What are?
Crackers are cooked foods made from cereal flour (usually wheat), water and fat. Very often, they are flavored before cooking by adding superficial salt, flavorings and other ingredients, such as aromatic herbs, cheese, seeds, etc. There is no shortage of crackers with alternative or dietary doughs.
For many years, crackers have been considered a bread substitute with the following characteristics: cheap, healthy and nutritious. However, this is not the case for most products. In fact, excluding those of homemade origin, most crackers contain little water, a lot of sodium and too many fats of dubious quality. In the next paragraphs we will deepen the nutritional characteristics of these products.
Wholemeal crackers
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Nutritional Characteristics
Salty crackers are foods of basically vegetable origin, which belong to the III fundamental group of foods, that is to that of cereals, potatoes and derivatives. In the diet they represent a source of complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber, even if, as we will see below, they are certainly not the best exponent of their category in terms of "nutritional qualities".
Salty crackers have a rather high energy intake, provided mainly by carbohydrates, followed by lipids and finally by proteins. Carbohydrates are mainly complex (starch), monounsaturated fatty acids and peptides of medium biological value. Cholesterol is absent and the fibers are more than satisfactory.
As far as vitamins are concerned, salty 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, however, the main characteristic is the excess of sodium; a good amount of iron, calcium and phosphorus are also observed.
Nutritional values (per 100 g of edible portion)
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 be free from animal fats or vegetable seasonings of dubious origin.
For various reasons, salty crackers are not considered 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.
Salty crackers have a fairly high amount of fat and calories, which precludes them from feeding overweight individuals.
I invite kind readers to consider the fact that, compared to low-fat wheat bread, salty crackers contain over 40% more calories.
Moreover, considering the rather high glycemic load, 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 thin ones (this is not the case) also have a rather high glycemic index, further aggravating the effect on the metabolism.
Another negative observation on salty crackers concerns the level of sodium. This, which, as has been statistically demonstrated, has 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 of 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, even more so if it is compromised).
Salty crackers shouldn't contain lactose; however, in case of food intolerance it is advisable to consult the list of ingredients to verify the absence of milk or powdered derivatives (cheese crackers are obviously to be excluded). Products with wheat flour and / or other gluten-containing cereals must be eliminated from the diet for celiac disease.
If you want to use salty crackers in your diet, the average portion varies according to the composition of the overall nutritional regimen; in any case, it should never exceed the caloric equivalence of bread (adjusting the portions to the greater energy intake of the crackers).
Types of Crackers and Nutrition
Crackers can be eaten alone or accompanied by other food products, such as dairy products (cheeses and ricotta), cured meats (sausages, salted meats, etc.), sauces (mayonnaise, ketchup, tartar sauce, pickled vegetables, green sauce, etc.), jam, butter , honey, peanut butter, hazelnut spread (such as Nutella ®) etc.
The so-called “mild crackers” or “tasteless crackers” are used as a “cleanser for the palate”, to be consumed between a food sample and the other in taste tests.
If the ancestors of crackers were to be identified, these would be waffles, biscuits (military type) and ceremonial hosts. Furthermore, the oldest focaccias (such as pita bread, 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 in different shapes and sizes: round, square, triangular etc.
The typical cracker holes (in English "docking holes") are applied on the dough to prevent air pockets (bubbles or vesicles) from forming during cooking, which could alter the shape of the product.
The term "cracker" is of Anglo-American origin and, in the country of origin, is also often used to differentiate some flattened biscuits from larger "cookies".
There are many recipes for crackers, all characterized by qualitatively and quantitatively different ingredients. There are very fat crackers and others "all" water (lean), with and without salt, made from wheat or rice or soy, etc., with and without gluten, with animal fats and vegetable fats, etc.
Some crackers are packaged stuffed as a "ready snack", sandwich style, with pâté or mousse inside. Others are very small in shape and are used as "croutons" 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", that is sweet crackers made with a "high percentage of bran, as well as the" Digestive Biscuits ", that is sweet-savory biscuits made with sodium bicarbonate (hence the hypothetical anti acid and pro digestive).
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