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In one of Slashfood's biggest taste tests to date, we dive into the world of supermarket pretzels -- over 110 bags in all. You didn't realize there were that many varieties of pretzels? Neither did we. So to keep things simple, we decided to break up the taste test into 12 categories: sticks, extra-dark, honey wheat, multigrain, flavored, crisps, old fashioned, gluten-free, unsalted, rods, sourdough and traditional.
It didn't take long to conclude that pretzels are a very personal thing. Everyone has a favorite variety, shape and flavor -- and people like wildly different amounts of salt. So to level out the playing field, we invited employees from all over AOL to join in and vote for their favorites.
After the jump, find out how we voted and flip through our gallery to find out our favorites, as well as the brands we'd skip.
In order to win the category, the pretzels had to be/have:
- Crunchy
- The right ratio of salt-to-pretzel
- No odd/ chemical-like aftertaste
- Not too dry - didn't need water to wash it down immediately
- Flavorful: When comparing pretzels side-by-side, some were tasteless, mass-produced creations, while others stood up to their "brick oven-baked" claims.
The "Flavor" category was the hardest to compare. Whether a person enjoys mustard, cheese, buffalo, ranch or pizza flavored pretzels is personal preference. But at the end of the day, one bag was completely empty and everyone was asking, "Where can we find those pretzels..."
Best Pretzels
Winner: Bachman's Flame Baked Pretzel Stix
Skip: Happy Herbert's Organic Pretzel Sticks
Winner: Unique Extra Dark "Splits"
Skip: Snyder's Homestyle Pretzels
Winner: Bachman Honey Wheat Pretzel Splits
Skip: Trader Joe's Honey Wheat Pretzel Sticks
Winner: Snyder's of Hanover Hot Buffalo Wing Pretzels
Skip: UTZ Everything Pretzels
Winner: Pretzel Crisps in Supreme and Everything Flavors
Skip: Pretzel Crisps Three Cheese
Winner: Snyder's of Hanover Olde Tyme Pretzels
Skip: Happy Herbert's Penn Dutch Pretzels
Winner: Glutino Pretzel Sticks
Skip: Mary's Gone Crackers Sticks & Twigs
Winner: Trader Joe's Pumpernickel Pretzel Sticks
Skip: Shiloh Farms Sprouted Whole Wheat Pretzels
Winner: Bachman No Salt Added Petite Pretzels
Skip: Newman's Own Unsalted Pretzels
Winner: UTZ Pretzel Rods
Skip: Newman's Own Organic Pretzel Rods
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2-07-2011 @12:03PM bjg said... Not a surprise that almost ALL of the top pretzels are from eastern PA - Lancaster & Berks county to be exact..... The other one that I LOVE is Hammonds Pretzels - hand made in Lancaster PA.
Reply
2-07-2011 @12:50PM rshaffe1 said... Yes, no question Hammonds is best - by far, but it's a hand rolled & oven baked like they did years ago. They cost more , but , some things are worth it. To walk in that little bakery on a cold morning
and see & smell those treats coming out of the oven, OUTSTANDING!!
I'm originally from Reading, PA , we were spoiled when it came to good pretzels!
2-08-2011 @7:12PM Tony C said... Awwwwful lot of Bachman sitting on the top of those lists!
Was there any steering clear of small regional brands? I'm *from* PA and never heard of Unique.
Thanks for the roundup -- are there going to be any more in-depth listing of all the pretzels in the roundup, or is the photo it?
Reply
2-12-2011 @8:55AM wlh1923 said... Good choices. The Uniques Extra Dark are my favorite. Uncle Henry's in Lancaster also makes extra dark. Small factory and handmade. Am disappointed greatly in UTZ. They used to make an extra dark sour dough pretzle. About a year ago they stopped. Utz still sells them in a bag marked "Extra Dark" but not only are the pretzles no longer extra dark, they aren't even dark. Just a uniform golden brown. That is okay but false and deceptiove advertising. C'mon Utz bring back the Extra Darks.
Reply
2-12-2011 @11:03AM lolol said... Really? this is breaking news? Come on people, there's a lot more important things to write about than pretzels! It's unlikely that anyone reading this hasn't ever tried one, really their all the same- salty and crunchy. Let's move on.
Reply
2-12-2011 @12:21PM Deme Kavis said... It doesn't hurt to test and write about light subjects. It is a whole lot better than swearing and screaming at each other. So lighten up and enjoy the calmness of this survey
Reply
2-16-2011 @1:27PM Stephanie said... Agreed!!
2-12-2011 @1:59PM thomas lind said... What ever happend to Very Thin sticks in the blue box probably made by NABISCO? Those were the best and there currenty are no others as thin.
Reply