1. Crispbread has a very high nutritional value
When we talk about nutritional value, it is worth remembering that food can consist of three digestible nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins and fats. In addition, food carries some amount of moisture (water, which gives no calories), and may contain minerals and fibre, which is not digested (and therefore gives no calories either). As a rule, the higher the dry matter content of a food, the more nourishing it is. The above is true of cooking oil and buckwheat honey as well, yet we cannot eat very much of those, nor would it be a particularly good idea from a healthy eating perspective. High nutritional value is an advantage when the food consists of components that are easy to eat and also create a sufficient feeling of fullness. Crispbread consists mainly of wholegrain rye flour, oats and seeds, which means it is rich in fibre, slowly digested carbohydrates and “good fats”. For example, Maris Gilden seeded crispbreads contain 13.3 g of fibre per 100 g of product. By eating enough fibre we make sure the food mass in our intestines keeps moving rather than standing still. Read more about fibre here. In summary, crispbread helps “keep the stomach in order and full” for longer than most foods.
2. Crispbread keeps naturally well
Has it happened to you too that you open the bread cupboard with a firm plan to make a nice sandwich, but instead have to start scrubbing the cupboard? Or do you, like me, already have a problem in the shop with the size of the loaf? To stop half of a half-eaten loaf going off, you have to start inventing all kinds of tricks at home. Bread in the fridge, drying on the radiator, into the dog’s porridge? Because crispbreads contain far less moisture (only up to 5%), they are immune to mould. Kept dry, their nutritional value lasts for a long time, which is why crispbread is also used in military ration packs, for example. So one pack can be consumed over a month, depending on how big a bread fan you are.
3. Crispbread takes up little space
Compared with ordinary bread, crispbread is considerably more compact, so it is easy to take anywhere. A hike, a picnic, a longer drive, overtime at the office… wherever hunger tries to pinch, crispbreads are a weapon to fight back with! Crispbreads can differ in calorie content, so do read the packaging. A pack of Maris Gilden crispbreads, for example, contains 6 breads, each providing about 120 calories (kcal). That leaves a full 30–70 calories to the recommended energy dose of a healthy snack, which you can fill with a slice of cheese or a topping. Most crispbreads have an attractive enough taste to be eaten straight away, “on the go”.
4. Crispbread is convenient to offer a dear (or shameless) guest
You are watching some great series on Netflix and weighing the opportunity cost of the effort of reaching for the remote, when the doorbell rings and you learn that friends have come to visit you as a surprise. Oh, how nice! You could of course send them away at the expense of your reputation, but perhaps “I haven’t got anything to offer at such short notice!” is not so hard to solve. Maris Gilden dark crispbreads are a small step towards crisps. Seasoned only with sea salt, all the creative freedom is left to you. Serve goose liver pâté alongside (everyone has a little in the fridge!) or, if you want to make a bit more effort, Nami-Nami does not skimp on dip recipes.
Sometimes guests are so kind as to politely announce their arrival in advance. Then you could make a few skewer canapés for the occasion! The crispness of crispbread gives the skewers a nice structure. First put a bread snack on the tip of the skewer, then flavours to your liking (cheese, grape, ham, sausage, etc.) and finally another bread snack.
5. Crispbread is a healthier alternative to crisps
What to nibble with a sauna beer? What to put on the children’s birthday table so that your conscience is clear and yet little grateful eyes look back at you? What to do when less than half of the Tallinn–Tartu drive is behind you but hunger is already carrying out its first test pinches? Snacking as such is not in question. Snacking has its place. Technically it means postponing the next meal, either out of necessity or by choice. The big advantage of bread snacks for snacking is that they are ready to eat plain, unprocessed. Petrol stations and shops have a fairly decent selection of flavoured and unflavoured bread snacks. The products of the Crispy Breads range contain up to 30% less fat than other savoury snacks, because they are not deep-fried. Rather, they are rusks onto which seasoning is sprinkled together with a little oil. Since garlic powder is naturally available, no E-numbers are used in the product either.
Crispbreads – how to choose the right one?
Think about what function you would like the crispbread to fulfil at the moment. Do you want to postpone hunger, treat guests, or simply pack a compact snack to take wherever you are going? Accordingly, some arguments to weigh:
- The more fibre and carbohydrates (excluding sugars) a product has, the longer it keeps hunger away.
- When looking at a crispbread’s calories, note the serving size and the product’s dry matter content. That way you are not comparing apples with oranges.
- As a rule, there is no reason to use preservatives and colours in crispbreads. E-numbers do, however, appear in products whose main flavour cannot be conveyed naturally. For example, there is no bacon powder intense enough in flavour to be used for making bacon-flavoured products. Look for a short ingredient list if this matters to you.
- For a party spread, make sure the crispbread has a shape suited to your idea. Crispbreads are as a rule brittle products that are not easy to cut into a more suitable shape.
