EOG - Issue 4 - Keebler's "Harvest Bakery" Crackers

Product: Snyder's of Hanover Pretzel Pieces
Manufacturer: Snyder's of Hanover Pretzel Co., Hanover, PA

Upon trying these Snyders pretzel pieces for the first time, I was
surprised to find out just how damn good these things were. I
mean, pretzels have always been a good solid snack, but still fairly
straightforward and plain. However, these pieces stand out and
make an impression from the very first bite.

Now Snyder's of Hanover has been making their pretzels for quite
a long time. And, like other pretzel companies, they have the usual
variations of twists, rods, and even the odd sourdough product.
And I must admit, when I first saw the bag of pretzel pieces on the
supermarket shelf, I thought we had a classic T T N T violation
waiting to happen. this was a bag of broken pretzel rods. As my
good friend Carl put it, it looked like they just bagged up the stuff
that the cleaning guys swept up off the floor at the end of the day.
Not so, my friend.

The first thing that struck me about these was how they held the
flavor which had been applied to the pretzel itself. With most snack
chips the flavoring powder is sprinkled on the finished product and
may or may not be completely adhered. In the case of these snacks,
it would appear that the pretzels have been soaked or marinated in
the flavorings to which they've been applied. This is a nice quality
right off the bat because the flavor lasts longer and there's much
less of a finger residue issue

Also, some brands of pretzel rods are way too crunchy. You know the kind, the type of pretzel that you're afraid to bite too hard into, for fear the force involved will break off a tooth and put the stray dental fragment right through your occipital lobe. This is not the case with the Snyders pretzel pieces. The consistency is even, but never too hard.

OK, we've described the infrastructure, now let's get to the fun part: the flavors!
Of the four flavors that I have seen, only the ranch flavor disappointed me (which isn't too big of a shock because I'm not that big of a ranch flavoring fan anyway - with the exception of Doritos classic Cool Ranch flavor).

My personal favorite is the honey mustard and onion flavor. The sweet kick of a honey mustard flavor blended with the onion powder put on these pretzels makes for magnificent combination. Tangy, tasty, satisfying.

Mind you, I'm not taking anything away from the honey barbecue flavor. This delicious flavor and the way it permeates the pieces makes for a damn good snack. In much the same way that the sweetness of the honey provides a nice counterbalance for the mustard in a honey mustard flavor, the same effect works here. The sweetness of the honey is complementing, and perhaps even adding some boldness to, a pretty spicy barbecue sauce flavoring

Which brings us the last of the three favorite flavors ... jalapeno. And when I say jalapeno, I mean jalapeno!!!! Of all of the jalapeno flavors on different snacks that I have had over the years, this one wins the high octane prize! On one hand the actual jalapeno flavors permeate the pretzel in much the same manner that the other flavors do, and these flavors are bold, even before the "hots" take effect. Once this happens, yowsah!!!!!! I give you this warning up front: THESE SNACKS ARE NOT FOR THE MEEK!!!! As delicious as I found them, I could only eat a few at a time. These things are just that hot. Now don't get me wrong, while I don't spend my days doing shots of the latest nuclear-powered high-octane weapons-grade hot sauce at your local barbecue House, I do enjoy my food on the spicy side. This includes jalapenos, Oriental spices like those used in the preparation of General Gao's Chicken, and, as always, my beloved Tabasco - red AND green. But these things packed the most punch of any jalapeno-flavored snack that I've ever tasted ... including the jalapeno Wise Krunchers offshoots that I love so much.

To sum it all up, these are a damn good product. My criticisms: The Ranch flavor left me flat and maybe they could keep the base jalapeno flavor but turn down the temperature a few notches.
This however, does not count against this product at all. I would strongly recommend these to anyone who asked. And I would recommend it with a four chips up rating.