Snyder’s of Hanover Pretzel Pieces – Honey Mustard and Onion
I haven’t always felt the urge to share my thoughts on snacks and take amateur photos of them, but I have always loved snacking. Really the only difference between now and then is I earn a steady income and snacks make up a smaller portion of my spending. It doesn’t necessarily mean I snack any less, or go for cheaper stuff. Quite the contrary in fact. Today’s snack is something that I’ve had a lot of experience with; I just never had enough self control or desire t interrupt my snacking to commit my thoughts in writing. While I have come a long way in self control, I still struggle to not eat the entire bag of these things in one go. That should give you an idea of how I feel about these.
A little more background, if you’ll indulge me. I’ve mentioned a few times before that I’m just not that crazy about pretzels. The normal, knotted kind or sticks with large piece of salt stuck to them, and the ones that leave your mouth dry and thirsty. It would seem then that pretzel pieces of all things would be a no go. That is not the case. In fact, I’ve tried every flavour of Snyder’s pretzel pieces, and I’ve enjoyed them all. Honey mustard and onion just happens to be one that I get the most often. I also don’t like mustard. When given the option, I typically won’t opt for mustard. If it’s in a burger already, fine. But it’s not something I seek out. I just tolerate it. Thinking back on it, I can’t quite pinpoint the point at which I was able to put both of these things aside and unlock the door that this path has led me down. I vaguely remember being in a snack aisle and noticing they were on sale, and I was bored of my usual chips, so I gave these a try. It’s been all downhill since then. For my stomach I mean. My taste buds have never been happier.
The bag may seem small, but these things are hefty. Something that is immediately noticeable about these is they are all over the place in terms of appearance and size. You’ll see tiny, mini chunks of flavoured dough, and beside it you’ll see a giant broken piece of pretzel. I’m curious how they make these. I suspect they take the giant pretzels that are either broken on the assembly line, or the defective and ugly ones and use those to smash into pieces and coat them in flavour. Speaking of which, the smell is quite strong, but in a good way. They have a smell of mustard, but it isn’t a particularly strong yellow mustard smell. The sweet smell of honey and fried onions compliment it very well to make for a very enticing aroma. You can also tell they have a lot of flavour, as the normally white flour of a pretzel is covered in yellow.
The flavour of these is quite a thing to admire. You wouldn’t expect much flavour from a pretzel, but somehow they manage to coat it in plentiful flavour, and it’s no exaggeration when they say the pieces are bursting with flavour. The mustard flavour is stronger than the smell would lead you to believe, but the mustard quickly gives way to a pleasant sweetness from the onion and honey. It’s a surprisingly good combination of savoury and salty that comes together perfectly. Like fries and milkshakes. Don’t knock it until you try it. Trust me on this.
While the flavour is a winner, I’d say the texture of these is what really makes them special. As you would expect from pretzel pieces, these things are very firm and super crunchy. I’m not sure what the outer layer of a pretzel is called. The brown outer exterior, is it a shell? I’m going to call it the shell. I find myself really enjoying the pieces with more shell on them, as the shell gives it a distinct crunch to them. Kind of like the top layer of a creme brulee. The pieces without the shell have more flavour for sure, but aren’t as crunchy. Taken in handfuls though, it all works together quite well to give you a substantial snack that both satisfies you, while leaving you wanting more.
If there was anything I would complain about, it’s that these have a strong aftertaste. You’ll be tasting onions for a good hour or two after these. Something to keep in mind if you’re going on a hot date or have an important meeting. Which begs the question of why you would eat these right before. Don’t make questionable life choices like me.
I like to think that everyone has a snack they have a weakness for, or something they just can’t control themselves with. The snack that will be their undoing, if you will. While I have a lot of those, because I’m a glutton and I try to eat my feelings away, I would definitely put these near the top of the list for me. These things carry a hefty price in terms of damage they can cause, but I’m still more than willing to pay the price of admission, knowing it’s going to be a helluva ride down. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve been able to put away a full sized 240g bag of these things in a single sitting. Multiple times. I may have a problem. Send help. Preferably pretzel pieces.
