Saltine cracker
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| Alternative names | Soda cracker |
|---|---|
| Type | Cracker |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Created by | Frank L. Sommer |
| Main ingredients | Flour, yeast, and baking soda |
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A saltine or soda cracker is a thin, usually square, cracker made from white flour, sometimes yeast (although many are yeast-free), fat, and baking soda, with most varieties lightly sprinkled with coarse salt. It has perforations over its surface, as well as a distinctively dry and crisp texture. It is normally paired with a variety of savory toppings, including cheese (especially cream cheese), peanut butter, hummus, and various spreads like pimiento cheese, as well as sweet toppings like jam or honey. They are often crumbled into soups, stews, or chili.[1]
Some familiar brand names of saltine crackers in the Americas are Christie's Premium Plus (Canada), Nabisco's Premium (U.S.), Sunshine Biscuits' Krispy (U.S.), Keebler's Zesta (U.S.) (both owned by Kellogg's), Molinos Modernos' Hatuey (Dominican Republic) and Noel's Saltín (Colombia). Unsalted tops as well as whole-grain saltines can also be found.
History
Soda crackers were described as early as in the book The Young House-keeper by American physician William Alcott in 1838.[2]
In 1876, F. L. Sommer & Company of St. Joseph, Missouri, started using baking soda as a leavening agent (causing air bubbles) in its wafer-thin cracker. Initially called the Premium Soda Cracker and later "Saltines" because of the baking soda component, the invention quickly became popular and Sommer's business quadrupled within four years. The slogan "Polly wants a cracker?" became popular in advertising and became synonymous with the brand entirely.[1] That company merged with other companies to form American Biscuit Company in 1890 and then after further mergers became part of National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) in 1898.[3][4][5]
In the early 20th century, various companies in the United States began selling soda crackers in Puerto Rico and referred to them as "Export Soda". Rovira Biscuit Corp. of Puerto Rico also started selling their soda crackers with the same name. The term "Export Soda" became a generic term in Puerto Rico for these crackers. In 1975, Keebler Co. was refused a trademark for the term because it was "merely descriptive".[6]
In the United States, Nabisco lost trademark protection after the term "saltine" began to be used generically to refer to similar crackers; it appeared in the 1907 Merriam–Webster Dictionary defined as "a thin crisp cracker usually sprinkled with salt."[7] In Australia, Arnott's Biscuits Holdings still holds a trademark on the name "Saltine".[8][9]
During the 1920s, saltine crackers became a national favorite in the U.S. Though initially well known only where they originated in Missouri, saltines were soon mass-produced and shipped to other parts of the United States.[1] The cracker gained further popularity during the Great Depression, owing to its affordability and versatility as a filler in dishes such as soups and meatloaf.[1]
Soda crackers are made in the United Kingdom by Huntley and Palmers, and in Australia and New Zealand under the brand name Arnott's 'Salada' and Nabisco 'Premium'.[citation needed]
Uses
Saltines are commonly dipped or crumbled in soups, chilis, stews, and eaten with, or crumbled into, salads. Typically they are sold in boxes containing two to four stacks of crackers, each wrapped in a sleeve of waxed paper or plastic. In restaurants, they are sometimes found in small wrapped plastic packets of two crackers, which generally accompany soup or salad. Cracker meal, a type of coarse to semi-fine flour made of crushed saltine crackers, may be used as toppings for various dishes; breading for fried or baked poultry, fish or red meats; or as a thickener for meatloaf, soups, stews, sauces, and chilis.[10][11]
As a home remedy, saltines are consumed by many people in order to ease nausea, diarrhea (see bland diet), and to settle an upset stomach.[12]
Saltine crackers have also been frequently included in military field rations (Meal, Ready-to-Eat, or MRE) in the United States.[13][14]
Baking process
Saltines have been compared to hardtack, a simple unleavened cracker or biscuit made from flour, water, fat, and sometimes salt. However, unlike hardtack, saltines include yeast as a leavening agent, which causes the dough to rise. Soda crackers are allowed to rise for twenty to thirty hours, then alkaline soda is added to neutralize the excessive acidity produced by the action of the yeast. The dough is allowed to rest for three to four more hours, to relax the gluten, before being rolled in layers and then baked.[15]
Flat saltine crackers have perforations on their surfaces. During baking, the outer layer of the dough hardens first, restricting out-gassing of evolved gases. The perforations connect the top surface to the bottom surface to prevent the cracker from pillowing as a result of these evolved gases.[citation needed]
See also
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- Cream cracker
- Oyster cracker
- Genericized trademark
- Hardtack
- List of crackers
- Matzo
- Saltine cracker challenge
- Water biscuit
References
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- ^ a b c d Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."History of the Saltine Cracker". Saltine Cracker. Retrieved Feb 12, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Alcott, William Andrus (1838). The Young House-keeper: Or, Thoughts on Food and Cookery. G. W. Light.
soda crackers.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Soggy Cracker House Needs Some Help". St. Joseph News-Press. 15 April 2008. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Biographical Sketch of F. L. Sommer, St. Joseph, Buchanan County, MO". USGenWeb Archives. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Michigan State University Libraries - Special Collections - Little Cookbooks: The Alan and Shirley Brocker Sliker Culinary Ephemera Collection". Lib.msu.edu. Archived from the original on 2012-12-26. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."KEEBLER CO. v. ROVIRA BISCUIT CORP".
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Nabisco Premium Saltines The Snack That Takes You Back" (PDF). SaigeFalyn. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Trade Mark Details - Full - Trade Mark : 214303". ipaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 2013-10-29.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Trade Mark Details - Full - Trade Mark : 98208". ipaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 2013-10-29.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Keys, Jeff (2006). Vintage Restaurant: Handcrafted Cuisine from a Sun Valley Favorite. Gibbs Smith. p. 224. ISBN 9781586857714. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Souris, Millicent (2012-06-01). How to Build a Better Pie: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Flaky Crusts, Toppers, and the Things in Between. Quarry Books. p. 192. ISBN 9781610583961.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Green, Joey (2013-07-09). Joey Green's Magic Health Remedies: 1,363 Quick-and-Easy Cures Using Brand-Name Products. Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale. p. 480. ISBN 9781609619503.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wesley Thatcher, Harold (1944). "The Development of Special Rations for the Army". Q.M.C. Historical Studies (6). Office of the Quarter-master General, General Administrative, Services Division, Historical Section: 132. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Reber Cecil, Sam; Woodruff, Jasper Guy (1962). "Long-term Storage of Military Rations". Surveys of Progress on Military Subsistence Problems. 2. Department of the Army, Quartermaster Research and Engineering Command, Quartermaster Food and Container Institute for the Armed Forces: 231. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.bakerpacific (2015-08-19). "Crackers ..." baking process and engineering. Archived from the original on 2023-04-16. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
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