Crackers Category

You can buy these crunchy chips ready-made, but they're easy to make at home.

These sturdy British crackers are quite bland.

These are vegetables or grain products that have been cut into thin slices, deep-fried or baked until crisp, and then salted. They're often served with creamy dips. The British use the word "chips" for what Americans call French fries.

These are made with cornmeal, and taste especially good with chili.

These are small slices of toasted bread, which are often used as a base for appetizers.

These crispy cups can each hold about a tablespoon of filling, so they're perfect for making tiny hors d'oeuvres and desserts.

These add crunch to salads and soups. You can buy them readymade at many supermarkets, but they're much tastier if you make them yourself.

These British crackers are similar to American graham crackers, only they're more crumbly and less sweet. They're often crushed into crumbs and used to make pie crusts.

These peppery Italian crackers are baked twice, which makes them hard and dry and gives them a long shelf life. They're usually rehydrated with water and then topped with olive oil and other flavorings like herbs, cheese, and tomatoes.

These moderately sweet crackers are made with whole wheat flour. They make great snacks for kids, but cooks often crush them and use the crumbs to make pie crusts. Cinnamon or chocolate flavored graham crackers are also available.

Hardtack is an unleavened, unsalted biscuit that sailors used to eat while on long sea voyages. Since it's very dry, it can be stored for a long time without refrigeration.

These mildly sweet crackers are a good base for hors d'oeuvres, but they're higher in fat than other crackers.

This matzo cracker is served during Passover to symbolize the unleavened bread the Jews ate during their hasty exodus from Egypt. To conform with Jewish dietary laws, matzo producers can't use leavening agents like baking soda or yeast. But they're still able to give the matzo crackers a bit of airiness by baking them in extremely hot ovens, which causes trapped air bubbles in the dough to expand.

These thin, crisp slices of bread are often used as a base for appetizers or served with soups or salads. When crushed, they make an excellent breading for meat or fish.

These tortilla-shaped Indian crackers are made with chickpea or lentil flour. Before you serve them, you need to fry them in very hot oil or heat them in a microwave oven until they puff up and become crisp. You can then break them up and serve them with curried dishes, or use them like tortilla chips. They're sold in Indian markets.

These are very thin potato slices that have been deep-fried and salted. They're crisp and just sturdy enough to dunk into a creamy dip without breaking. They come in many flavors, including barbecue and sour cream. The British call them "crisps," and use the word chips for French fries.

Pretzels are ropes of dough that are usually shaped into knots, sprinkled with coarse salt, and browned in an oven. They can be soft and breadlike or hard and crunchy. Soft pretzels, also called bread pretzels, are often served with mustard, while crunchy pretzels are eaten just the way they are.

These crunchy snacks are relatively low in fat--and flavor. They come in different flavors, like caramel, cheese, ranch, and apple cinnamon. Don't confuse this with mochi, which is also sometimes called rice cake.

These addictive Japanese snacks are available in many large supermarkets.

Produced by Nabisco, these are the best-selling crackers in the United States. They're high in fat and sodium, which makes them a tasty foil for cheese or peanut butter. Cooks sometimes crush them and use them as a pie crust or topping for casseroles. The crackers are also used to make the filling for a mock apple pie, which contains no apples. Reduced fat and low sodium versions are available.

These salty crackers are very crisp, and they're great for snacking. They're often made into tiny sandwiches with cheese or peanut butter in the middle.

These Indonesian chips are made with tapioca and different flavorings. Before serving them, you're supposed to fry them in hot oil for a few seconds until they expand and become crunchy. Look for them in Asian markets.

These matzo meal crackers are used in soups or ground into crumbs.

These are tortilla wedges that have been deep-fried or baked. They're often served with Southwestern-style dips, like salsa and guacamole.

These crunchy crackers are made of woven strands of whole wheat. They're often used as a base for appetizers, though some devotees eat them straight. Reduced fat and low sodium versions are available.

These crunchy crackers have little flavor, making them a neutral foundation for spreads and appetizers.

This is Australia's answer to America's graham cracker.

These are slices of bread that have been baked a second time, making them crisp and dry. Toddlers use them as teething biscuits, while adults add them to soups.