Graham crackers have been a mainstay of the American pantry since 1829, when Sylvester Graham, a Presbyterian minister, got here up with the eponymous complete wheat cracker. The unique crackers have 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 immediately, fortunately for us. They’re important in s’mores and, when crumbled and tossed with butter, make wonderful crusts for cheesecakes and dessert bars. In addition they make an awesome snack (one which our ultramarathoning editor, Rochelle, swears by for carbo-loading). However not all graham crackers are made the identical. 

To seek out the perfect 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 realizing which graham cracker was which, and after our editors tasted their approach via seven totally different crackers, we tabulated the outcomes and topped an total winner we’d be pleased to carry to our personal campfires, plus one different worthy contender.

The Standards

An excellent graham cracker ought to have a touch of earthiness from complete wheat flour; it ought to style comparatively healthful, with out reminding you of sawdust or cardboard. It must be properly crisp and durable, however not so powerful that it’s troublesome to interrupt simply together with your tooth. There must be a delicate sweetness; notes of honey, molasses, or vanilla are welcome, however shouldn’t be overpowering. Graham crackers must be simply thick sufficient to sandwich a s’extra, however not so thick that they’re unattainable to chunk 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 Authentic
• Wegman’s Honey Graham Crackers

Total Winner

Nabisco Grahams Authentic

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 “strong graham cracker texture” and have been “properly crispy.”  Our senior social media editor, Kelli, detected a “trace of warming spices,” which doubtless 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 chunk and the entire cracker disintegrated onto my shirt.” Different tasters, nevertheless, preferred their crispiness.

In Conclusion

Except one model, which tasted stale and had a burnt aftertaste, many of the graham crackers we tried have been fairly good. Our winner, Nabisco Traditional Grahams, was the one model we tried that didn’t comprise 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 often a vessel or an accompaniment for different sweets—both as a crust or a automobile for s’mores—the standard of the cracker you employ will not be as vital as the standard of the components you pair with them, akin to your pie filling or chocolate and marshmallows for s’mores. Should you’re planning on cooking or baking with graham crackers, you’re prone to be glad with whichever model you select. Should you plan on consuming the crackers on their very own, although, you may want a extra flavorful cracker to snack on, like our winners, Nabisco Traditional Grahams and Favourite Day Honey Flavored Graham Crackers.

Our Testing Methodology

All style exams are carried out 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 forestall palate fatigue from unfairly giving anyone pattern a bonus. Tasters are requested to fill out tasting sheets rating the samples for numerous standards. All knowledge is tabulated and outcomes are calculated with no editorial enter so as to give us essentially the most neutral illustration potential.