Stale ryvita!?!

Stale ryvita!?

Is it ok to eat stale ryvita?

1 day ago
i only ask this because i took 3 ryvita to work with me and it wasnt as crunchy, still yummy though, i ate all three! So it obviously wasnt that bad!

I've always liked Ryvita. Not in any major way (I mean, it's not *chocolate*, is it?) but as a pleasant, crunchy alternative to bread, I like it very much. It surprises me when people claim to dislike it, because the taste seems to me rather bland; nothing much to dislike about it, really. Unless I'm missing something.

What is Ryvita?
It's a crispbread made of rye, with a little salt added. There are variations, as always when a long-standing product is brought up to date: a particularly good one has sesame seeds added, although they rather tend to fall off. There is also a 'light' version and a 'dark' version, although the only difference appears to be the shade of colour. Perhaps they're made with a different type of rye. But the basic plain traditional Ryvita has not changed, as far as I can tell, in the decades I've been eating it.

How is it sold?
It's packaged in a fairly efficient brightly-coloured strong paper pack which is biodegradable, so that's a plus from the environmental point of view. I believe it only comes in one size in the UK: the 200g pack, which contains about 20 Ryvita crispbreads. In Europe it's sold in 250g packs. It usually costs somewhere between 50p and 70p for a 200g pack at a supermarket. Each unit within the pack is a crisp rectangle, about 5cm by 10cm in size. They're brown in colour, with a pattern of bumps on one side, smoother on the other. Reasonably attractive, I suppose, although the colour isn't terribly exciting.

How do you eat Ryvita?
I have to admit that if you try it alone, it would be rather boring. Just crunchy nothingness, really, with a mild salty taste. But add toppings, and it becomes quite delicious. My current favourite is to spread very thinly with not-too-hard butter or a decent quality soft margarine (I usually go for Olivio), then equally thinly with Marmite, and then a couple of slices of a mild cheese such as Gouda or mild Cheddar. Yum :-)

Another possibility is cream cheese, again thinly spread with marmite, and a few slices of cucumber. I know people who eat it with ham and mustard, or even butter and jam, or chocolate spread - the possibilities are endless. The only warning I would give is that it doesn't work too well with tomatoes, since the juices tend to run and make it go rather soft. The best thing about my favourite way of eating Ryvita is the crunchy texture, contrasted perfectly with the smoothness of the cheese.

Is it good for you?
It's certainly low-calorie. Four slices provide 137 calories, apparently, and can be eaten as part of a low-fat plan. Of course that's not terribly helpful because I don't think many people would eat Ryvita by itself, and once you add your high-calorie cheese or butter, it takes on plenty of calories and fat. However I suppose you could top it simply with low-fat margarine and marmite, and that would make a pleasant snack for someone trying to lose weight.

In addition it's wheat-free, so someone trying to cut down or cut out wheat products due to specific intolerances may find Ryvita a useful alternative to bread, particularly if they don't like rice cakes. However it's not gluten-free, so someone with coeliac disease does need to cut out rye products as well as those with wheat.

How to store it?
If you're going to eat a pack within, say, a week, then so long as you open the pack fairly carefully, and fold it closed over the remaining Ryvita each time, you probably don't need to worry, although putting it in an airtight container would ensure it stayed crispy. If you're going to take longer than a week to finish a pack, then it's definitely a good idea to keep it out of the air. The best way to do this is to put it inside a ziplock-style plastic food bag, then squeeze out the air before sealing it. Then put it in a box or tin with a lid as well - only don't forget about it! By the time it's been opened for six months or more, the texture will be far less pleasant, and it will also taste a little stale. It probably won't do any harm to eat a stale Ryvita - I don't think they ever go bad - but it's not recommended.

What about the alternatives?
We've tried some of the supermarket own-brand rye crispbreads, but they don't really compare to Ryvita. They're not all that much cheaper, but there are usually fewer in a packet, as they're a bit thicker. They also tend to taste a bit like cardboard to me, even when I've added the toppings. They're far more likely to be put in a tin and forgotten about - so all in all I would recommend Ryvita above any imitation.