Ten Amazing Facts About Ritz Crackers You Won’t Believe Are Real

Sold by Nabisco the Ritz cracker is one amazing snack cracker that you can make almost countless things with. From like finger nibbles to crushing them up and using them to make whole meals! But this post isn’t about what you can make and do with them, it is about the tasty snack cracker itself and all the amazing facts that surround it…

FACT 1: Ritz Crackers Are Almost 100 Years Old!

OK, so there are just a few years to go yet, but it was introduced to the United States by Nabisco in 1934, but outside the US it is made and dispatched by other firms such as Mondelēz International.

FACT 2: When Launched They Were Just 19 cents Per Box!

I had to laugh at this fact because they are now $2 in some stores and about £1.50 for us here in the UK. For the same price these days you could have got 20 boxes of them back then! Now that would be one amazing snack night.

FACT 3: These Days Over 12 Billion of Them Are Made Every Year!

In case you can’t imagine that number it means they make enough of them for every man woman and child on this earth to have 1.5 crackers each. ITs not much of a snack for a year, but it does put the number made into perspective.

FACT 4: The Maker of Them Was Inspired by a Hat!

I’m not sure what sort of hat he was thinking about, but apparently the designer Sydney Stern was indeed inspired by a hat. I take it if you look at top hat from top down it might look like a Ritz cracker, but that is the only hat I could think of.

FACT 5: They Were Designed To Cure Depression!

In fact, they were designed to cheer people up during the Great Depression as its original slogan implied it was “a bite of the good life”. And having munched a few boxes of them myself I can tell you it is a good life indeed.

FACT 6: These Days In Comes in Hundreds of Varieties

While I can’t name them all here those varieties are: Original Ritz, Low Sodium Ritz, Reduced Fat Ritz, Whole Wheat Ritz, Honey Wheat Ritz, Roasted Vegetable Ritz, Bacon Ritz, Garlic Butter Ritz, Honey Butter Ritz, Hint of Salt Ritz, and Ritz Fresh Stacks to name just a few.

FACT 7: They Are Not As Bad For You As You Might Think

In fact, the only nutritional negatives worth knowing about is 7% Total Fat, 5% Saturated Fat and 4% Sodium and these numbers are based on 24 crackers per serving!

FACT 8: It Really Is Named After The Ritz Hotel!

Linking in with fact 5 it was named after the poshest hotel its designer knew to try and make people believe it was a little bit of luxury at an affordable price.

FACT 9: In the 1940’s it was Advertised as the Cracker That Could Guarantee Social Success

It was a time when dinner parties were hosted by everyone and anyone and a plate of Ritz Crackers were the things to have at these events because of the number of ways you can serve them. With cheese, with ham, just about anything you can think of.

FACT 10: Ritz Crackers Wasn’t The Only Thing Sydney S. Stern Made!

In fact, after the success of his Ritz Cracker design, he then went on to develop the original Animal Crackers box, The Shredded Wheat Box and even the artwork for various brands of cat food! He really was a very talented guy and dare I say probably had an impact on a lot of snack munchers lives.

Do you know of any other facts about Ritz Crackers? If you do why not chare them in the comments below and let your knowledge of them be known to the world.