Gardetto’s – Spicy Italian Mix

There are many times where I lament living in Canada, because it’s so close to a major snack powerhouse and yet there is more than simple distance that prevents their products from getting to us. I was but a wee lad when I discovered my unbridled love for rye chips, but try as I might, I could never find a company that made them. There was a brief period where snack mixes like Chex Mix was still in Canada, but it meant having to consume lots of what I consider filler product to get to the good stuff. In the end I had to resort to using special online vendors, which all incidentally were based on the US and I had to buy it in bulk. Imagine my shock and slightly anger when I discovered that there was a brand that specialized in rye chips, and were common place.

These aren’t available in Canada, at least not in Toronto. Sure, there may be some super specialty stores that you can find it at, but it’s usually at a huge mark up and it’s not something widely available. That’s how I got my bag, so I am certainly intrigued and interested. For all I know this is a very normal, typical brand that the American cousins have, and they don’t even bat an eye at it. For us in the North though, it’s an oddity.

I’ve spoken at length before about my general love for rye chips, so it’s a true shame that Gardetto’s, a brand known for exactly that has no real footprint in Canada. At least, not as far as I’m aware. They could be the ones providing the rye chips in the one or two instances you see them here in bulk bins or other generic brands and labels strewn about every so often. Regardless, I have high expectations given that they are considered the big name when it comes to rye chips.

The first thing I notice when opening this bag, is that they are similar to other snack mixes I’ve experience in the past – they pad the bag with a lot of bread sticks and pretzels. Perhaps I was too optimistic to hope that this would be less the case with a brand that specializes in rye chips, but I guess cost constraints make it more viable to go the way of other snack mixes. I am disappointed to say the least, but we press on.

I’m not quite sure what constitutes a spicy Italian flavour, but it has that distinct spicy pepperoni or spicy sausage flavour to it, and likely is using similar spices like black pepper, clove, etc. One thing to note is that this is the type of spicy that stick to your tongue and is more of a persistent heat like from black pepper, than a hot heat from jalapeno. It tends to build up quickly depending on how many you consume in a short period of time, so be warned.

Overall I enjoy rye chips, but this suffers from similar issue as other snack mixes where I sort of just want the rye chips. If you are ok with that, these are worth at least one try if you like those distinct herbs and spices. Otherwise, best start searching the internet for those rye chips in bulk.