Cost of Crackers

Have you noticed how expensive food has become- especially those made from grains? Cereals, bread, cookies – even crackers. My gosh!


The price of a 4 oz. box of plain water crackers was $3.79. I couldn’t bear to buy it, so I kept on looking. I wanted a cracker that was special, but not so special that I’d have to take out a loan!

Then I spotted an attractive cracker box – not much bigger than the $3.79 box that I refused to buy. This box had eye-catching yellow and aqua packaging with splashes of red highlighting the “low fat”, “no cholesterol” claims.

The cracker’s name is “ak-mak®”, a 100% whole wheat, stone ground sesame cracker. Sounded good to me. As if that weren’t tempting enough, I turned the box over to discover the Food Guide Pyramid (the old version; the manufacturer needs to update that!), and an entire story about the crackers and the company that makes them. I was delighted to find out the bakers are of Armenian descent!

The Soojian family from Sanger, California, has been baking products for four generations, starting in 1893. Their box doesn’t only tell about the crackers inside, it tells that story – and then some…

“From the vicinity of Mt. Ararat, the cradle of civilization and the land made famous by Noah’s Ark, ak-mak Bakeries brings you the Original Armenian Cracker Bread – ak-mak® – the Cracker Bread with a 3,000 year history.”

That’s not the end of the box’s information. There’s a history lesson, too, mentioning the staple foods of China, the Orient, South Americans, Armenians, Greeks, Romans, and those of the Holy Land – going back some 4,500 years. Certain Bible verses are quoted on the back of the box, as well, “to show that the ancient peoples considered cereals to be vital to life and living”.

If that wasn’t enough to make up my mind, the size of the box and price clinched it – 4.14 oz. for only $2.79! A veritable bargain – how could I resist?

For more information and recipe ideas, visit the company at www.akmakbakeries.com. If you are so inclined, you can even submit your own recipes using their products.

Thanks, Soojian family. Keep up the good work!