A saltine or soda cracker is a thin, usually square cracker usually made from white flour, sometimes yeast (although many are yeast free), and baking soda, with most varieties lightly sprinkled with coarse salt. It has perforations over its surface, as well as a distinctively dry and crisp texture. Some familiar brand names of saltine crackers in the Americas are Christie's Premium Plus (Canada), Nabisco's Premium (U.S.), Sunshine Biscuits' Krispy (U.S.), Keebler's Zesta (U.S.) (both owned by Kellogg's), Molinos Modernos' Hatuey (Dominican Republic) and Noel's Saltín (Colombia). Unsalted tops as well as whole grain saltines can also be found. History Soda crackers were described in The Young House-keeper by William Alcott in 1838. In 1876, F. L. Sommer & Company of St. Joseph, Missouri started using baking soda to leaven its wafer thin cracker. Initially called the Premium Soda Cracker and later "Saltines" because of the baking salt component, the invention quickly became popular and Sommer's business quadrupled within four years. That company merged with other companies to form American Biscuit Company in 1890 and then after further mergers became part of National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) in 1898. In the early 20th century, various companies in the United States began selling soda crackers in Puerto Rico and referred to them as "Export Soda". Rovira Biscuit Corp. of Puerto Rico also started selling their soda crackers with the same name. The term "Export Soda" became a generic term in Puerto Rico for these crackers. In 1975, Keebler Co. was refused a trademark for the term because it was "merely descriptive". In the United States, Nabisco lost trademark protection after the term "saltine" began to be used generically to refer to similar crackers; it appeared in the 1907 Merriam Webster Dictionary defined as "a thin crisp cracker usually sprinkled with salt." In Australia, Arnott's Biscuits Holdings still holds a trademark on the name "Saltine". They were made in the United Kingdom by Huntley and Palmers, and in Australia and New Zealand under the brand name Arnott's Salada. Uses Saltines are commonly dipped or crumbled in soups, chilis, stews, and eaten with, or crumbled into, salads. Typically they are sold in boxes containing two to four stacks of crackers, each wrapped in a sleeve of waxed paper or plastic. In restaurants, they are sometimes found in small wrapped plastic packets of two crackers, which generally accompany soup or salad. Cracker meal, a type