Cheez-It | Calm Bedtime Reading For Sleep

Drift off with calm bedtime reading designed to support sleep and ease insomnia as we explore the surprisingly cozy history of Cheez-It. This peaceful bedtime reading blends gentle facts and simple storytelling to help quiet a restless mind and guide you toward sleep as Benjamin calmly reads about how Cheez-It came to be, how they’re made, and why they’ve remained a familiar comfort food for generations. You’ll learn something new while relaxing, letting the steady cadence and unhurried pacing soften stress and anxiety, with no whispering—just calm, fact-filled bedtime reading meant to help with insomnia, sleeplessness, and winding down after a long day. Press play, get comfortable, and allow yourself to drift off naturally. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,

Where I help you drift off one fact at a time.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster,

And today's episode is about Cheez-It Crackers.

Cheez-It is a brand of cheese crackers,

Manufactured by Kelinova through its Sunshine Biscuits division.

Approximately 26 by 24 millimeters,

The square crackers are made with wheat flour,

Vegetable oil,

Cheese,

Skim milk,

Salt,

And spices.

The history of Cheez-It Crackers began in 1907,

When Weston Green founded the Green & Green Company in Dayton,

Ohio.

Green's company produced a variety of baked snack foods,

Such as Dayton Crackers,

Graham Crackers,

Ginger Snaps,

And during World War I,

Hardtack.

On March 31,

1921,

Green introduced Cheez-It Crackers,

Commonly called Cheez-Its,

As a new product.

The company marketed the cracker as a baked rare bit,

A reference to a dish of melted cheese over toast.

On May 23,

1921,

The first Cheez-It logo was submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

In the early 1930s,

The Kansas City-based Sunshine Biscuits,

Which was known as the Loose Wiles Biscuit Company until 1947,

Acquired the Green & Green Company,

And with it came the Cheez-It Cracker.

Sunshine Biscuits expanded the distribution and popularity of Cheez-It Crackers across the country.

In 1996,

Keebler acquired Sunshine Biscuits,

And in 2001,

Kellogg's acquired Keebler,

Bringing Cheez-It Crackers under its umbrella.

In late 2023,

Kellogg's spun off its North American Cereal Division as W.

K.

Kellogg Company.

The company's snack food business,

Including Cheez-It,

Became part of the renamed Kelanova.

On August 14,

2024,

Kelanova announced Mars Inc.

Has entered into an agreement to acquire the Kelanova brand.

The deal is anticipated to close early in 2025.

Cheez-Its were officially launched in Canada in January 2020,

As well as Australia in April 2024.

Ireland and the United Kingdom followed in September 2024.

Cheez-It Crackers are 26x24mm rectangles,

Though they are often believed to be square-shaped.

Cheez-It Crackers are made with actual cheese,

And are marketed by Kellogg's as such.

The original Cheez-It was the only product available until the 1980s.

Since then,

There have been over 50 different varieties of Cheez-It flavors and products,

Including Buffalo Wing,

Cheddar Jack,

Duo's Sharp Cheddar and Parmesan,

Duo's Bacon and Cheddar,

Duo's Jalapeño and Cheddar Jack,

Duo's Pesto and Mozzarella,

Extra Toasty,

Extra Toasty Cheddar Jack,

Extra Big,

Extra Cheesy,

Extra Crunchy Bold Cheddar,

Grooves Bold Cheddar,

Grooves Sharp White Cheddar,

Grooves Zesty Cheddar Ranch,

Hot and Spicy without Tabasco Sauce,

Italian Four Cheese,

Original,

Pepper Jack,

Puffed Double Cheese,

Puffed White Cheddar,

Puffed Cheddar Jack,

Puffed Cheese Pizza,

Reduced Fat Original,

Smoked Cheddar,

Smoked Gouda,

Snack Mix Original,

Snack Mix Double Cheese,

Snapped Cheddar Sour Cream and Onion,

Snapped Double Cheese,

Snapped Extra Crunchy Margarita Pizza,

Snapped Extra Crunchy Sharp White Cheddar,

White Cheddar,

Whole Grain.

Currently discontinued or limited time Cheez-It varieties include Asiago,

Atomic Cheddar,

Baby Swiss,

Barbecue and Cheddar Snack Mix,

Cheez-It Big replaced by the Extra Big variety,

Chili Cheese,

Chipotle Cheddar,

Colby,

Cheese Pizza,

Duos Smoked Cheddar and Monterey Jack,

Duos Zesty Queso and Cheddar Blanco,

Grips,

Grooves Scorchin' Hot Cheddar,

Hidden Valley Ranch Limited Time Offering,

Hot and Spicy with Tabasco Sauce,

Hot and Spicy Grooves,

Mozzarella,

Nacho,

Parmesan and Garlic,

Provolone,

Romano,

Cheez-It Scrabble Jr.

,

Snack Mix Sriracha,

Snack Mix Sweet and Salty,

Snapped Barbecue,

Snapped Jalapeno Jack,

Snapped Parmesan Ranch,

Twists Buffalo Blue,

Wendy's Baconator Limited Time Offering,

Zing's Chipotle Cheddar,

Zing's Queso Fundido.

That concludes the article on Cheez-Its.

Now let's look into the history of Hardtack.

Hardtack is a type of dense cracker made from flour,

Water and sometimes salt.

It is very inexpensive and long-lasting,

Allowing it to be used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods.

It is commonly used during long sea voyages,

Land migrations and military campaigns.

Along with salt pork and corned beef,

Hardtack was a standard ration for many militaries and navies from the 17th to the early 20th centuries.

The name is derived from tack,

The British sailor slang for food.

The earliest use of the term recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1830.

It is known by other names including Brewis,

Possibly a cognate from Bros,

Cabin Bread,

Pilot Bread,

Sea Biscuit,

Soda Crackers,

Sea Bread,

As rations for sailors,

Ship's Biscuit,

And pejoratively as Dog Biscuits,

Muller Breakers,

Sheet Iron,

Tooth Stullers,

Panzer Platten,

Armour Plates,

Germany,

And Worm Castles.

Australian and New Zealand military personnel knew them with some sarcasm as Anzac Wafers,

Not to be confused with Anzac Biscuit.

The introduction of the baking of processed cereals,

Including the creation of flour,

Provided a more reliable source of food.

Egyptian sailors carried a flat brittle loaf of millet bread called Dora Cake.

A cracker called Buccalatum is known from ancient Rome.

King Richard I of England left for the Third Crusade with Biscuit of Muslin,

Which was a mixed grain compound of barley,

Bean flour,

And rye.

The more refined Captain's Biscuit was made with finer flour.

Some 5th century BCE physicians,

Such as Hippocrates,

Associated most medical problems with digestion.

For sustenance and health,

Eating a biscuit daily was considered good for one's constitution.

Because hardtack biscuits were baked hard,

They would stay intact for years if kept dry.

For long voyages,

Hardtack was baked four times,

Rather than the more common two,

And prepared six months before sailing.

Because it is dry and hard,

Hardtack,

When properly stored and transported,

Will survive rough handling and temperature extremes.

Dry hardtack is dense and virtually inedible.

Troops issued it usually made it edible by dampening or crushing the biscuits.

When James VI and I set sail for Norway in October 1589,

His provisions included 15,

000 biscuit bakes.

In 1665 Samuel Pepe's first regularized naval victualing in the Royal Navy,

With varied and nutritious rations,

To include one pound daily of good,

Clean,

Sweet,

Sound,

Well-baked,

And well-conditioned Wheaten biscuit.

By at least 1731 it was officially codified in naval regulation that each sailor was rationed one pound of biscuit per day.

Hardtack,

Crumbled or pounded fine and used as a thickener,

Was a key ingredient in New England's seafood chowders from the late 1700s.

In 1801 Josiah Bent began a baking operation in Milton,

Massachusetts,

Selling water crackers made of flour and water.

That would be resistant to deterioration during long sea voyages from the port of Boston.

These were also used extensively as a source of food by the gold prospectors who migrated to the gold mines of California in 1849.

Since the journey took months,

Hardtack was stored in the wagon trains.

Bent's company later sold the original hardtack crackers used by troops during the American Civil War.

The G.

H.

Bent Company operated in Milton and sold these items to Civil War reenactors and others until 2018.

By 1818 the United States Navy had outlined that each sailor was to be given 14 ounces of bread per day as part of their daily ration while serving on board in the form of hardtack.

The procurement of these stores was the responsibility of the ship's purser and was not strictly outlined by the Board of Navy Commissioners.

During the American Civil War,

3x3 inch hardtack was shipped from Union and Confederate storehouses.

Civil War soldiers generally found their rations to be unappealing and joked about the poor quality of the hardtack in a satirical song,

Hardtack,

Come Again No More.

The song was sung to the tune of the Stephen Foster song,

Hardtimes Come Again No More,

And featured lyrics describing the hardtack rations as being old and very wormy and causing many stomachs sore.

John Billings,

The soldier in the 10th Massachusetts Battery,

Outlines many details on how hardtack was utilized during the war in his book,

Hardtack and Coffee.

With insect infestation common and improperly stored provisions,

Soldiers would break up the hardtack and drop it into their morning coffee.

This would not only soften the hardtack,

But the insects,

Mostly weevil larvae,

Would float to the top and the soldiers could skim them off and eat the biscuits.

The grubs left no distinctive flavor behind.

Some men turned hardtack into a mush by breaking it up with blows from their rifle butts,

Then adding water.

If the men had a frying pan,

They could cook the mush into a lumpy pancake.

Otherwise,

They dropped the mush directly on the coals of their campfire.

They also mixed hardtack with brown sugar,

Hot water,

And sometimes whiskey to create what they called a pudding to serve as dessert.

Royal Navy hardtack during Queen Victoria's reign was made by machine at the Royal Clarence Victualing Yard at Gosport,

Hampshire,

Stamped with a Queen's mark and the number of the oven in which it was baked.

When machinery was introduced into the process,

The dough was thoroughly mixed and rolled into sheets about two yards long and one yard wide.

Which were then stamped in one stroke into about 60 hexagonal shaped biscuits.

The hexagonal shape saved material and time and made them easier to pack compared to the traditional circular shaped biscuit.

Hardtack remained an important part of the Royal Navy Sailor's diet until the introduction of canned foods.

Canned meat was first marketed in 1814 and preserved beef in tins was officially introduced to the Royal Navy rations in 1847.

As early as the Spanish-American War in 1898,

Some military hardtack was used by service members in etching or writing notes,

Often commemorating events or coined with phrases of the time.

Cockatbread was a type of bread in England,

Where it is one of several kinds of bread named.

It seems to have been hard sea biscuit,

Which perhaps had then some mark or seal,

A cockat,

On it,

Or else was so-called from its being designed for the use of the coxswain or seamen.

Commercially available hardtack is a significant source of food energy in a small durable package.

A store-bought 24-gram cracker can contain 100 calories from 2 grams of protein,

But practically no fiber.

Mabo mentioned hardtack as being a stable food of Chinese hard labor workers in Inner Mongolia during the Cultural Revolution.

Hardtack was a staple of military servicemen in Japan and South Korea well into the late 20th century.

It is known as kanpan in Japan and gunbung in South Korea.

Meaning dry bread,

And is still sold as a fairly popular snack food in both countries.

Canned kanpan is also distributed in Japan as emergency rations in case of earthquake,

Flood,

Or other disaster.

A harder hardtack than kanpan,

Called katapan,

Is historically popular in Kitakyushu,

Fukuoka,

Japan as one of its regional specialty foods.

In Korea,

Gunbung,

Hardtacks,

Mixed with byosatang,

Star candy,

As a medley,

Is considered a popular snack.

Hardtack,

Baked with or without the addition of fat,

Was and still is a staple in Russian military rations,

Especially in the Navy,

As infantry traditionally preferred simple dried bread when long shelf life was needed.

Called galeta in Russian,

It is usually somewhat softer and more crumbly than traditional hardtack,

As most varieties made in Russia include at least some fat or shortening,

Making them closer to salting crackers.

One such variety,

Khlepskaya mrietskaya,

Or army crackers,

Is included in Russian military rations.

Other brands enjoy significant popularity among the civilian population as well,

Both among campers and the general populace.

In Genoa,

Hardtack was and still is a traditional addition to a fish and vegetable salad,

Called kapon magro.

In Germany,

Hardtack is included in every military ration and colloquially known as Panzerplatten,

Army plates,

Or Panzerkekse,

Army cookies or tank cookies.

Due to conscription for many years,

A large part of the male population knew about them from their service,

And thus they became somewhat popular even in civilian use.

The company that makes them also sells them unaltered to the civilian market.

They are said to have many properties,

Some jokingly assigned,

Such as the ability to combine them with standard-issue shoe polish to create a flammable device,

Or to glue them onto vehicles to increase their armor protection.

In Poland,

Hardtack wafers,

Known by their official name,

Suchare specjalne,

SU-1 or SU-2,

Special hardtacks,

Are still present in Polish army military rations.

In military slang,

They are jokingly called Panzerwafel,

Tank or armor wafers,

A pun on Panzerwaffe,

The Wehrmacht armored motorized forces.

The German words Panzer and Waffe mean tank or armor,

And weapon,

Respectively.

They are also popular among civilians,

And are a common part of a meal in some regions.

Hardtack remains popular today in Papua New Guinea.

The Lay Biscuit Company,

Which is the most commonly found and popular brand in that country,

Makes multiple varieties of hardtack.

Hardtack is a mainstay in parts of Canada,

Purity Factories is one maker of traditional hardtack.

They specialize in a high-density,

High-caloric product that is well suited for use by expeditions.

Located in St.

John's,

Newfoundland,

And Labrador,

They currently produce three varieties of hardtack.

The first variety,

A cracker similar to a cross between an unsalted saltine and hardtack,

Crown Pilot crackers.

It was a popular item in much of New England,

And was manufactured by Nabisco until it was discontinued in the first quarter of 2008.

It was discontinued once before in 1996,

But a small uprising by its supporters brought it back in 1997.

This variety comes in two sub-varieties,

Flaky and barge biscuits.

The second is hardbread,

A traditional hardtack,

And is the principal ingredient in fish and brews,

A traditional Newfoundland and Labrador meal.

The third variety is sweetbread,

Which is slightly softer than regular hardtack due to a higher sugar and shortening content,

And is eaten as a snack food.

Interbake Foods of Richmond,

Virginia produces most of the commercially available hardtack in the United States under the Sailor Boy label.

As of January 2015,

98% of its production goes to Alaska.

Alaskans are among the last to still eat hardtack as a significant part of their normal diet.

Originally imported as a food product that could endure the rigors of transportation throughout Alaska,

Hardtack has remained a favored food,

Even as other,

Less robust foods have become more readily available.

Alaska law requires all light aircraft to carry survival gear,

Including food.

Therefore,

The Blue and White Sailor Boy pilot bread boxes are ubiquitous at Alaskan airstrips,

In cabins,

And in virtually every village.

Unlike the traditional hardtack recipe,

Sailor Boy pilot bread contains leavening and vegetable shortening.

Hardtack is also a common pantry item in Hawaii,

And the Diamond Bakery's Saloon Pilot Cracker is available there in grocery and convenience stores.

The round hardtack crackers are available in large and small diameter sizes.

Those who buy commercially baked hardtack in the contiguous U.

S.

Are often those who stock up on long-lasting foods for disaster and survival rations,

Though these usually take the form of food ration bars or freeze-dried meals,

Rather than traditional hardtack.

Many other people who currently buy or bake hardtack in the U.

S.

Are Civil War reenactors.

The 3rd U.

S.

Regular Infantry reenactors,

For example,

Often cook many recipes during their reenacting camps,

To include hardtack.

A cracker is a flat,

Dry,

Baked biscuit,

Typically made with flour.

Flavorings or seasonings,

Such as salt,

Herbs,

Seeds,

Or cheese,

May be added to the dough or sprinkled on top before or after baking.

Crackers are often branded as a nutritious and convenient way to consume a staple food or cereal grain.

Crackers can be eaten on their own,

But can also accompany other food items,

Such as cheese or meat slices,

Fruits,

Dips,

Or soft spreads,

Such as jam,

Butter,

Peanut butter,

Or mousse.

Bland or mild crackers are sometimes used as a palate cleanser in food product testing or flavor testing,

Between samples.

Crackers may also be crumbled and added to soup.

The modern cracker is somewhat similar to nautical ship's biscuits,

Military hardtack,

Chacknels,

And sacramental bread.

Other early versions of the cracker can be found in ancient flatbreads,

Such as lavash,

Pita,

Matzo,

Flatbrew,

And crispbread.

Asian analogues include papadum,

Senbei,

And num kriub.

The characteristic holes found in many crackers are called docking holes.

The holes are poked in the dough to stop overly large air pockets from forming in the cracker while baking.

Modern crackers are the end product of what started as a convenience food for soldiers and sailors,

Recorded as far back as 1190.

Known as hardtack or ship's biscuit,

They were made out of a mixture of grain and or legume flour and water,

Shaped into tablets,

Then baked until brick hard.

The low moisture content allowed these tablets to be stored for long periods of time with no loss of nutritional value.

Mixed with coffee,

Soup,

Or even seawater,

The hard biscuits could be softened before consuming.

They were an important part of a British sailor's diet until the introduction of canned food in the 1800s,

Although the product remained a staple for soldiers during the American Civil War.

Not having ready access to weed,

Confederate soldiers made a similar item using ground corn,

Known as corn dodgers or Johnnycakes.

In 1836,

Jonathan Dodgson Carr,

Who owned a mill and bakery in Carlisle,

England,

Began milling wheat for his table water biscuits.

Made of flour and water,

The recipe was derived directly from hardtack,

But rolled much thinner.

As a thin crisp cracker,

Water biscuits were more palatable than hardtack,

But still suitable for long-term storage by sailors and travelers.

There are two major types of crackers,

Soda or saltine,

Which are fermented and leavened with yeast,

And snack crackers,

Which are in most cases chemically leavened.

Soda crackers normally do not contain added sugar,

And the fat or shortening level is quite low.

Another type of cracker uses no leavening.

Examples are matzah,

Water crackers,

Also known as water biscuits,

And triscuits.

Crackers come in many shapes and sizes,

Such as round,

Rectangular,

Triangular,

Or irregular.

Crackers sometimes have cheese or spices as ingredients,

Or even chicken stock.

Saltines and oyster crackers are often used in or served with soup.

Cheese crackers are prepared using cheese as a main ingredient.

Commercial examples include Cheez-It,

Cheese Nips,

And Goldfish.

Graham crackers and digestive biscuits are treated more like cookies than crackers.

Although they were both invented for their supposed health benefits,

Modern versions of both are sweet.

Similarly,

Animal crackers are crackers in name only.

Animal crackers and graham crackers may have docking holes.

Cracker brands include Bremner Wafers,

Captain's Wafers,

Cheese Nips,

Club Crackers,

Goldfish Crackers,

In a Biscuit,

Jacobs,

Ritz Crackers,

Townhouse Crackers,

Triscuit,

And Wheat Thins.

Reviews

Haven’t eaten these in ages! Who knew there were so many varieties?
Thank you, Benjamin! 😻
P.S. I hope you are staying warm! 🥶

I have to say, I found the hard tack story was more interesting than the Cheezit one. But thank you for continuing to provide a variety subjects to learn about and fall asleep to, Benjamin.