# Crackers In Your Soup??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 31, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381 "2010-05-31T13:40:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/21 "2010-05-31T21:52:41Z")
[Here’s](http://www.soupsong.com/bametiqu.html) a compilation of sources on American soup-eating etiquette. The consensus seems to be that if crackers are served with soup, they may be eaten with soup. Small crackers and croutons can be dropped into the soup whole, whereas large crackers or bread slices are eaten separately rather than dipped or dropped in the soup. Actually breaking up the crackers or bread with your hands and dumping the pieces ‘n’ crumbs into the soup like you’re imitating a gravel crusher does strike me as a little low class. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Elk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Anne\_Elk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Elk)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/22 "2010-05-31T22:09:10Z")
I only do it for oyster soup, and only use OTC Oyster Crackers. I’ll tell ya, crackin’ OTC’s will wear you out! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/23 "2010-05-31T22:19:00Z")
Croutons and popcorn are even better in soup than crackers are. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/24 "2010-05-31T22:50:04Z")
I’m more prone to using cornbread, myself. It probably is a bit…er, good ol’ boy compared to using store bought crackers or croutons, but I don’t have a problem with that. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/25 "2010-05-31T22:53:28Z")
When I was younger, one of my favorite comfort foods was Campbell’s Chicken noodle with enough Keebler crackers mixed in to make a thick, gloppy paste. Pure bliss… with a week’s worth of sodium in every bowl! 😃 And most definitely not low class! I won’t eat crackers in my homemade soup, tho. However, I will dunk homemade bread into the broth. YUM! ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/26 "2010-05-31T22:57:10Z")
The only ‘soup’ I have ever crumbled crackers in is chili, and don’t do that regularly. I’d rather dunk a peanut butter sandwich in it! ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/27 "2010-05-31T22:59:55Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Ditto on sometimes putting them in canned soup, if the soup is all I have to eat and I know it won’t fill me up unless there are crackers. Especially Campbell’s tomato soup – if there’s no crackers (or Tostitos corn chips), I might as well have a glass of tomato juice. > > But never in homemade soup or in good soup in a restaurant. And not in soup that already has a starch, like noodles or dumplings. That’s my policy. I only add crackers to tomato soup because there’s usually nothing else in it. Other soups have meat, vegetables, noodles, etc. so there’s no need to add anything else. ---
**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 1, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/28 "2010-06-01T00:39:21Z")
When I was a kid I ALWAYS put crackers in my soup . . . enough to make them really thick. I remember my mother saying that I was ruining her soup. Now, as an adult, I make my own soup so thick that I don’t need crackers. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/29 "2010-06-01T00:44:33Z")
I don’t usually do crackers in my soup, but occasionally I like to. Grandma makes excellent homemade soup, and we all tend to put crackers in it so it’s not a matter of it tasting better, more habit I think. I’m more likely to dunk the corner of my sandwich or roll into it… ---
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/30 "2010-06-01T03:48:48Z")
I don’t have a strong opinion but now that I’ve had to stop and think about it, yeah I think it’s a little low class. It doesn’t stop me from dipping saltines in some clam chowder or chili, though. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/31 "2010-06-01T12:42:13Z")
Homemade soup with homemade crackers. Mmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/32 "2010-06-01T14:00:25Z")
I’d think the OP’s question was absurd, but it’s only been about a decade since I learned (vis _The Encyclopedia of Bad Taste_, a truly wonderful book) that Jell-O is considered Lower Class (or at least Middle Class), kitschy, and in bad taste. Pepper mill and MilliCal will never be suspect – they’re not big Jell-O fans, but I do like the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/33 "2010-06-01T14:09:32Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Is it low class? Well, one certainly would not be crumbling crackers in one’s soup in a fancy restaurant, but for typical family restaurants, cafeterias, or at home, sure: why not? > > So, “I Don’t Care Either Way, But It’s ‘Low Class’” would be my closest answer. But I’ve been in fancy restaurants where they give you crackers to crumble in your soup. If they’re giving you crackers, they probably don’t care too much either way. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/34 "2010-06-01T14:32:12Z")
It’s only low class in the sense that the highest class soups shouldn’t need it. It seems that, in higher class foods, the chef is supposed to be completely in charge of making the food taste good. That said, a lot of even high class soups have too much liquid in them. If you get through spooning out all the solids, and there’s still more than a few spoonfuls of liquid left over, that’s too much liquid. It’s either take two hours to scoop it up, use crackers, or what I consider the most uncouth option: drinking it. (Except with Chinese food.) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/35 "2010-06-01T14:36:43Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > But I’ve been in fancy restaurants where they give you crackers to crumble in your soup. If they’re giving you crackers, they probably don’t care too much either way. Hmm, my thought is, if you get crackers served with your soup, it ain’t a fancy restaurant. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381/36 "2010-06-01T14:48:10Z")
OK, makes sense, **BigT**. That, I can get behind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crackers-in-your-soup/541381.md?page=1)