This week, Value For Moneytests five varieties of Christmas Cheese Crackers
The Fine Cheese Company Classic Crackers for Artisan Cheese, €10.95 for 450g, €24.33 per kg
Highs: These are high-end crackers - at least if the packaging and their octagonal shape are anything to go by. We get three varieties: olive oil and sea salt, natural, and wholemeal. Each is very solid so they won't fall to bits when smeared with cheese. The most flavoursome cracker by a long distance was the olive oil and salt variety which, we reckoned, was good enough to eat unaccompanied.
Lows:The "natural" cracker was incredibly buttery - excessively so, we reckoned, while the wholemeal option tasted like bespoke cardboard (although presumably that gives the cheese a chance to shine). We also had to wonder why the front of the box featured rounds of cheeses but no crackers.
Verdict:An upmarket option
Star rating: ****
Fudges Biscuits for Cheese, €5.55 for 300g, €18.50 per kg
Highs:These are another upmarket product (both these and the Fine Cheese Co crackers were found in Dublin's Fallon Byrne) but they're a good bit cheaper than their rivals. They are very thick and very pleasant and will make any cheese board look good. We are given four flavours - rosemary (very strong), oat, malted wheat and harvested seeded half flatbread, which might just be the most fussy name for a cracker we have ever come across.
Lows:It's not just the name that is fussy and we were less than pleased to see the seeds scattering all over the table as soon as the crackers were lifted out of the box. These were a bit too salty and while the rosemary cracker was pleasant, it might have been a bit on the strong sides for some people.
Verdict:Surprisingly good value
Star rating: ****
Carr's Selection, €9.99 for 500g, €19.98 per kg
Highs:The famous water biscuit maker offers nine varieties (although the difference between some is pretty minimal). The cheese melts are spectacular - crunchy and full of salty, cheesy flavours. The poppy seed biscuits also scored highly. The plain old water biscuits are thin and will act as a fine vehicle for a good cheese. These come in a sturdy tin, which should have a long life holding shoe polish.
Lows:While we loved the cheese melts and the poppy seed crackers, we fear the flavour of both might overpower all but the most robust of cheeses; and the wholemeal biscuits are digestives with a different, more fancy, hat on. The price is also of some concern and we couldn't help thinking we were being asked to pay way over the odds for a tin.
Verdict:Surprisingly bad value
Star rating: ***
Marks & Spencer Biscuits for Cheese, €5.99 for 500g, €11.98 per kg
Highs:These are absolutely fine without being particularly special. There are 10 types of biscuity cracker on offer, making them the most varied option we tried.
Lows:As with some of the rivals, the distinctions are very small and we struggled to find any substantial difference between the "high-baked" water cracker and a normal-baked water cracker. While all the crackers are grand, there are none that really stand out, which makes this box just a little on the dull side. The cardboard box is big and bulky and will be of no use to you once Christmas has come and gone.
Verdict:On the dull side
Star rating:**
Jacobs Selection, €5.65 for 500g, €11.30 per kg
Highs:These are the cheapest of the crackers we found and once the seal is opened on the plastic box they are there for the eating - the other boxes contain an extra barrier of foil or plastic wrapping. The selection includes regular cream crackers, which were a staple in this country a long time before water biscuits and cheese thins came along - the working-class heroes of the cracker world.
Lows:While we liked their plain and simple nature, they might be just a bit dull and will not impress anyone at your Christmas party. It's hard to escape the idea that these are merely tarted up cream crackers made to look a bit more festive and a bit more expensive.
Verdict:The workhorse of crackers
Star rating: ***
