Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers, 150g
The seasoning is baked in rather than dusted on, which sounds like a small thing until the bowl is going round a room and everybody has a glass in the other hand. Nothing comes off on fingers, nothing gets wiped down the side of somebody's sofa, and the plate needs no napkin next to it. That is the practical case for this over most savoury nibbles. What it wants on the table is acid rather than more of itself. Cornichons, olives, a sharp apple cut thin. Salt and fat were settled at the bakery, and the cutting is the part left to you. It contains milk as well as wheat, worth saying plainly because a cracker is the last thing anybody thinks to check: out for a dairy-free house, out for a gluten-free one.
Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers, in brief.
Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers is the light flaky cheese nibble from a long-established British cracker name, a hundred and fifty gram pack picked into the Teas.co.uk curator selection as the cracker that has already done the job.
Almost everything else on this shelf is a base, built plain so cheese can go on top. This one arrives with the cheese in it, so it is eaten as it comes, from the pack or out of a bowl with drinks. Melts describes the texture: light and flaky, giving way rather than snapping. That also makes it fragile, so keep it flat and do not send it to work in a bag.
Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers is a cracker that has already done the job you would normally give it. Almost everything else on this shelf is a base: it is built plain so that cheese can go on top. This one arrives with the cheese in it, which makes it a different kind of product altogether, and it is worth knowing that before you put it on a board next to a wedge of cheddar. The published ingredient list also includes poppy seeds.
The name describes the texture rather than the flavour. A Melt is built light and flaky, to break down quickly in the mouth rather than to crunch, and that is what separates it from a dense snapping cracker. The upside is that the cheese note arrives immediately and spreads across the whole mouthful. The downside is that it is fragile in the hand and in the bag, and it will not carry much on its back.
Curator notes: the tasting profile is our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description. We run same-day UK dispatch on every order placed before 2pm Monday to Friday. Common questions are answered in the detailed Q and A tab below.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The Story Behind Carr's
Carr's is a long-established British cracker name, best known for the plain table water cracker that turns up on every formal cheeseboard. Melts is the other end of what the company does: where the table water cracker is deliberately silent, a Melt has a flavour of its own and a texture built to dissolve. The two products do completely opposite jobs, which is a fair summary of the range as a whole.
Cheese is in the product name, so milk is implied; whether the recipe uses cheese, a cheese flavouring or both, and in what proportion, is printed on the current pack and we do not guess at it.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
What You Are Actually Buying
- Weight: one hundred and fifty grams.
- Contains milk: cheese is in the name. Everything beyond that, including any vegan or dairy-free position, is a matter for the current pack.
- Contains gluten: it is a wheat cracker and is not suitable for a coeliac diet.
- What it is not: not a board cracker to put cheese on, not a lunchbox cracker that survives a bag, and not a soup cracker. It is a nibble, eaten as it comes.
Ideal Serving Conditions
A light flaky cracker with cheese baked into it is more fragile than a plain dense one, on two counts. The flaky structure crushes easily, so the pack does not survive being carried about, and the baked-in fat makes it a little more susceptible to a warm kitchen than a plain wheat cracker. Neither is a serious problem at home. Keep it sealed, keep it flat, keep it off the worktop by the kettle, and do not send it to work in a bag expecting whole crackers at the other end.
The Nibble Serve
- Straight from the pack: this is the correct use. No topping, no butter, nothing on it at all, which is the one cracker on this shelf where that is true.
- In a bowl with drinks: it is a better savoury nibble than most crisps and it makes less mess, provided the bowl is not too deep to bury the ones at the bottom.
- Do not double the cheese: putting cheddar on a cheese cracker is one flavour on itself, and the result is heavy rather than twice as good.
- If you must top it: use something sharp or fresh rather than more dairy. A slice of tomato with pepper, a cornichon, or a little chutney.
The Tea Tray and Kitchen Serve
- With a strong black tea: the salt and the cheese give a plain brew something to meet, and it is a good savoury alternative to a biscuit at four in the afternoon.
- Beside soup: alongside the bowl rather than in it. A Melt gives way almost immediately in hot liquid.
- Crushed as a topping: the fragility that is a nuisance in a lunchbox is useful in a bake. Crushed Melts over a pasta bake or a gratin already carry their own cheese and salt.
- As a canape base, carefully: only with something dry and light, and only assembled at the last moment.
Getting It Right with a Hot Drink
- Pairing: strong black tea with milk, a plain breakfast blend, or black coffee. The savoury salt reads well against tannin.
- Avoid: sweet and milky drinks, which fight the cheese and the salt rather than meeting them.
- Dunking: no. A light flaky cracker collapses on contact and puts salt and fat into the cup.
- Storage: sealed, flat and cool. It crushes more easily than any other cracker in this part of the range.
- Best with: drinks before dinner, a savoury afternoon plate, or a bowl put out when people arrive.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers, 150g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Carr's
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
Our commitment to the planet
Sourcing and packaging details are printed on the current UK pack; the brand page carries the fuller story.
The taste profile
How does it compare
Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers, 150g already carries its own cheese and salt, so most of the good builds either leave it alone or use it as an ingredient rather than a base. Five below: the drinks bowl done properly, a sharp small topping, a cheese-and-salt crumb topping, a savoury crumb crust for a gratin, and the afternoon plate with tea.
Made with this tea
The Drinks Bowl, Done Properly
How to make The Drinks Bowl, Done Properly with Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers.
- 1 pack Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers
- A shallow wide bowl, not a deep one
- Olives or cornichons on the side
- Cold drinks
- Choose a shallow bowl. In a deep one the crackers at the bottom get crushed by the weight of the ones on top before anyone reaches them.
- Fill it half full and refill it later rather than heaping it once.
- Put something sharp beside it, olives or cornichons, so there is an acid note against the salt.
- Leave the cheese in the fridge. These already have it.
What you'll end up with: A better savoury nibble than crisps with less mess, and no broken layer at the bottom of the bowl.
The One Sharp Topping
How to make The One Sharp Topping with Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers.
- 12 Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers
- 2 firm tomatoes, sliced thin and patted dry
- Cornichons, sliced lengthways
- Basil or chives
- Cracked black pepper
- Go sharp or fresh rather than more dairy. The cracker has already brought the cheese, and a second dairy layer only makes it heavy.
- Pat the tomato dry on kitchen paper, which is the difference between crisp and soggy on a cracker this light.
- Top lightly, one slice per cracker, because a Melt will not carry much on its back.
- Finish with herbs and pepper, and serve inside five minutes.
What you'll end up with: A canape where the base is doing half the work, so the topping can be one thing rather than three.
Cheese and Salt Crumb, from the Broken Ones
How to make Cheese and Salt Crumb, from the Broken Ones with Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers.
- The crushed layer at the bottom of the pack
- A bag and a rolling pin
- A clean dry jar
- Tip the broken crackers into a bag and press the air out before sealing it.
- Roll to a coarse rubble rather than a powder. You want texture in the finished dish.
- Taste a pinch before you use it anywhere, because these crumbs already carry their own cheese and salt.
- Store in a dry jar and use within a week, since a crumb with fat in it does not keep like a plain one.
What you'll end up with: A seasoned crumb that does two jobs at once, and the fragility that annoyed you in the bag turned into an advantage.
Cracker Crumb Top for a Gratin
How to make Cracker Crumb Top for a Gratin with Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers.
- 80g Carr's Melts crumb, coarse
- 30g butter, melted
- Thyme and black pepper
- A little mustard powder
- Mix the crumb with melted butter, thyme, pepper and a pinch of mustard powder.
- Hold the salt back entirely at this stage. The crackers have brought plenty and a gratin underneath usually has more.
- Scatter over a cauliflower cheese, a leek gratin or a fish pie in a thin even layer.
- Bake at 190°C for 20 minutes, covering loosely with foil if it colours too fast.
What you'll end up with: A savoury top with the cheese already in it, which is one fewer thing to grate and one fewer thing to season.
The Savoury Four O'Clock Plate
How to make The Savoury Four O'Clock Plate with Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers.
- 6 Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers
- 1 mug of strong black tea with milk
- A few slices of crisp apple
- A small handful of olives
- Brew the tea strong and plain. A sweet or milky-sweet drink fights the salt rather than meeting it.
- Lay the crackers out dry with the apple and olives beside them.
- Eat the cracker and drink the tea separately, never dunking, because a Melt collapses on contact.
- Stop at six. The savoury finish lingers, which is exactly why the bowl empties faster than you meant.
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Typical values per 100g, as published | Per 100g |
|---|---|
| Energy | 495 kcal |
| Fat | 23.2g |
| of which saturates | 15.5g |
| Carbohydrate | 59.5g |
| of which sugars | 7.3g |
| Fibre | 2.2g |
| Protein | 11.1g |
| Salt | 2.2g |
Ingredients and allergens. Per the published ingredient list for this barcode it contains wheat (gluten) and milk, and it may contain egg, mustard, sesame and soya. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.
Ingredients, as published for this barcode: Wheat Flour, Vegetable Oils (Coconut, Palm), Dried Cheese Powder (9%) (Milk), Sugar, Dried Onion, Natural Flavouring (contains Dried Whey (Milk), Lactose (Milk)), Raising Agents (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Poppy Seeds, Salt, Colour (Carotenes).
Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. The pack in your hands is the final word.
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|
Pack: Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers, 150g; light flaky cheese crackers eaten as they come. Store sealed, flat and cool, away from the kettle and out of direct sun. Read the net weight, the cracker count, the ingredient list, the allergen advice and the best-before date off the current UK pack.
Characterising components shown. The sensory placements are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.
Sourcing & blend. Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers, 150g is made by Carr's, a long-established British cracker name best known for the plain table water cracker that turns up on every formal cheeseboard. Melts is the other end of what the company does: where the table water cracker is deliberately silent, a Melt has a flavour of its own and a texture built to dissolve. The two do completely opposite jobs, which is a fair summary of the range.
What's in Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers, 150g, and what isn't:
- In: light flaky cheese-flavoured wheat crackers in a 150g pack, eaten as they come rather than topped.
- Contains milk: cheese is in the product name, so milk is implied. Everything beyond that, including any vegan or dairy-free position, is a matter for the pack.
- Contains gluten: it is a wheat cracker and is not suitable for a coeliac diet.
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Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Carr's Melts Cheese Crackers, 150g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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