"Pressels" - a new contender in the pretzel market!

Look what turned up today!  A giant, over 2ft long, box containing this black and white box, which in turn contained these three 175g bags of "Pressels" a new, tiny, thin and intriguing alternative to your standard pretzel.

Originating in New York - although produced in Israel - they are now being imported by a company in Essex.  I originally made a comment about air miles, but have been kindly corrected in that they float over to Essex by boat!  So we're talking nautical miles, instead. 

Well, how do they taste?  I've only tested the "Original" (blue bag), so far and I can quite categorically say that they are flipping moreish.  In fact, it is difficult to stop eating them and get on with writing this piece!

Note the size comparison!

Now their selling point is that they contain 75% less fat than ordinary crisps.  However, what they do contain (and they don't shout about this) is palm oil (the farming of which is a leading cause of acreage loss in the habitat of the orangutan, not to mention that it is a significant saturated fat which as you know, we're supposed to be steering clear of).  Tut tut and a black mark.  Purely on these two points, I would have to simply be unable to live without them, to purchase them - and as they're only a pretzel snack, I'm afraid I can live without them only too easily.

However and on the other hand, they contain no artificial flavours, no preservatives, no MSG and no added food colours.

So, while a 25g serving (see the photograph below for what that looks like) amounts to 98 calories with just 1.4g of fat, when you look at carbohydrates, they have a relatively high figure of 17.8g of carbs with 1.3g of that being sugars.  

Just as an interesting point and for those of you to whom this applies, they also carry the "Pareve" sign, which indicates that they are produced relating to a foodstuff made without milk, meat, or their derivatives, and therefore permissible to be eaten with both meat and dairy dishes according to dietary laws - and specifically Jewish law, as they are made in Israel.  Well, that's something new I learned today.

So, it's fair to say that a "healthy" option they are not.  However, as a "I can't put this bag down, these are so nice" snack with drinks, they're the business.  If you're interested in having a better look at them, go to the website at Pressels.com.

I guess it's very much up to you, your conscience and your waistline as to whether you try them if you find them, but be warned - once you start ...... ~rustle rustle~