Which Pretzel Stick is best?
“Why pretzel sticks?” We were asked that question when we announced our next showdown would be a pretzel stick taste test. That person is obviously not from Pennsylvania, where the pretzel is king.
That question requires a two part answer. First off, it’s just as good of a salty snack as potato chips and flavors can vary a lot. But the main reason is we bought a bag of pretzel sticks and while I’m eating them I said, “These are bad.” And Jill said, “I’ll organize a pretzel stick taste test.” I’m happy to report that my taste buds are still intact and discerning, as that brand ended up tied for last place!
Just to be clear, we are talking about the thin, small hard pretzel sticks. Pretzels have become so popular now that there are so many kinds. We went with this style as it is usually what we buy and there were plenty of brand options to select.
Everyone was free to pick how many pretzel sticks they wanted from a bowl…
And then we labeled paper plates so they could tell them apart, as there were only slight differences in looks between each brand…
…Some panelists decided to be a bit more creative with their plates.
As always, check out how we keep our taste test unbiased here. As well as a list of all test results, so far.
The Contenders
Below are the brands we taste tested, in order of least to most expensive. The number below the image is the price per ounce.
Pretzel Stick Taste Test Results
As you can see, first and second place were pretty close, followed closely by third. But then there was a big jump to the tie for last place. So who won?
Tie for last: Signature Select (B) & Great Value (E)
3 – Glutino (D)
2 – Rold Gold (A)
And the winner is…
1 – Snyder’s (C)
Insights
– First and Second (Rold Gold and Snyder’s) place were really close in points. Both had the same number of 1st place votes. And are the exact same price.
– Glutino is a gluten free brand. Gluten free gets a bad rap. And for a food that is by its nature, high in gluten, these held up well, as you can see in the point totals. In fact, it had the most number of #1 votes! So if you need gluten free, we’d say you can snack well on these.
– The two store brands tied for last place. That is actually unusual. Store brands, specifically Safeway, historically have performed rather well. But neither had a single person vote for them as their number 1 choice.
– After the taste test finished, the panelists were sitting around eating other food with their pretzels. We experienced an odd phenomenon. People who had voted for Rold Gold started to want to lower it. Basically, the consensus was that eating just one or two as was done during the taste test, the salt level was good. But once you were taking a handful and are really snacking on them, as you would when you snack on pretzels; the salt level got to be too much. Now no one wanted to knock it down too much, but they thought it was worth mentioning. So if you like a lot of salt, go with the Rold Gold. If you don’t like a lot of salt, then go with Snyder’s. They cost the same and were really close in taste.
What are your thoughts on this taste test? What’s your favorite pretzel? Let us know in the comments what we missed. I shall leave you with the funniest quote on pretzels: “These pretzels are making me thirsty!”
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