Jacob’s Mini Cheddars Nibblies Double Gloucester & Chive

It’s surprisingly difficult to find who actually owns Jacob’s, the company who own Cheddars and Mini Cheddars, or used to. Jacob’s used to be owned by United Biscuits who have a rubbish website that looks as though it was designed in 1975, but it seems they were bought by a Turkish company called Yildiz Holdings or more likely pladis Global (happiness with every bite). Look, I could have tried harder and spent more time investigating but life it too short.

And why is there almost no information about Mini Cheddars Nibblies online? I was really puzzled. There must be a website I failed to find. They look just exactly the same as any old ordinary Mini Cheddar so…. well, apparently it’s just that they have 30% less fat than other baked Mini Cheddars (which are all baked these days anyway) while looking exactly the same as regular Mini Cheddars. And the text on the packaging telling you this important fact is quite small: perhaps they don’t want you to realise your crispy snack is healthier than you thought? Who knows. 

To be honest, I would prefer my unhealthy crispy snacks to be fried like in the olden days. If you are going to eat unhealthy you want the full fat experience (but make sure you don’t eat too much of it).

Kids! Don’t take my advice on food and nutrition. I am just expressing a personal preference. When I was young we were allowed to eat all sorts and lots of it was bad for us.

Anyway, here we have the healthier Nibblies Mini Cheddar option in Double Gloucester & Chive. Hmmm. I can’t tell that this is the extra healthy option which is a good thing. Same size, same shape, same colour, same texture. Excellent. But honestly, I am not sure this little snack actually tastes of Double Gloucester (would you be able to pick that cheese?), or Chives either. They smell good when you open the packet but what you get to eat doesn’t quite taste like that. What a pity.

Not nasty at all. Just not quite as nice as I would have liked. I will finish the packet and another packet too. You might like the taste better than I do and the Chef thought they were fine but I wonder if they do a cheese version.

Jacob’s Mini Cheddars Nacho Cheese & Jalapeño

 

As you know if you have been following this blog for a while, my iPad knows how to spell jalapeño correctly. And I have learned to appreciate the taste. Mostly from crispy snacks.

My family was a bit slow on the uptake when it came to modern cuisine: my grandfather absolutely refused to eat garlic and only ever ate rice or pasta as a pudding. I honestly don’t know how he managed this because he was brought up in South West France but he was a very determined man. And my grandmother even disapproved of feeding bananas to children. I can’t imagine what they would have thought of Nacho Cheese & Jalapeño flavour Mini Cheddars.

Obviously my mother didn’t get much of a start in life when it came to interesting foods. I think the most exotic thing she ever cooked was Vesta Chow Mein and that came in a cardboard box. I’m not sure she would have been any more enthusiastic about this crispy snack than her parents.

However, when I picked up a multi pack of Mini Cheddars last year it seemed perfect normal to find such a spicy flavour. How things have changed. 

Anyway, rather stupidly I tidied them away and thus forgot to try them. So, slightly out of date, this Nacho Cheese & Jalapeño flavour crunchy little biscuit is rather good. The cheese seems incidental, the chilli packs quite a punch. Very nice.

Jacob’s Mini Cheddars Classic Cheese Pizza Flavour

Why do crispy snack manufacturers keep producing “pizza” flavour snacks? I suppose they always hope their new pizza flavour will work, but 9 times out of 10 it doesn’t. And in this case I really think it hasn’t.

The reluctant taste testers always used to say that pizza flavour crispy snacks taste of the cheapest possible frozen pizza from the shop on the corner that you only buy in an emergency. And although I didn’t have the reluctant taste testers around to ask for their opinions, I do agree with what they had to say.  What a pity.

I think this Mini Cheddar flavour is supposed to be a flavour celebrating cheese. OK, well, maybe. But I am not convinced. Seriously, why mess with the perfectly good cheese flavour that you get with original (or classic) Mini Cheddars?

Jacob’s Mini Cheddars Crunchlets Cheddar & Caramelised Onion Flavour

 

I saw these new(ish) Mini Cheddars Crunchlets online ages before I ever found a packet in real life. I wasn’t sure that I would like them because Mini Cheddars are very good just as they are, and sometimes changes aren’t a good thing.

The little supermarket down the road has a somewhat random selection of crisps and crispy snacks, and the other day I found this packet. And… I have to say that this new fancy puffed up little crunchy biscuitty snack is rather good. I like the crispy crunch. I like the texture. I like the lavish sprinkling of flavour dust on each individual Crunchlet.

However, I am not mad keen on the flavour. I think I would be happier with a bit less onion. It says caramelised onion, but although initially the level of onion seems fine, it turns almost strong enough to be pickled onion. I don’t really want that much aftertaste. But if I can find a different flavour I will certainly try it.

The Chef reports he has no problem with the flavour. And he really likes the crunch.

Jacob’s Mini Cheddars Bangin’ Cheese Burger Flavour

Oh deary me. I was hoping that this Mini Cheddars flavour was going to be a banging (or bangin’ - which I really would prefer not to say) cheeseburger flavour. But I think it’s more about the cheese than the burger. Hmmm. They’ve created a range that celebrates foods that would be nothing without cheese. Which is not how I think about a cheeseburger. 

And on reading the list of ingredients it looks as though this crispy snack ought to be vegetarian, but I can’t find anything on the packaging to tell me if that’s the case. It does say that “no burgers have been flipped in the making of this product” and “flavouring only” but even though I can’t find any meat products in the list, I still can’t find any veggie label on the packaging. Odd.

The usual small round biscuits, crunchy and tasting of cheese… and smoky (possibly flame grilled?) flavour.

Unfortunately this crispy snack absolutely does not taste of cheeseburgers. You can only imagine how disappointing that is for me.

I couldn’t find this snack on the Jacob’s website so perhaps it is no longer available in actual shops. So thanks to a well known online purveyor of practically everything.

Jacobs Mini Cheddars Stilton

I found a multi pack of Mini Chedars in Sainsbury's. The packet says Choose your Cheese. All very fine but this was the only flavour they had on the shelf. So here we are. I see on the website that Mini Cheddars now come in three new flavours: Stilton, Red Leicester and Smoked Applewood. Goodness me! What sort of a cheese is Smoked Applewood?

I must find out where to buy the other two flavours because all the reluctant taste testers who got to try really liked this new flavour. It's a good bit more cheesy than your ordinary Cheddar or Mini Cheddar which taste of slightly cheesy saltiness. We admit Cheddars are nice. And we've all been eating them for years. But really: could do better. And guess what? Jacobs have done better.

Yum. I liked these a lot as did Tall Elegant taste tester, Slightly Red Haired Bristolian, Still a Student, and Temporary Physicist taste testers. Yes, I think we can report that we really liked these biscuitty snacks. I wasn't sure I would like them as I really don't like blue cheeses. But this taste is great.

Baked to golden perfection says the packet. I'm impressed. Delicious.

Jacobs Mini Cheddars Branston Pickle Flavour

This little 50g packet of Mini Cheddars was strategically positioned next to the sandwiches in Waitrose so I discovered it when I was pondering what to have for lunch.

It is a tiny packet and there weren't very many Mini Cheddars in it so I can only suppose they are heavier than they look. If it had contained crisps I think it would more likely weigh 20g.

Anyway, as usual the Mini Cheddars are tasty little cheesy biscuits with a lovely crunch. One of the taste testers questioned the legitimacy of my adding Cheddars to the list. It's not a crisp complained the Senior taste tester. No. Obviously not. But we've had Cheddars before... and popcorn too. That's definitely not a crisp. I'm not going to pay any attention to this complaint.

And on top of the tasty cheesiness a lovely tasty smidge or a certain something of Branston pickle flavour. Delicious.

Branston Pickle, for those not in the know, is a dark brown pickle made of tomatoes and vinegar and spices and stuff. You eat it with cheese or whatever you fancy. Mini Cheddars perhaps?

Jacob's Cheesonal Mini Cheddars Original

Cheesonal? Yes, I'm afraid so.

I found this tub of Cheesonal Mini Cheddars in the crisp cupboard left over from last Christmas. Don't worry. Christmas snacks always last for at least 6 months so trying this cheesy snack won't kill me or the reluctant taste testers. But still I thought we had better try them sooner rather than later.

Last Christmas (that's 2014) was all about shape in the world of crispy snacks. Cheeselets (usually square) turned into tree-shaped Treeselets, and Mini Cheddars (usually round) suddenly became bell- and snowman-shaped. There were also KP Cheese & Tomato Christmas Crackers in tree, bell and star shapes.

I am not fully convinced that bells and snowmen are the correct shapes to signify Christmas. After all, you get bells all year round. And in this country at least, you are more likely to build a snowman in January or February than at Christmas time. However, both bells and snowmen feature on endless greetings cards so I suppose that's that.

The Christmas Tree-shaped Treeselets seem more Christmassy but pondering other potential Christmassy shapes; perhaps Cheesonal Mini Cheddars in the shape of the baby Jesus wouldn't be very... tasteful?

The reluctant taste testers didn't have much to say but they finished a large bowl of these with no trouble at all. So I deduce that they were well received.

And I liked them. Pretty much just like the usual cheesy Mini Cheddar taste. Which is very tasty. But probably better if eaten in December in a more festive spirit.