# Aussie equivalent of Graham crackers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337 "2013-06-06T22:38:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Molotok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Molotok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molotok)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/1 "2013-06-06T22:38:53Z")
I’m trying to make an American recipe that requires Graham crackers. But they don’t exist here, and I don’t know what they taste like. Does anyone know of an Aussie equivalent? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/2 "2013-06-06T22:59:14Z")
Could you share the recipe? It would be easier to suggest an acceptable substitution if we knew what we were dealing with. Failing that, gingersnaps or tea biscuits might work. Zwieback isn’t totally unlike a graham cracker, in that it’s moderately sweet and can be crumbled. Google tells me a wheatmeal biscuit is close, but I can’t vouch for that personally, because I don’t know what that is. Graham crackers taste faintly of molasses and often have just a suggestion of cinnamon. Or you could [bake some graham crackers](http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/graham-crackers-recipe/index.html). [Graham flour](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_flour) is just a slightly coarse flour made by grinding the wheat bran and the wheat germ and then combining them. You can easily cheat by mixing a little wheat germ and wheat bran with regular unbleached flour. Or just use whole wheat flour. You won’t notice the difference if you weren’t raised on graham crackers. ---
**Author:** ![Molotok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Molotok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molotok)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/3 "2013-06-06T23:02:12Z")
I’m not good at using an oven, so I’m not baking anything… I’m trying to make S’mores (an American tells me that’s what they’re called: marshmallow and chocolate encased in crackers). I’m thinking Jatz or Salada, but I’m just guessing… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/4 "2013-06-06T23:06:44Z")
Oooh, no. Google tells me Salda and Jatz are saltines. No, you want something slightly sweet. Ginger snaps would be phenomenal in s’mores, although not authentic. Vanilla wafers would be good. Graham crackers are closer to cookies (biscuits) than crackers in taste and texture. They’re only crackers in name. ---
**Author:** ![Molotok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Molotok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molotok)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/5 "2013-06-06T23:09:56Z")
Ah, now I get it. I think that should be easy enough. Thanks WhyNot! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/6 "2013-06-06T23:14:47Z")
> [@boomerwang](#): > > Ah, now I get it. I think that should be easy enough. Thanks WhyNot! 🙂 Really, if you’re starting with chocolate and marshmallows (and he told you that an authentic s’more must begin with the marshmallow on a stick, roasted over a campfire, right?) then you can’t go wrong from there. Even a saltine s’more would be pretty darn tasty! 😃 Have fun! ---
**Author:** ![YWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6f9a4e/32.png) [@YWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YWalker)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/7 "2013-06-06T23:16:38Z")
Digestive biscuits would be a good match if you were making a graham cracker crust. They tend to be thicker than graham crackers, though, so for a s’more, you’re going to get more cookie than is typical. If that thought bothers you, you could make it a topless s’more. ---
**Author:** ![Molotok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Molotok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molotok)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/8 "2013-06-06T23:18:36Z")
‘‘Digestive biscuits’’ sounds like something you would feed a sick dog… never heard of them. I guess I’ll buy a few different types and experiment! ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/9 "2013-06-06T23:55:34Z")
Arnott’s [Granita](http://www2.woolworthsonline.com.au/Shop/ProductDetails?stockcode=36008) or Shredded Wheatmeal is approximately equivalent, although I think they’re probably yummier than the generic US graham cracker. The “cracker” terminology is interesting, Americans really don’t perceive these as a sweet biscuit. And, compared with most snack food here, I suppose they’re not. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/10 "2013-06-07T00:12:16Z")
We do perceive them as a sweet cookie. It’s not like we’d put cheese on them. They’re just fairly lightly sweet and, most importantly, generally used to make something rather than eaten on their own. Except Teddy Grahams - teddy bear shaped graham crackers. We eat those by themselves. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/11 "2013-06-07T00:30:45Z")
They are definitely sweeter than any other kind of “cracker.” Yes, more like a flat cookie. And if they beg to be eaten with a glass of milk, you’re on the right track. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/12 "2013-06-07T00:31:59Z")
A true graham cracker is a (usually sweet, not cloying, just sweet) whole wheat cracker. Most USA “graham crackers” would not pass muster with Mr Graham, the health nut. > **[Graham cracker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_cracker)** > > A graham cracker (pronounced /ˈɡreɪ.əm/ or /ˈɡræm/ in America) is a sweet flavored cracker made with graham flour that originated in the United States in the mid-19th century, with commercial development from about 1880. It is eaten as a snack food, usually honey- or cinnamon-flavored, and is used as an ingredient in some foods. > > The graham cracker was inspired by the preaching of Sylvester Graham, who was part of the 19th-century temperance movement. He believed that minimizing pleasure and ... I think you could get much the same effect with digestive biscuits, but I don’t remember when, if ever, I’ve had a digestive biscuit. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/13 "2013-06-07T00:38:52Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > They are definitely sweeter than any other kind of “cracker.” Yes, more like a flat cookie. And if they beg to be eaten with a glass of milk, you’re on the right track. Fabulous with hot chocolate or black tea, too. Especially the ones that are dusted with cinnamon sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/14 "2013-06-07T02:02:35Z")
I’m in the US, but I’ve used [these–Leibniz Butterkeks](http://www.leibniz.de/produkte/leibniz/p/)–to make smore’s before. ---
**Author:** ![Molotok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Molotok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molotok)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/15 "2013-06-07T02:53:13Z")
Well, I just bought ‘‘Evita’’ crackers (at least Argentina won’t cry for them). I’ll report back! ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/16 "2013-06-07T03:49:02Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Really, if you’re starting with chocolate and marshmallows (and he told you that an authentic s’more must begin with the marshmallow on a stick, roasted over a campfire, right?) then you can’t go wrong from there. Even a saltine s’more would be pretty darn tasty! 😃 > > Have fun! I’m intrigued…now I want to try a saltine s’more. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/17 "2013-06-07T03:52:57Z")
> [@Tamex](#): > > I’m intrigued…now I want to try a saltine s’more. Oh, I already threw a box of saltines in the camping gear! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/18 "2013-06-07T04:05:16Z")
I’ve certainly read somewhere recently that English “digestive biscuits” are sold as “Graham Crackers” in the US because to call them digestives would amount to a health claim. ---
**Author:** ![Molotok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Molotok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molotok)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/19 "2013-06-07T04:34:21Z")
Now I wish I’d bought salty ones ☹ ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337/20 "2013-06-07T05:34:05Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > We do perceive them as a sweet cookie. It’s not like we’d put cheese on them. Unless it’s cream cheese!! Mmmmmm! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-equivalent-of-graham-crackers/660337.md?page=2)