Ritz crackers have been around as long as I can remember – a quick check ofย Wikipediaย reveals that they were introduced in 1934 which explains that. As a child, Ritz were a salty, buttery treat – so much nicer than the horrible water crackers preferred by adults, which of course I appreciate more in my old age.
Regular readers will know that I’m a fan of snack foods – crisps in particular – and I enjoy the occasional savoury cracker, so I was interested in the new Ritz Snackz range which come in three reasonably predictable flavours (not necessarily a bad thing).ย They are available at Coles and other supermarkets for around $1.99 a packet; I bought mine at IGA.
Disclaimer: the people at Ritz alerted me to the existence of these new crackers and “invited” me to review them, however I purchased these with my own money and this review is not sponsored in any way.ย
The first thing you notice about these crackers ย is how light they are – I’m guessing they are a rectangular Ritz cracker with flavouring on the top. They also snap neatly in half without disintegrating when you bite into them, a feat that probably took thousands of laboratory hours to perfect. Or maybe not.
It’s a little difficult to see from the photo, but every cracker has the letters “TUC” embedded in it, which apparently stands for “The Ultimate Cracker” – a bold claim indeed.ย These crackers are made in Hungary, and I wonder if that acronym stands for something completely different in Hungarian.
Let’s start with the simplest flavour – cheddar cheese. They’re definitely cheesy, although I’m not sure I’d identify it as cheddar. They are quite salty, but still nice to snack on.
Smoky bacon was always going to be a tough ask with me. As a lover of English crisps I know how good it can be, and I’m yet to find an imitation – particularly in Australia – that hits the mark. I initially found the taste to be a little artificial, then my memory kicked in and I realised that these are the same flavour as the old “Crispy Bacon in a Biskit” – ah, how I used to love those round, thin crackers.ย I think a nice creamy dip would calm these down.
The sour cream & onion were my favourite variety – the flavour is a little more subtle than the other two, and seems appropriate for the lightness of the cracker. I found these to be very moreish, and this will be the flavour I grab from the shelves.
Overall, I enjoyed the new Snackz range and will keep them in mind when buying savoury crackers in the future. Theyย may be a little big for entertaining (on a platter or when sharing a dip, for example) but they’re certainly suitable for munching out of the packet, or perhaps in a lunchbox. If you’re a fan of standard Ritz – or flavoured crackers in general – I’d certainly recommend that you try them.
If you’re interested in nutritional information…then you’re on the wrong site. But seriously, there’s four servings (seven crackers)ย per packet, each with around 500kJ of energy, 5.8 g of fat, 15g of carbohydrate (2g sugars) and 224-289mg of sodium, depending on the variety.
Some classic “biskits” ย have been rebranded as part of the Ritz range as well…although I’m not sure that I remember the pizza ones?
Like many other snack foods, Ritz crackers have been available in different varieties around the world, including “Roasted Vegetable”, “Brown Sugar Cinnamon” andย Japanese “sandwich” versionsย filled with cheese, strawberry, custard, peanut butter and so on. These limited edition fudge-covered ones look very interesting!
Okay, so when is this getting released here??
Solid review – felt you were a little harsh on the bacon, delish.
Also, where the dairy milk Ritz at?
Deliver them to me asap.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TUC_%28cracker%29
OMG the new RITZ Snackz Sour cream and Onion are AMAZING they melt in your mouth taste explodes in your mouth the negative YOU CAN NOT STOP YUMMMMMMY
Love the cheese but having difficulty finding in supermarkets
have tried the bacon and the cheddar and both are far too salty so wont buy again. The so called “cheese” ones should not be called ‘tasty cheddar cheese flavour ‘ as its a misnomer. A more honest name would be ‘salty snack biscuits’ as that was all I could taste. I do not dislike salt but found there seemed to be a coating on these which overwhelmed the tastebuds to the detriment of any other ingredient.
HI. JUST FOR YOUR INFO. “TUC” IS A FAMOUS CRACKER BRAND FROM BELGIUM. BELONG TO THE FRENCH GROUP “LU” THAT HAS BEEN BOUGHT BY THE AMERICAN GROUP MONDELEZ.
For more info http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TUC_%28cracker%29
Can’t find smokey bacon in supermarkets anymore – very disappointed as they were mouth watering
does 621 component from pork fat or vegetarian ?