What are?
Crackers are cooked foods made from cereal flour (usually wheat), water and fat. Very often, they are flavored before cooking by adding salt, flavorings and other ingredients, such as aromatic herbs, cheese, seeds, etc., to the surface. Crackers with alternative or dietetic dough are not lacking.
For many years, crackers have been considered a bread substitute with the following characteristics: cheap, healthy and nutritious. However, for most products this is not the case. In fact, excluding those of home origin, most crackers contain little water, a lot of sodium and too many fats of doubtful quality. In the next paragraphs we will deepen the nutritional characteristics of these products.
Integral crackers
X Problems with video playback? Reload from YouTube Go to Video Page Go to Video Recipes Section Watch the video on youtubeNutritional Features
Savory crackers are basically vegetable-based foods, which belong to the III fundamental group of foods, or to that of cereals, potatoes and derivatives. In the diet they represent a source of complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber, although, as we will see below, I am certainly not the best exponent of their category in terms of "nutritional qualities".
Savory crackers have a fairly high energy supply, mainly provided by carbohydrates, followed by lipids and finally proteins. Carbohydrates are mainly complex (starch), monounsaturated fatty acids and peptides of medium biological value. Cholesterol is absent and the fibers more than satisfactory.
As far as vitamins are concerned, savory crackers do not seem to contain noteworthy levels; B1 (thiamine), PP (niacin) and E (tocopherols) seem to be more present. With regard to mineral salts, on the other hand, the main characteristic is the excess of sodium; a good amount of iron, calcium and phosphorus is also observed.
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NB . The absence of cholesterol, the prevalence of monounsaturated fatty acids and the presence of vitamin E suggest that these salty crackers may contain good quality vegetable oils and instead be free of animal fats or vegetable condiments of dubious origin.
For various reasons, savory crackers are not considered to be necessary or good quality foods. They contain very little water, which makes them unsuitable for the ordinary nutrition of the elderly and sportsmen, two categories that tend more than others to suffer from dehydration.
Savory crackers have a rather high amount of fat and calories, which precludes them from being fed to overweight subjects.
I urge the kind readers to consider the fact that, compared to lean wheat bread, savory crackers contain over 40% more calories.
Moreover, considering the glycemic load rather high, it is also advisable to exclude them from the diet of those suffering from hyperglycemia or type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertriglyceridemia; moreover, it is better to keep in mind that the lean ones (this is not the case), also have a rather high glycemic index, further aggravating the effect on the metabolism.
Another negative observation about salt crackers is the sodium level. This, which is statistically proven to have a positive correlation with the onset of primary arterial hypertension, should totally exclude them from the diet of those suffering from this disease, but also children (who should not get used to the salty taste) and of those suffering from gastritis (an excess of sodium chloride can harm the gastric mucosa, all the more so if compromised).
Savory crackers should not contain lactose; however, in case of food intolerance it is advisable to consult the list of ingredients to verify the absence of milk or powder derivatives (cheese crackers are obviously to be excluded). Products with wheat flour and / or other gluten cereals must be eliminated from the celiac disease diet.
Wanting to make use of salty crackers in the diet, the average portion varies according to the composition of the overall nutritional regime; however, it should never exceed the caloric equivalence of bread (by adjusting the portions to the higher energy intake of crackers).
Types of Crackers and Power
Crackers can be eaten alone or accompanied by other food products, such as dairy products (cheese and ricotta), salami (sausages, salted meats etc.), sauces (ketchup mayonnaise, tartar sauce, pickled vegetables, green sauce, etc.), jam, butter, honey, peanut butter, spreadable hazelnut cream (like Nutella ®) etc.
The so-called "mild crackers" or "tasteless crackers" are used as a "detergent for the palate", to be consumed between one food sample and the other in gustatory tests.
If the ancestors of the crackers were to be identified, these would be the waffles, the gallette (military type) and the ceremonial hosts. Furthermore, the oldest focaccias (such as pita, unleavened bread, etc.) were produced without yeast. Even the very Italian pane carasau (Sardinian) has many characteristics in common with crackers.
Other commercial foods similar to crackers are: wasa bread, rice cakes and michetti.
Crackers are commercially available with different shapes and sizes: round, square, triangular, etc.
The typical holes of the crackers (in English "docking holes") are applied on the pasta to avoid that, during cooking, air pockets (bubbles or blisters) are formed that can alter the shape of the product.
The term "cracker" is of Anglo-American origin and, in the country of origin, it is often also used to differentiate some flattened biscuits from the larger "cookies".
There are many recipes of crackers, all characterized by qualitatively and quantitatively different ingredients. There are very fat and other "water-based" (lean) crackers, with and without salt, wheat or rice or soy, etc., with and without gluten, with animal fats and vegetable fats, etc.
Some crackers are packaged stuffed as "snack ready", sandwich style, with paté or mousse inside. Others are very reduced in shape and are used as "crostini" to enrich soups.
The "Mock Apple Pie" (apple pie) is very famous in the United States, as it differs from the others thanks to the use of "Ritz" crackers.
Some very particular crackers are the "Graham", or sweet crackers made with a high percentage of bran, as well as the "Digestive Biscuits", that is sweet-salty biscuits made with sodium bicarbonate (hence the hypothetical anti function acid and pro digestive).
