Snacks: Baked Cheese

[jesse_the_k]

Baked cheese snacks have improved my life. I always carry some to snack happy while others are eating things I can’t. They’re great alone and wonderful additions to soup or salad — they provide the same crunch as croutons and the same fatty umami as bacon bits.

Advantages

• portable
• high-protein
• low/no carb
• super salty
• high-fat therefore gratifying
• many are vegetarian

Drawbacks

• expensive: US$4 for 2 oz / 50 g and up.
• highly packaged: come in rigid plastic shells or (frustrating) ziplock bags which don’t protect them from smooshiness

I stumbled on one brand at a discount store, and I’ve systematically tried all the ones I can lay my hands on. Read on for my thoughts on various brands and links to the nutrition info.

Trader Giotto's oven-backed cheese bites
These are imported from Italy, only available at Trader Joe’s, and sob not listed on their website. My go-to cheese crisp: super flavor, nice crunch. When I hold it in my mouth it rehydrates into almost cheese sauce.

Oven Baked ParmCrisps
These come in both 50g pouches and 85g tubs. Great crunch and flavor—the sesame seed ones are particularly interesting. They hold their round shape and break cleanly. I get these when I can’t get Trader Joe’s.

Moon Cheese
Ball shape is hard to break apart, too sour, crumbly texture

Just the Cheese Bars
Inexplicably tasteless, with no difference among the flavors (except Sriracha, which I don’t attempt). They’re so crunchy as to be structural. When I finally broke a piece off it made tiny cuts in my mouth.

Sonoma Creamery wins the prize for most form factors and flavors. Can’t distinguish among the flavors; form factors do make a difference.

• Mr Cheese-Os are shaped like the letter O, and flat. They’re perfectly crisp so great for salad or soup. The best from Sonoma.

• Crisps are coin-shaped, crumbly, and not salty enough.

• Cheese Crisp Bars have added quinoa and oats plus a plastic sleeve that maintains its structure even in a purse. Flours dilute the taste somewhat, so it’s more like a cracker and more carbs.

Many online mega-retailers will sell you these (and 10 more brands), though usually requiring a three-package minimum. If you order through the makers’ site, you’ll end up getting it from Amazon anyway, except two weeks later.

I’ve seen recipes for homemade cheese crisps all over the net. I’d love to learn about your experience with making them.