Rating: ©©©-1/2 chips (notable)
All new Snyder’s of Hanover Pretzel Pieces alert! Should we also mention Maple Bacon?!
If the sound of that doesn’t peak your interest, then we’re not sure if you are in the right place, nor if your taste buds are actually working! May we suggest you have those checked out right away!!
As many of you are probably already aware Snyder’s of Hanover (SOH), are (in our humble opinion) the “classic masters of hard sour dough pretzel snacks”. We have touted their pretzel making merits countless times around these parts. That being said, we’ve reviewed both the Salted Caramel and Cinnamon Sugar flavors from SOH’s newer-ish ‘Sweet and Salty’ line, and in our humble opinion they have not been quite as successful as their traditional Pretzel Pieces line. If we had a choice of sticking with one or the other, we would be choosing their ‘salty and savory’ traditional line of Pretzel Pieces every time!
For those of you somehow still unfamiliar with SOHs Pretzel Pieces, let us explain to you our optimistically proposed beliefs regarding the creation of these deliciously crunchy pretzel pieces. In a perfect world, SOH would resourcefully use their leftover pretzel pieces, broken during the manufacturing process, to creatively provide us with these tasty bites (unlikely, we know)! The most ingenious part of the “broken” pretzel pieces, is that they generously expose their very porous, bread-y insides, and willfully absorb a more than ample amount of whatever flavoring SOH is applying.
Everyone seems to love the sound of bacon flavored snacks (most likely due to the fact that real bacon is awesome!!). However, we have noticed over our many years of reviewing bacon flavored crunchy snacks that the majority of them are actually not really good. All too often the bacon flavored snack has been coated with such an obscene amount of salt, along with an off-putting unnatural smoke layer, that we are repulsed from the get go. Of course there are some really great bacon snacks out there, but the key seems to be that they either use real pork, or combine a subtle bacon flavor, with a really great complimentary flavor, ie. sour cream, or cheddar. From what we have tried thus far, that complimentary flavor does not seem to be MAPLE!
Luckily for all of us, SOH’s Maple Bacon Pretzel Pieces are the best of any maple bacon flavored snacks that we have reviewed thus far, but given its competition, that really isn’t saying very much! In fact, and in all honesty, SOH’s maple bacon seasoning is straddling a very fine line between tasty and completely off-putting. One step in either direction and you could have yourself a delicious snack, or a quick gag reflex! Which way you step depends upon whether you find the smoky bacon, sweet maple and bread-y pretzel combo to really meld together, or you find it to be just too much. Same with the other two Sweet and Salty flavors we could have used a bit more salt; but we did really appreciate all of the smoky and savory notes. In the end, if there is one thing that can be said about the maple bacon seasoning it is that it is not subtle. In fact, we could not eat too many of them in one sitting, and would suggest that they be enjoyed in moderation – for fear of crossing that fine line in the wrong direction!
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Discovered at Jewel Osco; Westmont, Illinois
Snyder’s of Hanover Official Website
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Chip Review 