Pretz – Crispy Scallop and Soy Sauce

It’s starting to seem like Pretz is using their crispy variety more for premium flavours. I’m not quite sure why that is – maybe they think the more delicate and dainty sticks have an air of allure and premium to them? Or maybe it’s more expensive to make? Or maybe it’s a more deliberate approach and there’s science behind it, like the surface area is superior and results in better dispensing of flavour.

Whatever the case may be, my silly brand loyalty has brought me here today, where I am trying a seafood type flavour. I’m not sure if it’s still the case anymore, but when their crispy variety first came out they marketed them as having at least 100 sticks in a box. Was it a box or pouch? Either way, the size of the sticks meant you get a lot more sticks than the normal style which was probably at least 3 or 4 sticks stacked together.

As far as smell goes, these remind me of the typical seafood flavoured snacks that are common in Asia. The flavour somewhat subdued and has a sweet almost fishiness you get from scallops. I’m not sure how soy sauce comes into play. Maybe it’s supposed to help cut some of the fishiness? The general savoury flavour I associate with soy sauce seems to be largely covered up by the flavour of the scallop. I say scallop, but realistically this reminds me more of a scallop sauce. Think oyster sauce but with a sweeter, slightly more fishy taste to it. It’s really hard to explain what a scallop tastes like to someone who hasn’t had one, but I assure you it’s a pleasant flavour.

This particular variety of Pretz is one that emerged a few years back, and has quickly become my favourite. It’s as if they took the original Pretz stick and compressed it down to a much smaller stick. The result is a very thin, crispy but also dense stick that has a nice clean snap and crispness to it. While the original one was also crispy, it had a bit more air to it and was more crumbly. This one is all about the snap, and I just enjoy it more.

I’m usually down to try any Pretz flavour that’s new, especially if it’s the crispy variety. That being said, I can’t say that I would go out of my way to get these, given that they are on the pricier side and sort of marketed as a premium compared to their normal counterparts. If these were on sale or at a discount though, instant buy.