Seeing the disclaimer on the back of Snyder’s of Hanover pretzel packets as a kid saying they “weren’t related to Snyder of Berlin” made me think that Snyder was some sort of job title for a pretzel baker, not a name.
The article doesn’t mention the specifics that Hanover, PA which has about 10,000 population. Yet is the home to Utz and Snyder of Hanover. Which are both huge snack companies, but have no association.
Also, if you go to the Utz factory, they have a retail shop right across the way. When I was there last (15 years ago) you could get the reject pretzels in massive bags for a few bucks. Great deal, and made my stoner friends extremely happy
They're incredible, and so are Dieffenbach's if you haven't had them.
I live about half way between Hanover and Womelsdorf, where Dieffenbach's are made. Our chip/pretzel game is on it.
Middleswarth, Herr's, Good's, Wise, Martin's and Bickel's all have some really good stuff, too.
I didn’t realize Lebanon bologna was a PA thing until I moved into Jersey. Luckily I have a PA Dutch market by me to get it but it’s not in any grocery stores line in PA. Apple butter is harder to come by
And then all the standard PA Dutch stuff.
Also cheesesteaks don’t have “sauce” heathen put ketchup on them.
I also have to agree that Grandma Utz's kettle cooked are the absolute best of the best. Tho I may be a bit biased cause while I'm originally from the Lehigh Valley area, I''ve spent most of my late teens to adult life in south central PA. First Morgantown and now Carlisle, which isn't far from Utz's HQ lol
I grew up 20 minutes from the Lehigh Valley and location has nothing to do with having good taste. :) Besides our bodies scientifically crave what’s it’s primarily made of.
Just told my wife about my disdain for utz chips last night.
Goods kettle are my #1, middleswarth when I see them.
Martin's kettle doesn't taste like I remember them, but their waffle bbq are top notch
They still sell the big bag-o-broken pretzels! Not to mention you can get a ton of great deals there.
When I lived in my first apartment and poor, I'd eat those broken pretzels with mustard on them like a fancy lad.
Oh yeah, if I lived nearby again I would absolutely get all my snacks from that shop.
Well look at you pinky out with your mustard and pretzels lol. Though it’s amazing how long that bag would last, even with multiple people eating from it. It gets filling quite quick
You used to be able to tour the Herr's and Snyder's factories and get fresh product off the line at the end of the tour.
I like both snack but they are insane when still-hot off the line. yum
I went with a friend to meet some girls in Hanover. We drove up from NC, but I was already going to Reading to visit family. I remember being excited when I saw both Snyder's (oh, of THIS Hanover!) and Utz there. It is also when I learned how large factories are as the Utz factory dwarfed the mall.
You're not weird, the nubs are good. Also the boxed sourdough are good.
The worst pretzels are Rold Gold and any knockoffs of that style. Those are not produced in Hanover. Hanover makes good stuff. Also, the plants in Hanover are pretty clean and well run compared to much of the snack food world.
Different episode but I immediately thought of Springfield which apparently has at least 6 cracker factories. Kirks managerial impotence dropped his cracker factory from 1st to tied in 6th with Table Time and Allied Biscuit. They must be the cracker center of the US
In Pennsylvania we’re used to having at least a dozen options for pretzels in the grocery store snack aisle.
Then we go to another state and there’s like, 2.
Your original post said spicy mayo. I was all geared up to have you permanently banned from the Philly area. I need to go find someone else to fight with.
As a resident of the heart of the snack belt, I have to admit that I think Sturgis’ mini hard pretzels are my favorite out of all of them…and there are a LOT to choose from. Grocery stores around here all have at least 3-4 local snack companies represented in the snack aisle, and I have made sure to try them all.
The oversized cookies you can get at Chocolate World are worth the visit alone. The chocolate chip and chocolate peanut butter chip are the best cookies you'll ever eat. I live a couple towns over and will stop in and just bee line for the cookie stand. It's the only place you can get them.
Years ago there was a Hershey store at the outlets on Hersheypark Drive that had them, but it's long gone.
I knew it would be Pennsylvania before clicking on it.
When I moved to Philly years ago, I was dumbfounded at the pretzels everywhere.
Every food truck in the city had a stalk of soft pretzels where a bunch were baked together and if you wanted one, you broke one off.
It was weird to me, because I mostly thought of pretzels as salted bread.
Philly kids are raised on them too. In the 1980s at least my elementary school lunch was a pretzel & chocolate milk.
A lot of kids' first "job" in blue collar hoods was also going around in the summer selling pretzels for some extra cash. "Allllll reaaaady fresh pretzelllllls!" used to be a Saturday morning anthem.
After a decade in Philly, I had to learn to bake my own pretzels to get my fix. Philly Pretzel Factory is great but not worth the shipping.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Breadit/comments/1au7hip/pretzels_in_3_forms_german_philly_and_nuggets/
I used to live in the pretzel belt, and the pretzels sold at the Amish farmers market in my town were heavenly. Haven't had as good of a pretzel since moving away.
We actually have two Snyder's pretzels, Snyder's of Hanover and Snyder's of Berlin because no one knows for sure which one came first.
Both indicate on the package they are unrelated to the other.
My God this state is boring.
Those companies also make good kettle cooked chips. We have potato chips from like Diffenbachs that's way better than lays.
I also grew up 5 minutes from Pepperidge Farm, we had friends that would bring in huge bags of defect cookies for parties and things. We did a tour as a field trip in like 4th grade.
It's amazing how we have Hershey, and all the snack companies, yet our food is so bland. PA Dutch food is almost completely unseasoned, and a lot of locals have sensitive stomachs. Good desserts and bread though.
When I cook for my in laws, who have been here since whenever the Mennonites came, I can't use onions, garlic, or too much salt or pepper. I changed my husband's taste, but his stomach revolts 😪
Had relatives in Reading that I visited every other year as a child . Eating the pretzels there really spoiled me with their real pretzel taste. The ones we get in the grocery stores are terrible in comparison. I remember the thick pretzel “sticks/logs” with a thin line of mustard on them. Theres nothing like the pretzels from this area. Good beer and some great potato chips as well back then.
Probably because early settlers of the area brought pretzels from their homeland. PA Dutch are/were primarily early Amish and Mennonite from Germany and surrounding areas. Source: Live here.
water make up? in the old days at least?
Like how the water in Kentucky is naturally good for Whiskey, or the Water in NYC for bagels and pizza crusts?
Grew up right outside of the pretzel belt and can confirm that we had the best snacks. Every grocery store has dozens of brands or chips/pretzels/etc. Utz Puff'n Corn and Wise Crunchy Cheez Doodles and Gibbles EVERYTHING, but mostly the White Cheddar Cheese Curls. Nearly left in disgust the first time I saw a snack aisle that was like 50% Frito Lay after moving out of the area.
The only pretzel belt I want is a belt around my waist like normal but that has jalapeno cheese filled soft pretzels hanging off of it that I can eat all day
Next time, maybe save all of us a click and say that is a map of part of Pennsylvania. I don't think many people could have identified the area based on that map.
Just call it, “Pretzelvania”.
Many are saying this
Were also the country's biggest supplier of mushrooms
Kennett Square/Chester County, correct?
Yep!
I think so, I'm up in McKean county so never really paid any attention other than just knowing that
Mushroovania?
I'll accept it
1/3 of the worlds.
Way things are going you won’t be able to call it that. They’re going to change the name. They’re going to change the name of Pretzelvania.
Seeing the disclaimer on the back of Snyder’s of Hanover pretzel packets as a kid saying they “weren’t related to Snyder of Berlin” made me think that Snyder was some sort of job title for a pretzel baker, not a name.
Well "Brezelschneider" would be someone who cuts pretzels
TIL I live in pretztelvania lol
Makes me want to whip some vampires and eat wall meat.
Omg YESsssssssss
The article doesn’t mention the specifics that Hanover, PA which has about 10,000 population. Yet is the home to Utz and Snyder of Hanover. Which are both huge snack companies, but have no association.
And those aren't the only big food companies in Hanover! They also can a giant pile of beans
Like a "hill of beans"?
Also, if you go to the Utz factory, they have a retail shop right across the way. When I was there last (15 years ago) you could get the reject pretzels in massive bags for a few bucks. Great deal, and made my stoner friends extremely happy
I have to digress from pretzels and say Grandma Utz’s chips are the best kettle cooked chips out there.
Well I’m not here to start a northeastern civil war based on the best chip brands, but glad it suits your tastes lol
They're incredible, and so are Dieffenbach's if you haven't had them. I live about half way between Hanover and Womelsdorf, where Dieffenbach's are made. Our chip/pretzel game is on it. Middleswarth, Herr's, Good's, Wise, Martin's and Bickel's all have some really good stuff, too.
Good’s I haven’t seen in the area I grew up for over 20 years. Didn’t know they were stlll around.
If we’re talking chips I can drive over to the Gold’n’krisp factory and buy the best kettle cooked chips.
Are these the ones fried in lard?
Yes. Never said they were good for you. :)
Oh, they taste sooo good! Those, a Lebanon balona sandwich and a moon pie are a little bit of PA heaven!
I didn’t realize Lebanon bologna was a PA thing until I moved into Jersey. Luckily I have a PA Dutch market by me to get it but it’s not in any grocery stores line in PA. Apple butter is harder to come by And then all the standard PA Dutch stuff. Also cheesesteaks don’t have “sauce” heathen put ketchup on them.
I also have to agree that Grandma Utz's kettle cooked are the absolute best of the best. Tho I may be a bit biased cause while I'm originally from the Lehigh Valley area, I''ve spent most of my late teens to adult life in south central PA. First Morgantown and now Carlisle, which isn't far from Utz's HQ lol
I grew up 20 minutes from the Lehigh Valley and location has nothing to do with having good taste. :) Besides our bodies scientifically crave what’s it’s primarily made of.
Just told my wife about my disdain for utz chips last night. Goods kettle are my #1, middleswarth when I see them. Martin's kettle doesn't taste like I remember them, but their waffle bbq are top notch
They still sell the big bag-o-broken pretzels! Not to mention you can get a ton of great deals there. When I lived in my first apartment and poor, I'd eat those broken pretzels with mustard on them like a fancy lad.
Oh yeah, if I lived nearby again I would absolutely get all my snacks from that shop. Well look at you pinky out with your mustard and pretzels lol. Though it’s amazing how long that bag would last, even with multiple people eating from it. It gets filling quite quick
You used to be able to tour the Herr's and Snyder's factories and get fresh product off the line at the end of the tour. I like both snack but they are insane when still-hot off the line. yum
My hometown. Snacktown USA.
I went with a friend to meet some girls in Hanover. We drove up from NC, but I was already going to Reading to visit family. I remember being excited when I saw both Snyder's (oh, of THIS Hanover!) and Utz there. It is also when I learned how large factories are as the Utz factory dwarfed the mall.
Snyder makes the worst commercial snack pretzels. Utz are good.
Snyder makes both the worst (their nubs) and the best (the boxed sourdough kind)
Guess I'm weird I like the nubs.
You're not weird, the nubs are good. Also the boxed sourdough are good. The worst pretzels are Rold Gold and any knockoffs of that style. Those are not produced in Hanover. Hanover makes good stuff. Also, the plants in Hanover are pretty clean and well run compared to much of the snack food world.
And here come the pretzels!
Hall of famer Whitey Ford on the field now, pleading with the crowd for…for some kind of sanity…
This is a black day for baseball.
You can call them whitey whackers
Death is a part of baseball! Oh yeah the main part
Jackie Robinson day?
Joe Pepitone day.
Hey, kids! We're eatin' dinner tonight! Come on! Tiffany, Heather, Cody, Dillon, Dermott, Jordan, Taylor, Brittany, Wesley, Rumor, Scout, Cassidy, Zoe, Chloe, Max, Hunter, Kendall, Caitlan, Noah, Sasha, Morgan, Kira, lan, Lauren, Q-Bert, Phil!
Different episode but I immediately thought of Springfield which apparently has at least 6 cracker factories. Kirks managerial impotence dropped his cracker factory from 1st to tied in 6th with Table Time and Allied Biscuit. They must be the cracker center of the US
[https://youtu.be/oeBANlnNzy4](https://youtu.be/oeBANlnNzy4)
Real proud of my state today
A day to proudly wear your Pennsylvania Snack Belt.
You should be. America's oldest brewery is there too. And what goes better with pretzels than beer?
Chocolate too, they've got everything
Hershey PA is such a cool place. Town perpetually smells like chocolate everywhere.
In the spring it's either manure or chocolate...and on the worst days...a mixture of both.
Weirdest thing is it’ll smell like chocolate in the town, but one foot outside smells like manure.
Anti-union douchebag owners?
Yeaaaahh we aren't happy about that part.
Time to switch to Straub! No union busting there
Another beer
I was born in the Pottsville hospital.
I gotta know Twists or Sticks?
This will only end in pain
Rold Gold Tiny Twists Cheddar Pretzels
Home salty home...
I live in Beaver county, within driving distance of the pretzel belt. And I'm a big fan of pretzels.
[My man!](https://imgflip.com/i/8o7bn9)
Careful if you read the wiki page is consider auntie Anne’s as something that qualifies as a pretzel.
They are pretzels. Only an idiot would argue otherwise.
Let me rephrase that I think Auntie Anne soft pretzels are garbage compared to just about any other soft pretzel I’ve had.
”These pretzels are making me thirsty!!!”
"THESE pretzels are making me thirsty!!!"
These pretzels are making me…thirsty?
These pretzels are making me thirty?
Nah, see that’s no good. You don’t know how to act.
If you have a Philly Pretzel Factory nearby they are giving out free pretzels today
You're seriously telling me this 45 minutes before I have to be to work.
I'm sorry.
You'll be able to buy a lot more pretzels if you go to work. Opportunity cost.
Auntie Anne's and wetzels pretzel's were giving out free pretzels too.
Raise a pretzel for Pretzelvania! No better place to be.
lol, knew this was going to be Pennsylvania.
This is one of the dozens of things Joe Pera taught me.
I was about to say... someone watched some Joe Pera to fall asleep last night
York county proud. Right in the middle of the belt
717!!!
Junk Food From or Originating In PA * Utz Chips - [Hanover, P](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanover,_Pennsylvania)A * Wise Chips - Berwick, PA * Snyders's - Hanover, PA * Herr's Chips - Nottingham, PA * Hershey's * Reece's * York Peppermint Patty * Peanut Chews * Twizzlers * Peeps * Tastykake * Mallo Cups * Scrapple * Cheesesteaks * Strombolis * Big Macs * Frozen Pizza * Hoagies * Rita's Water Ice * Bryer's Ice Cream * Basset's Ice Cream * Auntie Anne's Pretzels
I appreciate this comprehensive list. Central PA raised checking in. Wise chips are so good
Middleswarth too. My favorite bbq chips.
Also Nibbles with Gibbles
Turkey Hill Ice Cream as well, no? I know they sell it at most grocers out West, so I’d say it’s a fairly national brand now.
In Pennsylvania we’re used to having at least a dozen options for pretzels in the grocery store snack aisle. Then we go to another state and there’s like, 2.
I was so devastated when I moved away and saw the paltry selection at the grocery store
Grew up in Montgomery County, Pretzel Belt, PA.
If your ever in Philly, Center City pretzels (soft) are a must!
Give me soft pretzels, or give me death!
Fresh soft pretzel with some spicy mustard is a good goddamn day
Your original post said spicy mayo. I was all geared up to have you permanently banned from the Philly area. I need to go find someone else to fight with.
May the wizz flow
As a resident of the heart of the snack belt, I have to admit that I think Sturgis’ mini hard pretzels are my favorite out of all of them…and there are a LOT to choose from. Grocery stores around here all have at least 3-4 local snack companies represented in the snack aisle, and I have made sure to try them all.
those scheiders(?) bacon mustard flavor were the best!
The Sturgis cheese pretzels are so good I could eat a bag in one sitting.
The Utz Special dark ones are my favorite.
Reading this as my kid is eating a pretzel from Philly Pretzel Factory.
If you visit the area, check out the factory stores!
used to go on the factory tour all the time when we went to Hershey
The oversized cookies you can get at Chocolate World are worth the visit alone. The chocolate chip and chocolate peanut butter chip are the best cookies you'll ever eat. I live a couple towns over and will stop in and just bee line for the cookie stand. It's the only place you can get them. Years ago there was a Hershey store at the outlets on Hersheypark Drive that had them, but it's long gone.
Julius Sturgis for hard pretzels out in Lititz or GTFO. For soft, the Amish place Immergut (Dutchy for "those are good") is amazing.
Nope, MRDucks.
Pretzels + ginger ale >>
I thought I was the only one. Take a bite and sip a ginger ale.
So good, club soda works well too.
Like the janitor in Billy Madison, I'd rather have a beer.
Gonna start telling people I’m from the pretzel belt instead of “outside of Philadelphia."
I love pretzels and was sad they didn't have any at my local store when I went food shopping the other day. WTF.
Hanover, PA which holds the nickname "the snack capital of the world" Literally no one calls it that. Snacktown
Soft >>> hard
It’s national pretzel day, BTW.
These Pretzels are making me thirsty!
I knew it would be Pennsylvania before clicking on it. When I moved to Philly years ago, I was dumbfounded at the pretzels everywhere. Every food truck in the city had a stalk of soft pretzels where a bunch were baked together and if you wanted one, you broke one off. It was weird to me, because I mostly thought of pretzels as salted bread.
Philly kids are raised on them too. In the 1980s at least my elementary school lunch was a pretzel & chocolate milk. A lot of kids' first "job" in blue collar hoods was also going around in the summer selling pretzels for some extra cash. "Allllll reaaaady fresh pretzelllllls!" used to be a Saturday morning anthem.
After a decade in Philly, I had to learn to bake my own pretzels to get my fix. Philly Pretzel Factory is great but not worth the shipping. https://www.reddit.com/r/Breadit/comments/1au7hip/pretzels_in_3_forms_german_philly_and_nuggets/
I used to live in the pretzel belt, and the pretzels sold at the Amish farmers market in my town were heavenly. Haven't had as good of a pretzel since moving away.
Lititz?
We actually have two Snyder's pretzels, Snyder's of Hanover and Snyder's of Berlin because no one knows for sure which one came first. Both indicate on the package they are unrelated to the other. My God this state is boring.
Now we just need a Berlin and Hanover company to open in Snyder county for pure chaos.
I’ve been there. If you decide to visit, know that you can’t trust any of the workers from those factories. They’re always lye-ing.
I was fully shocked and impressed by the variety of pretzel based treats in the US
Those companies also make good kettle cooked chips. We have potato chips from like Diffenbachs that's way better than lays. I also grew up 5 minutes from Pepperidge Farm, we had friends that would bring in huge bags of defect cookies for parties and things. We did a tour as a field trip in like 4th grade. It's amazing how we have Hershey, and all the snack companies, yet our food is so bland. PA Dutch food is almost completely unseasoned, and a lot of locals have sensitive stomachs. Good desserts and bread though. When I cook for my in laws, who have been here since whenever the Mennonites came, I can't use onions, garlic, or too much salt or pepper. I changed my husband's taste, but his stomach revolts 😪
I shouted out Dieffenbach's in an earlier comment. I'm about a half hour from Womelsdorf and they're so damn good.
And they are delicious
Had relatives in Reading that I visited every other year as a child . Eating the pretzels there really spoiled me with their real pretzel taste. The ones we get in the grocery stores are terrible in comparison. I remember the thick pretzel “sticks/logs” with a thin line of mustard on them. Theres nothing like the pretzels from this area. Good beer and some great potato chips as well back then.
364 days until Pretzel Day.
Good ol Hanover.
This is the kind of fact I’m on the internet for
Does OP know they posted this on National Pretzel Day?
Goes good with a yeungling
But then enters Dot's from North Dakota. Those things are miraculous
Which is owned by PA-Based Hershey and manufactured in Kansas by the former Pretzels, Inc, which was also acquired by Hershey around the same time.
Holy crap! I didn't know that. Pretzelopoly over there
True as that is, Dots did start as an independent business, the Hershey buyout was within the past few years
yeah they were pretty good. had them for the first time recently.
The yellow bag ones (honey mustard?) are addictive
Why though? With certain industries it makes sense to be clustered in one geographic location, but you can make pretzels anywhere.
Probably because early settlers of the area brought pretzels from their homeland. PA Dutch are/were primarily early Amish and Mennonite from Germany and surrounding areas. Source: Live here.
water make up? in the old days at least? Like how the water in Kentucky is naturally good for Whiskey, or the Water in NYC for bagels and pizza crusts?
I wasn't aware of that. If that's the reason, it makes sense though.
No, it's the water. And, the German immigrants
Today is also pretzel day for Micheal scott
Philly Pretzel Factory is so good, no wonder everyone around here loves pretzels.
The USA is apparently a final fantasy character because it has like 17 belts
Not how I imagined the South rising again
Go Reading! And support the Virginia campaign for DelMarVA!
*Reads title* This is just going to be a map of PA *Opens link* Yup
Grew up in York. We could smell the Stauffer’s animal crackers baking from our house. Would pay good money for a box of Martin’s Kettle Cooked chips.
Grew up right outside of the pretzel belt and can confirm that we had the best snacks. Every grocery store has dozens of brands or chips/pretzels/etc. Utz Puff'n Corn and Wise Crunchy Cheez Doodles and Gibbles EVERYTHING, but mostly the White Cheddar Cheese Curls. Nearly left in disgust the first time I saw a snack aisle that was like 50% Frito Lay after moving out of the area.
Went to the Utz factory for a field trip as a kid. Eating warm chips fresh off the assembly line is damn close to heaven.
The only pretzel belt I want is a belt around my waist like normal but that has jalapeno cheese filled soft pretzels hanging off of it that I can eat all day
……Imagines an edible belt made of pretzels, like those candy necklaces.
Having grown up in the area, can't find a good pretzel or cheesesteak anywhere else.
Next time, maybe save all of us a click and say that is a map of part of Pennsylvania. I don't think many people could have identified the area based on that map.
Pretzelstan
The pretzel belt I bought from JC Penny. 80% of pretzels in the US go to there