The only thing about these crackers that doesn't scream "communion wafers" is the very faint cheese flavor. And honestly, I'd be surprised if there isn't at least one church using these during worship services somewhere in this country. I've seen everything from homemade white bread to animal crackers serve as altar bread—and at least one group thought of using Doritos for a similar purpose.
Apparently, the three cheeses present here are cheddar, parmesan, and mozzarella. But the three titles that come to mind when eating these crispy critters are "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
Sonia was raised Roman Catholic, and I was raised Lutheran, or "White Catholic," as we're known in certain Latino circles, so it's really hard not to think of those bland yet sacred discs of...I-don't-know-what that we had when we partook of that blessed sacrament. Even the little raised pattern on these crackers is reminiscent of what we both remember. TJ's version displays little triangles all over them, which arguably could represent the Holy Trinity.
Texture-wise, again, I almost feel silly saying it, but they're exactly like communion wafers. I would have guessed that the ones I grew up with were rice-based, although these crackers are apparently made with wheat flour. They're very soft, yet brittle and crispy, and they melt in your mouth quite quickly.
Flavor-wise, I mentioned there is only a subtle hint of cheese flavor in my opinion. They're virtually flavorless by themselves. I felt that they went well with the recently-reviewed Jalapeño and Honey Chevre, but only because they didn't try to compete with the amazing flavor of that cheese. On their own, as a snack, these crackers aren't much to speak of. The three distinct cheese flavors are so subtle that you have to have a bit of faith to believe they're really there.
I'm tempted to leave you with some play on scripture that starts, "As often as you eat these crackers, eat them in remembrance of me," or something like that, but even though I'm not as churchy as I used to be, I'm still not a huge fan of blasphemy in all its colorful modern forms, so I'll steer clear of such wordplay out of respect for the Big Guy. No, not Big Joe. The other big guy.
Four stars from Sonia, who's anxious to try these in a big bowl of tomato soup. Three from me.
Bottom line: 7 out of 10.
Maybe make mini cheese sliders with these
ReplyDeleteNice.
DeleteHow odd that they don't taste much like cheese... I love that it's 33pcs for 60cal (!) but if they're meh tasting that's a moot point.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, those really do look the communion wafers i remember from my catholic high school!
Ttrockwood
Yes very low in calories. Not a bad taste, but...not much taste, IMO.
DeleteI'm glad to see that my first instincts about these were correct. I passed trying them today because they seemed a bit communion to me.
ReplyDeleteAlso fun fact:
Former Baptist preacher's daughter (Catholic/Lutheran may be different you guys get wine not grape juice?) & my mom had to "bake" the communion bread or cheat & buy it. It's always unleavened crackers. Or is technically supposed to be. Something to do with the scriptural communion.
There's homemade recipes for it but some churches use things like Oyster crackers (probably these TJ's crackers) and there's another major brand I'm forgetting the name of. Also some religious stores carry them.
Hi Katy. Yes I'm sure Baptists stick with the unleavened bread. All of the unusual communion elements I've had were in non-denominational churches, where they don't stick to the letter of the religion quite as much.
DeleteJust tossed out the nearly full bag. Like eating paper.
DeleteTrader Joe's would have given you a full refund.
DeleteI never understand people throwing out perfectly good food. If you find it THAT distasteful, give it to someone else. Not everyone has the same tastes.
DeleteThe moment I opened the box, I thought 'communion wafers'.
ReplyDeleteDid a web search for 'cheese-flavored communion wafers' and this site was the third in the results.