Cheese Pretz (Cho Umaboso)

Above and Beyond the Duty of "Cheese-Flavored Pretzel Stick"

Name: Cheese Pretz
Category: Pretzel
Ethnicity: Japanese
Brand: Glico

It's hard to sometimes break associations of foods with the places they originated from. Even as an intrepid food eater, I sometimes get weirded out when ethnic foods are taken out of context and appropriated into different cultures. Take pretzels for example. The traditional lye-treated pretzel we all know and love is a European-born doughy treat from the middle ages most famously perfected by the Germans. Though pretzels are sold and consumed throughout the world, they are typically not associated with Asian cuisines. Japanese snack generals Glico have decided to create a line of pretzel snacks and turn the pretzel world on its head. Well, that might be taking it a little too far. But I am very impressed. To me, PRETZ isn't a box of pretzel sticks. PRETZ turns boring old salt pretzels into flavorful works of art. They of course do not come close to the authenticity of hard, dried baked pretzels. But they do something else: they improve upon them. PRETZ sticks are seriously thin and come thirty to a box. The portion is important because it seems like they know I will be wanting many more of these as soon as I devour the first five sticks. These pretzel sticks are simply amazing. They're crunchy, delicate, and deep in savory flavor. Now just like pretzels aren't indigenous to Japan, neither is cheese. Well, butter and other dairy products are quite prevalent in northern Japan (Hokkaido) but elsewhere it's just not around. These pretzels are covered top to bottom in an absolutely delicious aged cheddar cheese flavor that I cannot get enough of. It goes beyond cheese too. Each bite gives something new notes to love: peppercorns, basil, soy sauce, Parmesan, complex saltiness. After each bite, I am reminded that these are really not similar at all to the cheese-covered pretzels I ate for most of my life. Then I realize that I don't care because PRETZ are so much more than your average pretzel snack. The crunch is perfect, the flavor is rich in profile and the size is just right for serious snacking. There are dozens of PRETZ flavors and I plan on trying them all with great zeal. I have Glico to thank for taking someone else's snack and making it more delicious and interesting than ever before. Thanks for the innovation!

Rating: A (Sophistication is a Cheese Dust Pretzel Stick)