{"id":883,"date":"2022-01-26T00:28:27","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T05:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/?p=883"},"modified":"2022-01-31T21:49:16","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T02:49:16","slug":"26-jan-2022-best-soft-pretzels-in-philadelphia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/?p=883","title":{"rendered":"26 Jan 2022 [Best Soft Pretzels in Philadelphia]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Recently I visited three of remaining soft Philadelphia pretzel bakeries to taste test the soft pretzels coming off the line. My pretzels were not cherry picked and I told no one at the bakery\/factories\/convenience store of my taste testing intentions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8723sm-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-885\" srcset=\"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8723sm-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8723sm-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8723sm-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8723sm-rotated.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption>Fresh pretzels coming off the line at Center City Pretzel Company (in South Philadelphia). It is a nice experience to visit here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8733sm-1024x675.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-886\" srcset=\"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8733sm-1024x675.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8733sm-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8733sm-768x506.jpg 768w, https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8733sm-1536x1013.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8733sm.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Pretzels left to right: Philly Pretzel Factory, Center City Pretzel Company, Wawa Convenience Stores<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>My wife was the official taste tester. I had her sample each pretzel twice in a random sequence. I gave her a piece of McIntosh apple to cleanse her palate between samples.  \ud83d\ude42<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:18px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>From presentation alone, Philadelphia pretzel factory looks slightly undercooked, while Center City Pretzel Company and Wawa Convenience stores look baked to perfection.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:18px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>My wife was blindfolded then given a piece of the knot of each of the pretzel shown in the plate below in random order.   <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8736-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-895\" srcset=\"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8736-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8736-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8736-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8736-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_8736-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption>Center City pretzel Company (left) was the most dense and salty, Center City Pretzel Factory (center) was the most flat and airy, Wawa (right) was a medium consistency with the least salt.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>My wife reached the following conclusions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Wawa was the best tasting, but it was a little bland.  It is lacking in salt.<\/li><li>Philadelphia Pretzel factory makes a good pretzel, but it has a slight aftertaste<\/li><li>Center City Pretzel Company was dense making it too dry<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:18px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I concur with my wife&#8217;s findings.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:18px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Thus, two times in a row, Wawa has won my pretzel competition.  Wawa, for whatever reason, is cutting back significantly on salt placed on their pretzels.   I have noticed myself this universal salt reduction happening for a least six months.  Raise your price if you must Wawa, but protect your standing as our  best soft pretzel in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:18px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Another side note, about Philadelphia Pretzel Factory.  Try to buy your pretzels outside of Center City.  They are of inconsistent quality.  I specifically prefer the Philly Soft Pretzel Factory bakery in Port Richmond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:18px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Did you know you can reheat pretzels in a microwave wrapped in a wet cloth napkin?  I freeze pretzels when they are fresh and reheat them as desired.  In our tests, Philly Pretzel Factory wins the pretzels reheating taste test.  Wawa ranked #2, Center City Pretzel company came in third.  That being said, out of 10, I give Wawa pretzels a 8.4, Philly Soft Pretzel an 8, and Center City Pretzel a 7.6.   They are all good and you may think differently than my taste buds.  Last time I did this test taste I thought pretzels were better.   Granted, it&#8217;s January and we are amidst a covid-19 spike so things were not ideal.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:18px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>On a side note, my beloved Philadelphia pretzel bakery in our Juanita neighborhood appears to be out of business: Philadelphia Soft Pretzels Inc.  He shut off his phone line some time last year after saying it was temporarily closed because of covid.  Here&#8217;s to hoping the red headed baker man with the tough early morning hours he was tired of returns.  I hope you pass on your baking skills onto a dedicated younger pretzel baker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:18px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Curious about my pre-covid Philadelphia pretzel contest?  <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.captainapplesauce.com\/bestphillypretzels.html\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.captainapplesauce.com\/bestphillypretzels.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently I visited three of remaining soft Philadelphia pretzel bakeries to taste test the soft pretzels coming off the line. My pretzels were not cherry picked and I told no one at the bakery\/factories\/convenience store<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=883"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":923,"href":"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883\/revisions\/923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captainapplesauce.com\/gab\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}