Editing Cracker (food)

{{Short description|Flat, dry baked biscuit}}
{{About|the baked good|other uses|Cracker (disambiguation)}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox food
| name               = Cracker
| image              = Crackers with herring and garlic sauce.jpg
| caption            = [[Water biscuit]] crackers with [[herring]] and [[garlic sauce]]
| alternate_name     = 
| region             = 
| creator            = unknown
| type               = 
| served             = 
| main_ingredient    = [[flour]], [[water]]
| variations         = ''[[papadum]]'', ''[[senbei]]'' and ''[[num kreab]]''
| calories           = 
| other              = 
}}
A '''cracker''' is a flat, dry [[baking|baked]] [[biscuit]] typically made with [[flour]]. Flavorings or [[seasoning]]s, such as [[Salt#Edible salt|salt]], [[herb]]s, [[seed]]s, or [[cheese]], may be added to the dough or sprinkled on top before or after baking.<ref name="Manley 2011"/> Crackers are often branded as a nutritious and convenient way to consume a [[staple food]] or [[cereal grain]].

[[File:Army and Navy hard tack.jpg|thumb|right|Reproduction of 19th-century [[hardtack]], in the Army (square) and Navy (round) styles]]
Crackers can be eaten on their own, but can also accompany other food items such as cheese or meat slices, fruits, [[Dipping sauce|dips]], or soft spreads such as [[Fruit preserves|jam]], butter, [[peanut butter]], or [[mousse]]. Bland or mild crackers are sometimes used as a palate cleanser in food product testing or flavor testing, between samples. Crackers may also be crumbled and added to soup.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2009/01/21/the-right-moves-for-soup-sippers/|title=The right moves for soup sippers|work=tribunedigital-baltimoresun|access-date=2018-11-07|language=en|archive-date=2018-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107104435/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2009-01-21/news/0901190061_1_soup-oyster-crackers-spoon|url-status=live}}</ref> The modern cracker is somewhat similar to [[nautical]] ship's biscuits,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cookit.e2bn.org/historycookbook/904-hardtack-ships-biscuits.html|title=Hardtack (Ships Biscuits) recipe - Cookit!|last=Gooii|website=cookit.e2bn.org|access-date=2018-11-07}}</ref> military [[hardtack]], [[wikt:cracknel|chacknels]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wvkqAAAAYAAJ&q=chacknels&pg=PA230|title=The Experienced English Housekeeper: For the Use and Ease of Ladies, Housekeepers, Cooks, &c.: Written Purely from Practice, and Dedicated to the Hon. Lady Elizabeth Warburton, Whom the Author Lately Served as Housekeeper, Consisting of Near Nine Hundred Original Receipts, Most of which Never Appeared in Print ... with Two Plans of a Grand Table of Two Covers and a Curious New Invented Fire Stove Wherein Any Common Fuel May be Burnt Instead of Charcoal|last=Raffald|first=Elizabeth|date=1818|publisher=James Webster|language=en}}</ref> and [[sacramental bread]]. Other early versions of the cracker can be found in ancient [[flatbread]]s, such as [[lavash]], [[pita]], [[Matzah|matzo]], [[flatbrød]], and [[crispbread]]. Asian analogues include ''[[papadum]]'', ''[[senbei]]'' and ''[[num kreab]]''.

The characteristic holes found in many crackers are called "[[roller docker|docking]]" holes. The holes are poked in the dough to stop overly large air pockets from forming in the cracker while baking.

==Names==
In American English, the name "cracker" usually refers to savory or salty flat biscuits, whereas the term "[[cookie]]" is used for sweet items. Crackers are also generally made differently: crackers are made by layering dough, while cookies, besides the addition of sugar, usually use a [[Leavening agent#Chemical leavens|chemical leavening agent]], may contain eggs, and in other ways are made more like a cake.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18476/original-nestle-toll-house-chocolate-chip-cookies/?recipeBrand=tollhouse&gclsrc=aw.ds&?gclid=Cj0KCQiAlIXfBRCpARIsAKvManwkaes5n--1Ov68ShxbCU7ksAKVgugVGLF7PX5g02SqaOOvYoM7T24aAqPyEALw_wcB&gcls|title=Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies|website=NESTLÉ® Very Best Baking|language=en|access-date=2018-11-07}}</ref> In British English, crackers are sometimes called [[water biscuit]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/water-biscuit|title=Water biscuit definition and meaning {{!}} Collins English Dictionary|website=www.collinsdictionary.com|language=en|access-date=2018-11-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lostinthepond.com/2013/04/british-vs-american-english-food.html#.W-J6sHpKgkg|title=British Vs. American English: Food Terminology|website=www.lostinthepond.com|access-date=2018-11-07}}</ref>

==Types==
Crackers come in many shapes and sizes, such as round, [[Rectangle|rectangular]], [[Triangle|triangular]], or irregular. Crackers sometimes have [[cheese]] or [[spice]]s as ingredients, or even [[chicken]] stock.

[[Saltines]] and [[oyster cracker]]s are often used in or served with [[soup]]. Similar crackers include [[cream cracker]]s and [[water biscuit]]s.

[[Cheese cracker]]s are prepared using cheese as a main ingredient. Commercial examples include [[Cheez-It]], [[Cheese Nips]] and [[Goldfish (cracker)|Goldfish]].

[[Graham cracker]]s and [[digestive biscuit]]s are also treated more like cookies than crackers, although they were both invented for their supposed health benefits, and modern [[graham cracker]]s are sweet. Similarly, [[animal crackers]] are crackers in name only. Animal crackers and Graham crackers may have docking holes.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

==Brands==
Cracker brands include [[Bremner Wafer]]s, [[Captain's Wafers]], [[Cheese Nips]], [[Club Crackers]], [[Goldfish crackers]], [[In a Biskit]], [[Jacob's]], [[Ritz Crackers]], [[Town House cracker]]s, [[Triscuit]], [[TUC (cracker)|TUC]], and [[Wheat Thins]].

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Arare.jpg|[[Arare (food)|Arare]], small Japanese rice crackers
File:Cheez-It-Crackers.jpg|[[Cheez-It]] crackers made by Kellogg
File:Goldfish-Crackers.jpg|[[Cheddar cheese]] flavored [[Goldfish crackers]]
File:Graham-Cracker-Stack.jpg|[[Graham cracker]]s which are lightly sweet rather than savory
File:Oyster Crackers.jpg|A bowl of [[oyster cracker]]s
File:RitzCrackers.jpg|[[Ritz Crackers]]
File:Saltine-Crackers.JPG|[[Saltine cracker]]s
File:Japanese Senbeis.jpg|Japanese [[Senbei]] rice cracker
File:Triscuit-Crackers.jpg|[[Triscuit]] shredded wheat crackers
File:WaterBiscuit-Trio.jpg|Trio of Water biscuits: Left: Supermarket own brand, Right: Excelsior from Jamaica, Top: Carr's Table Cracker
</gallery>

==See also==
{{portal|Food}}
{{div col}}
* [[Cheese and crackers]]
* [[Kerupuk]]
* [[List of crackers]]
* [[Matzah|Matzo]]
* [[Pretzel]]
* [[Saltine cracker challenge]]
* [[Tortilla]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="Manley 2011">{{cite book | last=Manley | first=D. | title=Manley's Technology of Biscuits, Crackers and Cookies | publisher=Elsevier Science | series=Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-85709-364-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v5NwAgAAQBAJ | access-date=October 8, 2017 }}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061205021806/http://bentscookiefactory.com/ Website of Bent's Cookie Factory in Milton, MA, purveyors of "water crackers" and hardtack during the American Civil War]
* [http://savoryseasonings.blogspot.com/2008/10/cheddar-goldfish-crackers.html Make your own cheddar crackers]
* [http://savoryseasonings.blogspot.com/2008/04/wheat-thin-crackers.html Make your own thin wheat crackers]

{{Wheat}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Crackers (food)| ]]
[[Category:Snack foods]]
[[Category:Wheat dishes]]