Hayden Valley

Hayden Valley is an actual place.  In Yosemite.  But it is also the namesake of Hayden Valley Foods, a snack foods maker focused around making snack mixes, gummy candies, yogurt or chocolate covered confections, and as I focused, covered pretzels.  And no, they aren't located in Hayden Valley, they are based in Ohio, so I'm not sure why the name is what it is.

"Quality: Experience the difference with Hayden Valley Foods. We pride ourselves on delivering covered pretzels that stand out in taste and quality. Dive into a snack experience where excellence is a constant, and every bite is a testament to our commitment to quality.  Indulge in pretzels that celebrate the purity of ingredients. With no artificial preservatives, colors, or high-fructose corn syrup, Hayden Valley Foods pretzels represent a commitment to clean and wholesome snacking. Every bite is a step away from artificiality, welcoming you to a realm of natural goodness."

I don't generally get excited by eating plain pretzels, but, add seasoning and make them part of a snack mix, or coat them in sweet flavored coatings, and I'm all in.  But at the same time, I'm really opinionated on the base pretzel.  I care less about the shape (rods, nuggets, twists, all good), but more about the pretzel taste, although it is hard for me to pinpoint.  I hate Rold Gold, if that helps, and often really like gluten-free pretzels.

But anyway, this is about Hayden Valley Foods, and their lineup.  They pretzels in a variety of sizes (mini, twists, etc) and coatings (blueberry, strawberry, raspberry or plain yogurt, milk or dark chocolate, all sorts of seasonal specials like pumpkin spice or red/green holiday drizzles), and packaging (mini cups, bags, bulk).  They have also done collaborations with well known brands like Cinnabon.  I had the regular retail bags, purchased on Amazon.  I tried 3 different flavors and enjoyed them all, although every single flavor arrived melted.

Salted Caramel

"Savor the delightful interplay of savory salt and sweet caramel, making each pretzel a masterpiece of taste."

I started with the salted caramel.  So trendy a few years back.  And so often poorly done.

But, wow, they *nailed* the salt level on these.  I'm always annoyed by "salted caramel" items that are just caramel, minimal salt.  These brought the salt, aggressively, in a way that made the overall flavor just really pop.  The caramel was also good, very sweet, perhaps a bit too sweet if you ate more than a few at a time (which, isn't necessarily a bad thing!).  They really delivered on the salted caramel aspects of these.

The pieces were well coated, although you can see that they did arrive melted from Amazon.com, so that slightly detracted from the eating experience as I had to pry them apart, and I did want even more coating.  Fairly standard crunchy fresh enough pretzels inside.  I can't pinpoint anything wrong with them, but they weren't the type of pretzel that really draws me in (I still don't quite know what it is about some packaged pretzels that I like, because some I really do, but most I don't).

Overall, good, salty and sweet, and I gleefully finished off my bag.  3.5/5.

Milk Chocolate.

"Indulge in the classic elegance with our Milk Chocolate covered pretzels. Experience the smooth and creamy milk chocolate that lovingly envelops each pretzel, delivering a timeless taste of indulgence in every bite."

Next up, milk chocolate.

The milk chocolate fared even worse in the mail (note to self: don't order coated products from Amazon in the summer?), the entire bag was melted into a single big glob.  But that issue aside, they were decent pretzels.  Again, well coated, fresh pretzel within, and the milk chocolate had good chocolate flavor and was reasonably creamy.

Not remarkable, but, good.  Higher 3/5.

Pumpkin Spice (Seasonal).

My final flavor was the seasonal pumpkin spice.  Another trendy flavor, another one that can often be poorly done.  And for me, one that I frequently really dislike, as the "pumpkin spices" are usually too strong for my liking, given that I dislike nutmeg and clove.

They were another mass of melted together pretzels.  But again, decent pretzel base, well coated, creamy coating.  The spicing was distinctly "pumpkin spice" and it wasn't subtle.  I didn't hate it, but I certainly didn't like it much.  Just too strong overall for my taste, although it wasn't necessarily too much nutmeg or clove, just, very strong pumpkin spices.  I still finished my bag, but I wouldn't get another. 3/5, due to preferences.