cheese (3%, milk), flavouring (containing milk), dried autolysed yeast, salt, sugar, a raising agent (ammonium bicarbonate) and colours (paprika extract, annatto and curcumin).

Baked with real cheese

The front of the pack says baked with real cheese. Dried powdered cheese makes up 3% of the cracker, with a flavouring that contains milk for the intense cheesy taste the name promises.

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. 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.

The colours

Paprika extract, annatto and curcumin, the yellow of turmeric, give the crackers their golden orange cheese colour.

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: 9.5g per 100g.

Fortified flour

UK wheat flour is fortified with calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin, and this list adds folic acid, which is why those five appear in brackets.

Numbers per serving

The label gives 127 kcal (530 kJ), 6.7g of fat, 2.4g of saturates, 14.3g of carbohydrate, 0.4g of sugars, 0.8g of fibre, 2g of protein and 0.5g of salt for a 25g serving. That is about 6% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 10% of the fat, 12% of the saturates and 8% of the salt.

Numbers per 100g

Per 100g the label gives 507 kcal (2120 kJ), 26.7g of fat, 9.5g of saturates, 57.2g of carbohydrate, 1.6g of sugars, 3.2g of fibre, 8g of protein and 2.1g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 26.7g is red. Saturates at 9.5g are red. Sugars at 1.6g 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, at 2.1g, 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 1.6g of sugars per 100g, green on the front of pack scale.

Carbohydrate

The label gives 57.2g of carbohydrate per 100g, of which 1.6g are sugars; the rest is starch from the flour and the potato.

Fibre and protein

The label gives 3.2g of fibre and 8g 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 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 servings

At 150g, the bag holds six of the label's 25g servings. Tip a serving into a bowl rather than eating from the bag, and clip it shut between servings.

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 blue bag carries the Mini Cheddars badge above the white Cheeselets name, an orange banner reading intensely cheesy flavour, a red label reading baked with real cheese, two square crackers on a yellow burst, and wedges of cheese around them.

Who it suits

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

Serving ideas

Serve the crackers with a tomato soup, a bowl of chutney or a cold beer, or set them on a snack board beside grapes and celery.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the crackers make a cheesy crumb for the top of a macaroni cheese, a fish pie or a tomato gratin.

Storage

The published listing gives no storage advice. Keep the bag cool and dry, and clip it shut between servings.

Other Cheeselets

Cheeselets also come in six bag multipacks of 24.5g bags, in Intensely Cheesy and Cheese and Onion.

Sizes of Mini Cheddars Cheeselets Intensely Cheesy 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.