34 Degrees Crispbreads: All natural, delicious, go-with-everything crackers

With several varieties to choose from, these wafer-thin crispbreads are great base for cheeses, dips, spreads, and more.

Wed, Jan 09 2013 at 1:08 PM

Related Topics:

GMO, Healthy Eating, Recipes

Image courtesy of 34 Degrees

Every once in a while I buy a product that I’m impressed with enough that I contact the company for more information. Last month, I picked up a box of 34 Degrees Cracked Pepper Crispbread for a cheese tray I was putting together for a party. I’d never heard of the brand before, but something about the packaging caught my eye and the ingredient list was clean and simple.

I loved these thin, crisp crackers. When eaten alone, they are so deliciously peppery that you have the urge to sneeze after eating one. They were a perfect match for the creamy, Camembert-like Puddle Duck Creek from Hillacres Pride that was part of my cheese tray.

Although the 34 Degrees box made the 100 percent natural claim that so many crunchy snacks now carry, I wanted to find out about the use of GMO ingredients in the crackers. I posed the GMO question on 34 Degrees Facebook page. They responded quickly with the following information.

We work hard to produce the highest quality product and your question is important to us. At this time, no commercial varieties of genetically modified wheat or oats are available in the United States. Therefore all such derived ingredients used in the manufacture of our finished products are assumed not to be genetically modified.

Additionally, they offered to send me a variety of their crisps to sample. The box arrived the other day, and I’ve been playing with the four varieties they sent – Whole Grain, Natural, Caramel, and Graham – trying them with various cheeses, dips and spreads.

One of my favorite pairings was my roasted red pepper hummus with the Natural variety. I’m actually pretty excited about this because I’ve been looking for something cracker-y besides pita chips to go with the hummus – something with less fat and calories. 34 Degrees Natural Crispbread is exactly what I’ve been looking for. There are nineteen crispbreads in a serving with only 1 gram of fat and 130 calories. A serving of the brand of pita chips I usually buy has 8 grams of fat and 200 calories.

Other pairings that went well were cheddar with the Whole Grain, my ranch dip with the Whole Grain, and Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter with the Caramel. The Graham variety wasn’t to my taste, but I have to wonder if I’m comparing it too much to the graham crackers of my youth. The topping options for the various varieties crispbreads are endless.

34 Degrees sent me the following recipe for Whole Grain Crispbread with Hummus, Cucumber and Tomato.

Ingredients

34 pieces of 34 Degrees Whole Grain Crispbread
Homemade or purchased hummus
24 thin cucumber slices
24 cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
Fresh scallions, chopped

Directions

Arrange crispbreads on a platter
Top each with a cucumber slice and a dollop of hummus
Garnish with tomatoes and scallions

The 34 Degrees website has several other easy recipes for their crispbreads. The Goat Cheese, Toasted Walnuts and Honey recipe for the Cracked Pepper variety is definitely on my gotta-try list.

Have you tried any of the crispbreads from 34 Degrees?

Disclaimer: 34 Degrees sent me four packages of crispbreads to sample after I contacted them about their products. They did not pay me to write a favorable review nor was a favorable review promised in return for the product. My opinion in this post is simply that - my opinion.

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

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