Know Your Specialty Crackers

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You're willing to pay more for handcrafted cheese or spreads, so why put them on an ordinary cracker? Specialty crackers are becoming as interesting and complex as the products they partner. These crackers, which include ethnic varieties such as Armenian cracker bread as well as products enriched with healthful grains and fiber, offer quality and versatility.

A flavor explosion has helped crackers become stand-alone treats with varieties like asiago cheese, red onion and rosemary parmesan, mustard and black pepper, as well as currant-fennel, fig-rosemary and olive oil and sea salt.

What's In The Cracker Barrel

CRACKER: A thin crisp wafer or biscuit, usually made of unsweetened dough.

WATER CRACKER: A bland, crisp cracker that's often served with cheese or wine. The fact that the cracker is flavorless makes it a good fit for cheese and other specialty foods because it allows the natural flavor to come through.

RICE CRACKER: Flavored, light, crispy crackers that are Asian in origin. Most are made with short-grain glutinous rice.

CRISPBREAD: Thick, flat Scandinavian cracker that can be used with butter, cheese, toppings or spreads. Most, such as Sweden's kräckerbröd, are made with rye flour. Some are based on combinations of flours including wheat, barley or potato. Mild nutty taste; high source of fiber. Also called flatbreads in Scandinavian countries.

FLATBREAD: Thin breads that come in many varieties. Some flatbreads are unleavened and resemble a crispbread, while others contain yeast and are likened to pita or tortillas.

LAHVOSH: A Middle Eastern yeast-raised, thin crispbread, also known as Armenian cracker bread.

RUSK: From Holland. Known in France as biscotti and in Germany as zwieback, a rusk is a slice of yeast bread (thick or think) that is baked until dry, crisp and golden brown. Some breads used for this purpose are slightly sweetened.

CROSTINI: Meaning "little toasts" in Italian, crostini are small, think slices of toasted bread, which are usually brushed with olive oil.

GRISSINI: Italian for "breadsticks," referring to thin, crisp sticks that originated in Turin, Italy.