Savours to savour (Jacob's Savours Rosemary & Sea Salt Thins)

Member Name: davidbuttery

Product:	Jacob's Savours Rosemary & Sea Salt Thins
Date:	24/10/09 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious, nice texture, attractive box, not too salty

Disadvantages: Quite fattening, especially if you're not careful...

My hundredth Premium Review, this, so what better way to celebrate the milestone than to write a review for which the interests of rigorous assessment absolutely require me to eat a lot of something I love? I shall make no bones about this: Jacob's Savours Rosemary & Sea Salt Thins (phew!) are absolutely delicious, and I recommend them without hesitation to everyone who can eat them.

I say "can" because these things do contain gluten, and as far as I know a gluten-free version does not exist. The box also advises that they are prepared on a production line which also handles sesame seeds, milk, eggs and soya. I've never heard of anyone being allergic to rosemary, but doubtless there's someone out there who is, and needless to say they'll have to avoid these Thins too! However, one other group can breathe easy, as the box states that they are suitable for vegetarians.

As to that box, it's a tall cuboid in a fetching dark green which shades to black lower down, with the logo at the top and a large photograph of a pile of the Thins beneath. I can't say that this photo makes them look particularly appetising, though it's not off-putting either. The back of the box bears one of the clearest nutrition information panels I've seen, and from this we find that 100g (two-thirds of a packet, so more than you'd eat in one go. Well, probably) gives 477 kcal - nearly as much as chocolate! - though, a little surprisingly, only 0.6g of sodium. Hidden away on the bottom is the text "Made in Holland"!

The Thins are stored in a simple clear plastic wrapper which sits neatly inside the cardboard box. It is not resealable, so if you are not going to use the whole box in one go (perhaps for a party; they're great for buffets) then you'll need to use a fastener afterwards. It's not all that easy to get the individual crackers out of the wrapper without tearing it too much, though if you're careful it's usually possible. At this point you notice the smell of the Thins, which is pleasantly herbal but not strongly so, and not particularly salty: I found it slightly lacking in interest.

Eat one, however, and the concerns melt away. Each Thin is, um, thin, and the texture is perfectly judged: crunchy initially, but quickly softening as you chew, with the crackers soon melting in your mouth. The taste is a little less salty than you might expect, though the saltiness is more noticeable than it is in the smell, but the rosemary flavour is quite strong. Looking at a cracker, especially from underneath, many tiny fragments of rosemary are buried in each one, while the salt (on top) consists of just a few widely-spaced crystals.

One of the few things I wasn't so keen on with these things was that some of those tiny sprigs (spriglets?) of rosemary can get stuck between your teeth. If you have uneven teeth like me, this can be a bit of a nuisance! I'm willing to make that trade-off, though, because the flavour remains for a long time in all parts of your mouth, and the aftertaste is excellent. It is very much a "moreish" food, in that saying "just one" is generally just fooling yourself!

So long as you don't make the mistake of thinking of Rosemary & Sea Salt Thins as a health food just because they're baked and come in a mildly posh-looking box, you'll be hard pressed to find better thin crackers. They go nicely with some sorts of cheese - I usually prefer mature cheddar, but red Leicester works well too - and pâté with cucumber is another winner. In fact, though, they're easily tasty enough to eat on their own. Just don't come crying to me when you find you've eaten the lot in one sitting!

(4.5 stars really, but I'm rounding up to 5 as I'm feeling generous today.)

Summary: These may be Thin, but you won't be!