ROKA Cheese Crispies (re-post)

Boxing Day! A time to recover from the excessive eating and drinking of Christmas Day, although in fact the Chef and I really don't eat or drink that much. Our house will not be filled with tonnes of leftover Christmas pudding and turkey; we haven't bought any in the first place so we don't need to worry how to be creative with leftovers. For others it is a time to rush out and do a massive post Christmas shop. I have never really understood that so I don't know what everyone is shopping for, and I do feel sorry for the shop workers who probably worked late on Christmas Eve and then have to work Boxing Day too.

I am lucky. I can slump around doing nothing much and wonder why whoever it was thought I might like whatever it was they gave me? Please note that I am writing before Christmas Day, so I haven't opened any of my presents yet. So maybe I am wondering how they knew I would be so pleased? Yes, socks can be a fabulous present if they are made of cashmere, or you know what? Why not just give me a crispy snack?

Anyway, I would like to re-post one of my favourite crispy snacks. This is, and remains, one of my all time favourites. And always will be. I wrote this post in 2013.

A very long time ago in the 1960s we had a yellow and blue tin with a picture of a cow on it. And the ROKA biscuits lived in that tin. They were expensive - possibly because they came in a tin - so we didn't have them very often, and we called them Cow Biscuits. Because of the picture on the tin.

This is a very old memory but a real one; not prompted by photographs of very small me and my smaller brother eating crisps.

I don't know what happened to our original tin or tins but I found this on eBay. Amazing! Just how I remember it. I still need to attack it with wire wool  to get rid of the rust but I've got to say I'm pretty thrilled with my purchase.

But look at this: ROKA Cheese Crispies are still made, and they haven't changed a bit. Oh, they make all sorts of fancy new versions but the basic Crispie is just the same as ever. Or is it a Crispy? Well, anyway, it's a small cheese biscuity thing. And they still make them!

 These are very delicate little biscuits, like cheese straws in a way, with a delicate cheesy taste. It's Gouda cheese from The Netherlands - which does have a delicate taste. Nothing shouty like mature cheddar. I guess they're made in the same way as puff pastry with lots and lots of very fine layers, and they break along the fault lines between the layers. You really need to take care when you bite because otherwise a chunk will drop off and then it's gone forever.

I have a very strict rule about not eating stuff that falls on the floor. I gather some people have a 5 second rule but for me if it falls on the floor I'm not eating it. And that would be a waste.

Cheese Crispies are so good but for some reason they are even better if you warm them slightly. I wouldn't put them in the oven, but maybe if you have an open fire put a little bowlful by the hearth and they'll taste even better after a couple of minutes. Yum.

So these Crispies come very very highly recommended although please don't expect a modern exciting taste. It's not about excitement. It's not about a big spicy taste. It's about a gentle grown-up cheesy biscuit that tastes very good with a glass of sherry or champagne.

They probably taste pretty good with anything although maybe not a cup of coffee.

You can still get ROKA Cheese Crispies in a tin if you look hard enough. They usually come in a cardboard box, with the crispies in an airtight silver baggie. But as I write Lakeland are selling tins at £6.99 which is quite a lot for two packets of cheesy biscuits. But I guess if I got one of these tins now I wouldn't have to buy one off eBay in my old age. Something to consider perhaps. Maybe I could even sell it on eBay in my old age?

Brilliant.