Glico Cratz: Umami-Rich Crunchy Potato Snack for Beer
When it comes to Japanese beer snacks, I think dried squid snacks, such as Surume, Saki-Ika, and Noshi-Ika, are representatives of the genre.
But of course, other than these, there are a bunch of Japanese treats that go well with beer.
Generally in Japan, the snack food eaten with alcoholic drinks is called “Otsumami (おつまみ)”, and the representative example includes “Kamaboko (かまぼこ)” and “Edamame (枝豆)”.
Not only those classics, but in recent years, various modern unique Otsumami snacks have come out, and what I introduce here, Glico Cratz is among them.
Glico Cratz
Produced and sold by Glico, the Japanese treat “Cratz” is a crunchy potato snack featuring a rich umami taste that pairs perfectly with beer.
The savory potato snack is pleasantly crunchy on the outside and brittle on the inside. So its texture is similar to hard cookies.
Flavors
Glico Cratz comes in 3 flavors, “Edamame” which is my favorite, “Pepper Bacon” with a good reputation on Amazon, and “Spicy Chicken” full of the flavor of the chicken.
As for the specific taste, the green Edamame block is packed with savoriness from Edamame beans, while the browny Pepper Bacon has a bit spicy, umami-rich taste that makes you want to drink beer more.
Both have the right amount of salt and are really yummy. They come with some roasted almonds, which are a nice accent here.
Ingredients
Lastly, let’s see the ingredients. According to the lists, the main ingredients in the Cratz Edamame are wheat flour, vegetable oil, non-GMO dried potato, almond, shortening, starch, Edamame soybean powder, wheat protein, chicken extract powder, vegetable extract seasoning, salt, sugar, dry beer yeast, kombu seaweed extract powder, and yeast.
On the other hand, the Cratz Pepper Bacon mainly consists of wheat flour, rice flour, vegetable oil, almond, dextrin, lard, sugar, pork extract powder, onion paste, shortening, garlic powder, malt extract, salt, protein hydrolyzate, chicken extract powder, wheat protein, black pepper, dry beer yeast, yeast extract powder, bacon extract, yeast, and malt sugar.
