For me, the idea of these crackers is that they provide a neutral vehicle for getting the main feature from plate to mouth, so I prefer the plain kind rather than anything with seeds or pepper or whatever.
For this review I bought three brands of traditional plain water crackers, plus two brands that are positioned as premium - Waterthins and Yarra Valley Produce Company Crackerthins.
The Crackerthins are a gourmet product from DJs food hall. I bought them because I wanted something to directly compare to the Waterthins, and I've bought and liked YVPC's products in the past. Having tried them side-by-side, I can say there's literally nothing to tell them apart. They look exactly the same, they taste the same, the ingredients list is the same, the nutrition information is exactly the same, and there are precisely 1679kj per 100g of both products. When I contacted the YVPC they assured me they make all their own products, so all I can say is I didn't mind paying $6.50 for the Crackerthins when I thought I was getting something special, but if I can get something exactly the same at the supermarket for $3.19 I won't be doing that again.
Arnott's Water Crackers
These are the ideal plain water cracker - bland neutral flavour, not salty, nothing to interfere with the taste of whatever you eat them with. They have a pleasant slightly toasty taste (a lot like Sao biscuits) and are good and crisp, probably because they contain a raising agent.
Waterthins Fine Wafer Crackers
These are a bit different to the standard water cracker - very thin and flat, much more like a wafer than a cracker, so they sort of disintegrate in the mouth rather than crumbling up. They have a mild flavour of their own that comes from cheese powder and rye flavouring, but it's not at all intrusive. They make a good alternative to traditional water crackers if you want something that looks and tastes a bit different - they do look pretty, though they're pretty fragile and don't always make the distance from factory to pantry (or plate to mouth!) intact.
Carr's Table Water Crackers
I wanted the Carr's to win because it's the brand I usually buy and they're truer to the concept of a traditional cracker (nothing but flour, oil and salt). But compared to Arnott's they're not quite crisp enough, which makes them taste a bit less fresh than the other brands, even though they all had similar use-by dates.
Nabisco Captain's Table Water Crackers
These have the traditional bland flavour but a different texture - just a little thicker and denser. They leave a slightly fatty mouth-feel that's not so obvious when eaten with something else. This may be because they contain about a third more fat than Arnott's and Carr's - it's still not a lot but given the fat content of what usually goes on top I really can't see the point.
Yarra Valley Produce Company Crackerthins
As I said in the introduction, there's no discernible difference between these and the Waterthins, so I've deducted three cupcakes purely because I don't see the point in making a special trip to a gourment store to pay twice as much for these.
OVERALL RATINGS
Arnott's, Waferthins. The Arnott's are great traditional water crackers. The Waferthins have a different texture and flavour and look a bit more special, but still won't intrude on the flavour of whatever they're served with.
Carr's. Perfectly acceptable crackers, they just lack the crispness and toasty flavour of Arnott's.
Nabisco Captain's Table. Good neutral flavour, but they leave a slightly fatty feeling in the mouth that just isn't necessary.
Yarra Valley Produce Company Crackerthins. These are really good crackers, downgraded because I don't like to feel ripped off.
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