We Style-Examined 7 Graham Crackers—Right here Are Our Favorites

Graham crackers have been a mainstay of the American pantry since 1829, when Sylvester Graham, a Presbyterian minister, got here up with the eponymous entire wheat cracker. The unique crackers had been with out fats, sugar, and salt, and the cardboard-like concoction was meant to discourage immoral ideas—and really, very totally different from the sweetened graham crackers we all know and love in the present day, fortunately for us. They’re important in s’mores and, when crumbled and tossed with butter, make glorious crusts for cheesecakes and dessert bars. In addition they make an important snack (one which our ultramarathoning editor, Rochelle, swears by for carbo-loading). However not all graham crackers are made the identical. 

To search out the easiest graham crackers, we tasted seven totally different manufacturers you’re prone to discover on-line or at your native grocery store. We sampled every with out figuring out which graham cracker was which, and after our editors tasted their approach by seven totally different crackers, we tabulated the outcomes and topped an total winner we’d be glad to deliver to our personal campfires, plus one different worthy contender.

The Standards

A superb graham cracker ought to have a touch of earthiness from entire wheat flour; it ought to style comparatively healthful, with out reminding you of sawdust or cardboard. It needs to be properly crisp and durable, however not so robust that it’s troublesome to interrupt simply together with your tooth. There needs to be a refined sweetness; notes of honey, molasses, or vanilla are welcome, however shouldn’t be overpowering. Graham crackers needs to be simply thick sufficient to sandwich a s’extra, however not so thick that they’re not possible to chew into.

The Contenders

• 365 Natural Honey Graham Crackers
• Annie’s Natural Graham Crackers
• Bowl and Basket Sugar Honey Graham Crackers
• Favourite Day Honey Flavored Graham Crackers
• Honey Maid Graham Crackers
• Nabisco Grahams Unique
• Wegman’s Honey Graham Crackers

General Winner

Nabisco Grahams Unique

Our editorial director, Daniel, thought these tasted “basic,” and described them as “ethereal and crisp.” Equally, our affiliate editorial director, Megan, thought these had a “stable graham cracker texture” and had been “properly crispy.”  Our senior social media editor, Kelli, detected a “trace of warming spices,” which probably got here from the molasses. Although Megan discovered them barely bland, she appreciated that they weren’t too candy. “It’s wonderful! It wants marshmallows and chocolate,” she wrote. However then once more, don’t all graham crackers?

Runner Up

Favourite Day Honey Flavored Graham Crackers

Our editors loved the honeyed notes of those crackers; Daniel as soon as once more thought these tasted “basic.” Although Kelli loved the flavour of those crackers, she discovered them a bit too crumbly: “I took a chew and the entire cracker disintegrated onto my shirt.” Different tasters, nevertheless, favored their crispiness.

In Conclusion

Except for one model, which tasted stale and had a burnt aftertaste, many of the graham crackers we tried had been fairly good. Our winner, Nabisco Basic Grahams, was the one model we tried that didn’t include honey; the crackers are as an alternative sweetened with each sugar and molasses. All different manufacturers contained sugar and honey and/or molasses.

As a result of graham crackers are normally a vessel or an accompaniment for different sweets—both as a crust or a automobile for s’mores—the standard of the cracker you utilize will not be as essential as the standard of the components you pair with them, akin to your pie filling or chocolate and marshmallows for s’mores. If you happen to’re planning on cooking or baking with graham crackers, you’re prone to be glad with whichever model you select. If you happen to plan on consuming the crackers on their very own, although, you may want a extra flavorful cracker to snack on, like our winners, Nabisco Basic Grahams and Favourite Day Honey Flavored Graham Crackers.

Our Testing Methodology

All style assessments are performed with manufacturers fully hidden and with out dialogue. Tasters style samples in random order. For instance, taster A could style pattern one first, whereas taster B will style pattern six first. That is to stop palate fatigue from unfairly giving anybody pattern a bonus. Tasters are requested to fill out tasting sheets rating the samples for varied standards. All information is tabulated and outcomes are calculated with no editorial enter with the intention to give us essentially the most neutral illustration doable.