Osem's Flat Pretzel Kosher for Pesach

אסם בייגלה שטוחים כשר לפסח

A few weeks ago, when I saw the press release for Osem’s Kosher For Pesach Flat Pretzels I was skeptical about them but I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I wanted to try them. I also wanted to send a bag to my friend in the USA. Although she does not eat Kitniyot on Pesach I was sure she would enjoy trying them. Plus I always appreciate her take on new products and I like to have more than one opinion if I write a review. 

There are other snacks like Bissli, Apropo, potato chips, popcorn etc that have a Kosher for Pesach option and have been available here in past years as well as this year. But as I’ve mentioned many times, in past blog posts, pretzels are my “go-to” favorite salty snacks. I don’t love the fried/oily snacks as much as the baked pretzel-style snacks. Having a good pretzel option for Pesach would be wonderful for me. That’s if it tasted decent in my opinion, i.e. not like Matzo or potato starch. I’ve also mentioned in the past that I dislike the taste and texture of potato starch. As far as Matzo, if it tastes like Matzo I may as well just eat Matzo. When I saw that it was made mainly of corn flour, rice flour and soy flour I was optimistic and thought it may have potential.

My friend’s bag of pretzels finally arrived at her house yesterday and her first text to me, after tasting them was “These pretzels are good!”

My friend and I had been chatting earlier in the day about this humorous email photo I had forwarded to her.

Although we both found it a little funny she pointed out that these days there are way more options, even for those who do not eat kitniyot on Pesach. We came to the conclusion that yes; there are more products available in the stores these days, but we don’t know how good they all taste. It seems to me that American shops have more mass-produced products that are non-kitniyot but most of the products I’ve seen here in Israel are Kitnoyt.

I also told her that I think the real reason she doesn’t feel deprived or go hungry on Peasch is because she’s really talented and creative in the kitchen. Even with the rarest of ingredients she would succeed in coming up with a delicious meal. I on the other hand would not, so it’s a good thing I do eat kitniyot on Pesach. In any event, her next text to me after tasting these Pretzels was:

“OK yeah Ashkenazim don’t have half as many options as the Sephardim because of kitniyot” :) 
these pretzels are more proof of that.

We tried to come up with the best way to describe these pretzels. First off we agreed that they don’t taste like regular pretzels but they are surly not awful. They are airier/fluffier/lighter than regular pretzels, as well as more crumbly. Her 7 year old added “they are also a little sweeter than a regular pretzel”. Basically the best way we could describe these Kosher for Pesach Osem Flat Pretzels is “they are kind of like a pretzel but a little different, not in a bad way, just in a slightly different way”.

Be forewarned they can be addictive, as my friend wrote “it’s like once you have a few you want more in your mouth”

I was pleasantly surprised to hear that both her kids liked these pretzels very much, even her older daughter with a “pickier” palate. The best proof that theses pretzels are enjoyable is the text that said “they stole the bag from me…I guess they pass the kids test”

Bottom Line: I’m a big fan of Osem’s regular flat pretzels (they were the first product I ever reviewed for this blog) so I’m thrilled to have their Kosher for Pesach counterpart. Yes, these Kosher for Pesach Osem Flat Pretzels are crunchy and enjoyable but they don’t taste exactly like a regular flat pretzel; they are lighter, slightly sweeter and somewhat different. Since they are not made of potato starch or Matzo they don’t taste like either of the things I was concerned about. I think they would make a great snack or cracker. If you get tired of Matzo or rice cakes, as the week goes on, you now have another option.
My friend, her kids and I all agreed that these Osem Kosher for Pesach Pretzels were tasty and enjoyable. I hope Osem will bring them back next year as well. I would even be interested in trying a Pesach chocolate covered pretzel from them next year.

If I was on a non-gluten food plan I would surely be stocking up in-case Osem doesn’t keep them on the shelf all year round. I know they have a different gluten-free pretzel available all year but I have not tasted it so I can’t compare it. If you have, please leave a comment bellow and tell me how they compare.

Price: 250 gram bag- 9.99 NIS (at Shufersal) most other places had them for 12-14 NIS. Yes, more expensive than a regular bag of flat pretzels but all Kosher for Peasch products are sadly overpriced.

I got the salt pretzels but they are also available with sesame seeds.

Kosher Pareve

Kosher for Pesach- Kitniyot

Gluten-Free

Baked; not Fried

No Preservatives

No artificial food coloring  

Disclaimer: All items were purchased by me. No one is paying me for this review. All opinions are my own.