Wow. I’ve had some duds before, but this Chip Wars thing that I tried to spark really was a colossal dud.
No one got out of line with their replies, they divulged as little information as possible. No dirt. No funny. No aggravation even. I have to say I’m disappointed in myself as much as the responses. Apparently I didn’t push the right buttons. It certainly took long enouhg for them to write back, but I finally got a response from Snyder of Berlin:
from Yanke, Terry tyanke@birdseyefoods.com to world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com cc “Yanke, Terry” tyanke@birdseyefoods.com date Mon, Jul 26, 2010 subject Snyder vs Snyder mailed-by birdseyefoods.com
Dear Eric,
Thank you for your many questions about the Snyder of Berlin history and products . We are always pleased to hear from customers such as your self.
First – Regarding the statement “is not associated with”. This statement is a legal phrase that must be used from the sale of the family to Curtice Burn.
Second – We do not give tours of the manufacturing plant.
Thank you for being a loyal Snyder of Berlin customer.
Terry Yanke
Order Desk / Customer Service Representative
Snyder of Berlin / Husman Snack Foods
Ph # 814-267-4641 ext. 238
800-374-7949 ext. 238
Fax # 888-367-6142 tyanke@birdseyefoods.com
P Think Green. Please don’t print this message unless it’s really necessary. Thank you.
Well. I wonder what they think when they read my emails? Do they think I’m eccentric, a little kid, or “special”? They may even think I’m a “special” eccentric little kid. I think it’s funny that they acknowledge the fact that I asked several questions, but only answered two of them.
Well, in the ongoing Chip Wars saga that isn’t ruffling as many feathers as I’d like (yet), we have a letter to & response from Utz:
From: ERiC AiXeLsyD world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com Sent: Saturday, July 03, 2010 To: info; Nutrition; tours Subject: Crab flavored chips? Ah! (&) A tour sounds nice…
Hello Friends!
I’m writing to you today to tell you how much I enjoy Utz snacks… or rather, how much I hope to continue enjoying them! I generally seem to buy Utz chips when we’re at Sheetz. Sheetz is a damn fine establishment, don’t you think? Although, I must confess, I have a love for Snyder of Berlin Honey Bar-B-Q chips and Herr’s Ketchup flavored chips that I sometimes have to fulfill at Sheetz. I have yet to try your Grandma’s Handcooked Chips, but look forward to purchasing a bag in the near future. Well, hopefully. I’m sure this is cryptic to you by now, so I’ll try to do my best to explain.
There was an article the other day on Yahoo! mentioning the “best” chips, and they didn’t happen to mention any of my favorite brands. The article was a sham, I tell you. So, I started researching my own favorite chip brands… to compile my own (much more accurate) list. In looking at your site, I discovered that you have “crab” flavored chips, and my heart nearly stopped. You see, my friends, I have a severe allergy to shellfish. I can become violently ill and go into anaphylactic shock just by eating some food that simply came into contact witht he same cooking surface or prep area as things like shrimp, crab, oysters, lobster, crayfish, clams, mussels, or calamari.
Are all of your flavors of chips processed on the same line? Do you use just the crab juice to flavor your chips, or is it ground up pieces of crab meat? Who on earth would want to eat crab flavored chips? I ask because as I’m sure you’re aware, there are new regulations regarding disclosing the top allergens on food packaging, and I don’t recall any warning on your product packaging indicating that “THIS PRODUCT WAS MANUFACTURED IN A FACILITY THAT ALSO PROCESSES WHEAT, SOY, PEANUT, AND SHELLFISH INGREDIENTS” or anything of that sort.
I would like to continue enjoying your fine snacks, but you must understand that I cannot take the risk if there are crabs lurking around! Do you have them in tanks there at the factory? Oh, I shudder at the imagery! You must imagine that for me, seeing a lobster tank at the grocery store is like anyone else walking into a mine field!
My wife and I enjoy factory tours… I see form your website that you started about the same time as Snyder’s of Hanover, and you’re located in the same town. Do you guys have a friendly rivalry, or is it bitter like Coca~Cola & Pepsi? Do you order pizzas to each others’ office buildings leaving the other stuck with the tab? For some reason, they seem to passively-aggressively hate on Snyder of Berlin on their product packaging. I bet you’re glad the don’t say “SNYDER’S OF HANOVER IS IN NO WAY ASSOCIATED WITH SNYDER OF BERLIN OR UTZ, ALSO OF HANOVER.” I wonder what the deal with that is? It’s crazy. At any rate, if we’re ever in the area, I’d very much like to tour both facilities! One of our goals is to get to the Yuengling Brewery tour in Pottsville. Perhaps we can stop in Hanover on our way over from Pittsburgh and make a weekend out of it! It’s only about 2 hours form your location, right? Maybe we can take in some Pennsylvania Dutch culture out that way too.
Oh well, I’d like to find out more about your fine chips, crab flavoring, and product labeling. I look forward to hearing from you, hopefully this email finds you well after a great holiday weekend!
Inquisitively,
-Eric Aixelsyd
P.S. – Is it “Uhtz” or “Ootz”? I’ve been saying the former, but wondering if it’s the latter.
P.P.S – Who is the girl on the bag?
Similar to my other messages, only slightly different. Their response:
from Pam Berwager pjberwager@utzsnacks.com to world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com date Tue, Jul 13, 2010 subject FW: Crab flavored chips? Ah! (&) A tour sounds nice… mailed-by utzsnacks.com
Dear Mr. Aixelsyd:
Thank you for your email regarding our Crab Chips. First, let me say that we do not have any shellfish in our plant, nor is there shellfish in our Crab Chips. It is strictly seasoning. Did you ever have Bay Seasoning? Marylanders us this all the time. They are quite popular, and we receive many compliments on them. The ingredients are listed on the bag and all the nutrition information is listed on our website at www.utzsnacks.com. Just click on the nutrition bag at the top. Our bags are listed with allergy information and most state they are gluten free. The ingredients are potatoes, cottonseed oil, salt, spices, dextrose, paprika, maltodextrin, sugar, onion powder, honey powder (maltodextrin, honey), disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate, citric acid. The maltodextrin is derived from corn. Contains no hydrogenated fats. This is a gluten free food.
We also invite you to visit our free, self-guided tour of our potato chip making facility.
Sincerely,
Pam
Pamela J. Berwager
Utz Quality Foods, Inc.
Customer Care Representative
800-367-7629, ext. 263
“Check out our Facebook page under ‘Little Utz Girl’ and our blog at utzsnackcentral.com to find out what’s happening at Utz.”
No correction of my pronunciation? No acknowledgment of Snyder vs. Snyder’s? No telling me about the creepy girl on the bag? At least I got assurance of what I already knew… that there are no crab guts on the chips. The crab on the packaging still gives me the heebie-jeebies. No comments on Sheetz? I hope she’s not a Wawa loyalist.
I also like how she explains that maltodextrin is from corn and doesn’t explain disodium inosinate or disodium guanylate. I don’t know if it’s just fancy names for salt, or something I’d rather not know about anyway.
Well another response rolled in, and sadly they seem unamused. This one’s from Snyder’s of Hanover, and I asked them about their (admittedly exaggerated) rift with Snyder of Berlin. There’s no name attached, so the company itself wrote back to me. Spooky!
I’m mainly writing to tell you that I enjoy many of your fine products. From the ridiculously delicious Snyder of Berlin Honey Bar-B-Q Potato Chips and incredibly savory Kettle-Cooked Sea Salt & Cracked Peppercorn Potato Chips to the tenaciously tangy Snyder’s of Hanover Honey Mustard & Onion Pretzel Pieces and decadent Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwich Dips. There are just too many good products to name!
I would like to know why each of your products has a statement on the outside of the packaging that vehemently denies association with the other company. While reading the company history on each website, it’s clear that they started out of the same company… but it does seem to be a grey area. What happened? Why the split? Why the clear almost stern warning that Snyder’s of Hanover “is not associated with” Snyder of Berlin and vice-versa?
The Snyder of Berlin story seems to start in Hanover during the Civil War, and the Snyder’s of Hanover story seems to start in the 1920’s… but it appears that Snyder’s of Hanover is the older business, and that Snyder of Berlin was the offshoot? Then the stories jump to the 1940’s, and it seems form the Snyder’s of Hanover site that the Berlin company was sold in the 1950’s… but the Snyder of Berlin page seems to not mention the sale. Color me confused!
So clearly, there is an association… and someone form each side needs to sit down to discuss & write a common history. Perhaps some family counseling is order? I’m sure that if you was around, your friends could recommend you to a great therapist or clergyman who would be able to help resolve the issues of animosity between the companies where they feel the need to lash out passive-aggressive notes on product packaging trying to invalidate the others’ existence.
In the immortal words of the beaten but not broken Rodney King; “People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it, making it horrible for the older people and the kids?…It’s just not right. It’s not right. It’s not, it’s not going to change anything. We’ll, we’ll get our justice….Please, we can get along here. We all can get along. I mean, we’re all stuck here for a while. Let’s try to work it out. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to work it out.”
While we’re on the subject, do you feel any animosity towards Utz, Herr’s, Wise, or Shearer’s? Perhaps the Snyder of Berlin and Snyder’s of Hanover ought to align themselves together in the battle against all other regional snack chains?
My wife and I really enjoy factory tours… We mostly go to breweries, but I’m sure we would enjoy a tour if we’re ever in your area! I hope to hear form you, and hope that this familial rift is resolved (or on its way to being resolved) in the meantime. I really look forward to hearing your thoughts on the subject. Good luck to your in your healing journey!
Shalom,
-Eric Aixelsyd
(Actually, I submitted the same exact message to both companies.) And, then their answer:
from Consumer Affairs consumeraffairs@snyders-han.com to world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com date Thu, Jul 8, 2010 subject RE: Contact Us form has been submitted mailed-by snyders-han.com
Eric,
It’s really basically to try and make consumers out in the market place
aware that there are 2 separate Snyder companies.
Years ago, yes we were under the same company, but there is no family
relations and Snyder’s of Berlin decided to break away and try their own
family business.
Sincerely,
Snyder’s of Hanover, Inc.
[Yawn.]
So, clearly, Snyder of Berlin is the no-good upstart… according to Snyder’s of Hanover. Apparently they did more than “try”. I’d say they succeeded.
I can’t believe all my crazy comments and questions went unacknowledged I brought out the Civil War and Rodney King. Who references Rodney King anymore?
Well, that article on “the best” chips really got me thinking about potato chips… so I wrote to a bunch of PA chip manufacturers, and may still reach out to some more. Oddly, Martin’s Potato Chips is the last company to which I had written, and the first to reply. I’m seriously going to need to give their chips a try. Sadly, they dodged my Snyder of Berlin vs. Snyder’s of Hanover question… which in essence is the point upon which I keep hammering with these emails. I may have to write back and press the issue.
Oh well, here’s my letter…
from ERiC AiXeLsyD world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com to Butch & David Potter info2@martinschips.com date Tue, Jul 6, 2010 subject Where can I find Martin’s Chips in & around Pittsburgh, PA?
Hello Butch & David,
I was recently reading an Article thanks to Yahoo! Shine declaring that they had discovered the “best” potato chips. Naturally, being from Pennsylvania… I called shenanigans on the whole thing, as they didn’t mention either Snyder of Berlin or Snyder’s of Hanover, Herr’s, Utz, or even (ugh) Wise.
I expressed my opinion in the comments section, and even blogged about it. While in the comments section, I was intrigued by someone named Melanie mentioning your fine company. The comment was a simple one:
Martins Potato Chips Kettle-Cooked and Bar-B-Que Waffle. Made in Thomasville, Pa. 15 minutes from York, Pa. Loved by President Clinton. Really there are no others that compare.
Now, while I can’t say for sure that former president Bill Clinton is an expert on snack foods… he does struggle with weight issues, so apparently the man likes his food. Although, one could certainly question his taste in other areas such as women and politics… but I digress. Hopefully his taste in food is discerning, and not like that of a garbage disposal (as is the case with some people who struggle with said weight issues).
After a quick Google search I found your website, and find it quite refreshing that you acknowledge the area “is located in south central Pennsylvania which is considered by many to be the snack food capital of the world.” I assume that you welcome friendly snack competition from your aforementioned competitors then. There is room for everyone at the snack table!
I must confess that I have never had any Martin’s products. If I’ve seen them in a local store, I must have glossed over them. This is something that I must correct, my friends! Do you have a list of available products and/or a list of where your products are sold in the area surrounding Pittsburgh (more specifically just South of the city).
I do like Snyder of Berlin’s Honey BAR-B-Q chips, Herr’s Ketchup chips, and non-locals BEER CHIPS. I would count those 3 among my favorites. Perhaps you’ve heard of them?
At any rate… I like your promotion of snack unity for the region. Perhaps you need to teach Snyder of Berlin and Snyder’s of Hanover a lesson! Their passive aggressive packaging indicating that there is no association between one and the other when they clearly had a common origin is laughable and preposterous. Do you feel the need on your packaging to indicate that you’re not associated with Martin Guitars? That you can’t eat their guitars, and you can’t play your chips as a musical instrument? I bet not. (They’re also from that side of the state, aren’t they?)
I look forward to hearing from you, hope you had an excellent Independence Day weekend, and are ready to be back in the snack chip world! Thank you in advance for your time and (hopefully) a continued dialog!
Champion Chip Connoisseur,
-Eric Aixelsyd
And here’s their reply:
from Chatney Almoney calmoney@martinschips.com to world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com date Thu, Jul 8, 2010 subject Where can I find Martin’s Chips in & around Pittsburgh, PA?
Good Morning Eric Aixelsyd,
Thank you for inquiring about Martin’s Potato Chips. We are a family owned company in York County. We use a distributer in the Pittsburg area. He said that the closest he can get to southern Pittsburg is Smithfield on Forbes at 234 Forbes Ave. He also said downtown carries several varieties as does McKees Rocks Foodland at 1100 Chartiers Ave. Also, the Giant Eagle in Crafton (Crafton-Ingram Shopping Center) might be another convenient alternative. I hope this helps you to find our products.
I would like to thank you for taking the time to look into our products. We also carry a honey BBQ chip, but it is a little different than the Snyder of Berlin’s brand. Our most popular products are our BBQ Waffle Chips, our Kettle Cook’d Chips and our Butter Popcorn. I hope you enjoy them.
Heh. Chatney needs to learn about the “h” on the end of Pittsburgh. She apparently side-stepped the Martin Guitars question, too. I mean, they areonly 2½ hours apart.
I see that Butch & Dave Potter don’t reply to the email address that’s posted as their contact address on the site. Why put it out there if you’re not going to reply?
Also, I looked all through their online store, and don’t see any Honey BBQ chips. I’m thoroughly confused.
All in all, I think I like Martin’s as a company. They seem quaint. They were the first to reply. They do, however need a better website… and they need to address the Snyder vs. Snyder’s issue as well as the Martin Guitars inquiry. Perhaps I should write to Martin guitars?
In all seriousness, I need to set up a factory tour road trip where I tour the Yuengling Brewery, the Martin Guitar Factory, and some chip manufacturers.
I got 3 of these bad boys, entitling me to a whole 35¢ off of one Totino’s product. One dollar and five cents off of three Totino’s products? I’m sure I get more than that when I use my Giant Eagle Advantage Card & get them on a regular sale. Maybe Giant Eagle will double these since they’re less than a dollar… So I’ll be getting $2.10 worth of free pizza rolls. I wonder what the regular price is?
Right now, Giant Eagle has Totino’s Pizza Rolls on sale… 3 boxes for $8. They say they’re normally 3 for $10. So… About 40 rolls in the 19.8 oz. bag, 35¢ would get me 4 pizza rolls? And, I’d only be able to use one coupon with this special, as the Giant Eagle website states that you must buy 3 bags in order to get the $2 off, and the back of the coupon states that no other coupon is to be used with this coupon. Does the sale act as a coupon? If not, I could still only use the one coupon at a time… so out of 120 pizza rolls, a whopping 4 would be free?
Perhaps this was a karmic slap in the face? Maybe a well-deserved one. You’d think they would simply either not offer any coupons at all… or offer some coupons that are actually worth something… like a BOGO or at least a dollar off. Perhaps they’re just cheap, or this is all they’re authorized to give out? It cost them 38¢ to mail me the damn coupons! That would have been 4 or 5 more free pizza rolls had they emailed me some coupons. Maybe they know I’m goofing on them.
The letter accompanying the coupons is quite amusing…
When I see someone write “the internet”, I always think of the guy to the right. I have no idea why. I just do. It sounds archaic written down like that. THE INTERNET! HA! HA!
Not sure where to go from here. Do I write back, and ask for more research funding? Do I ask to talk to someone else who may be able to offer more money? Do I write to completely unrelated organizations and as for research grants? Has anyone reading this ever applied for a grant? Should I include a research proposal? Maybe I should just write back, super-excited about the $1.05, saying what a generous gift it is. Maybe I should ask to speak directly to General Mills or Totino himself? Heh. I feel confident in turning this up a notch.
Also… research will definitely go forward. I will need some time to assemble my team (although, I think I already know who’s in), procure the test product, and schedule a date for the study.
Not too long ago, I wrote to the maker’s of Totino’s Pizza Rolls(which I soon discovered was Pillsbury/General Mills) to ask about microwave cooking times for quantities of more than the reccommended 6 at a time. The answer seemed to be pretty vague, as most corporate replies are. Of course, I was determined to ask further questions — goaded onward by many of you here and on other places around the ‘net. Here’s where I’d like to share my reply to them, and of course their latest response. Thanks to Dave again for the editing help here!
from ERiC AiXeLsyD world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com to Corporate.Response@genmills.com; Pillsbury@emails.pillsbury.com date Tue, Mar 2, 2010 at 2:39 PM subject Re: Your Response From “Pillsbury” – 2010/02/12-0715 XTB mailed-by gmail.com
Hello Ms. Boyd,
Thank you for the quick and thorough response! (Apologies if the “Ms.” should be a “Mr.”, I know the name Tracy can go either way!) In reading your response, I have a few more questions, and perhaps a proposal for your consideration. I do enjoy the quickness/convenience of cooking in the microwave versus using a conventional oven. Perhaps I should learn to use the toaster oven as a compromise?
The first thought brought to mind was that perhaps I may be doing something wrong. The instructions say to arrange the rolls in a circle on a plate. Would this be “in a circle” like spokes of a wheel, or “in a circle” like covered wagons circling around weary travelers? I haven’t ever really put much thought into it until now, thinking I may perhaps be doing it wrong as there is no picture on the box to illustrate.
I’m somewhat confused as to the 8 pizza rolls for 45 seconds, as the recommended time for 6 rolls is (I believe) 55 seconds. Typically, I go for 1:05 so that the middle isn’t still cold. I’m also aware that all microwaves are different, and may vary, so I accept that my microwave is behind the curve, if you will. I will have to try 8 rolls at a time, and may even venture into as of yet uncharted 10 or 12 roll at a time territory. I know this may be a cavalier attitude, but it’s just how I roll. (Pun intended.) I will take into consideration that it has been “highly suggested” that I cook more than 8 in a conventional oven.
Along these same lines, I’m fascinated that no more than 8 rolls at a time have been put into the microwave at once in your test kitchens. Is this really the case, or have trials involving more than 8 rolls at a time manifested disastrous results? Is there some sort of moratorium on adventurous cooking? I know that if I had access to a bunch of pizza rolls, and a bunch of microwave ovens… I’d feel it was my duty to push past the ambit of acceptability into the realm of ridiculousness.
I have bounced my ideas off of a few like-minded individuals, and we are prepared to do a public service by testing Totino’s pizza rolls in varying quantities, cooking times, and microwave ovens while making video and statistical documentation of the results. I have safety goggles, a food thermometer, hot pads, a video camera on loan, and, obviously, a microwave oven. The only thing that we require now would be copious amounts of pizza rolls.
While I’m guessing that you’re not officially able to get behind such a study, would you be able to provide coupons for the pizza rolls, or perhaps donate them altogether? Certainly the prospect of someone embarking upon new microwave cooking frontiers would be exciting not only to you, but to the scientists/chefs/technicians in your test kitchens. We would, of course, be more than happy to share all of our results, which you in turn would be able to use (or ignore) at your discretion.
I would like to thank you for your time and continued correspondence. I truly appreciate the fact that Pillsbury/General Mills takes the time to respond to its consumers’ web inquiries with real emails from real people.
Respectfully Yours,
-Eric Aixelsyd
I thought that was a pretty straight-forward email with some easily answered questions & an interesting proposal. Apparently I crossed the ridiculousness line for Ms./Mr./Mrs. Boyd, though. I don’t know why, but I read the following response with the “not amused” tone.
from Corporate.Response@genmills.com to world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com date Tue, Mar 2, 2010 at 6:47 PM subject Your Response From “Pillsbury” – 2010/03/02-5183 XTB mailed-by genmills.com
Hello Mr. Aixelsyd:
Thank you for contacting Pillsbury with your inquiry.
In regards to your question, we have not tested for more than 8 pizza rolls at a time.
If you wish to try this, it would be at your discretion. Please note that when adding more products into a microwave to cook ( ie 16 pizza rolls instead of 8 ) and trying to adjust the cooking temperature will not harm the safety of the product, but may change the quality, such as hardening of the crust or uneven cooking, etc.
As a one time good will gesture, we will send some cents off certificates in which you should receive within 20 business days.
We hope you find this information helpful. Please let us know if we can help you again.
Thank you,
Tracy Boyd
Customer Care Specialist
Coupons! Nice. This will be a long 20 business days. I can’t believe that they’re actually sending coupons. I wonder what the amount will be? I have to do the testing now. I have officially gone past the point of no return. I must complete this absurd task… and I must do it right the first time. I’m assuming that “one time good will gesture” means that they’ve had enough of my shenanigans.
So, they definitely have not tested more than 8 at a time in the microwave. Why? I know I would. You know you would. Hopefully, with the help of my esteemed colleagues, we will remedy this situation. The world will know the limits of pizza rolls in the microwave.
Interestingly, my question about pizza roll circle placement went wholly ignored, as did the more personal inquisition as to Tracy’s gender. Not that the second one matters, but perhaps it iw what pushed the button. The circle question was quite important, though. I’m surprised that there’s no drawing on the box/bag. There are certainly illustrations out there for much more obvious sets of directions.
I can only imagine what went through his/her head as she read the “wagon wheels” line. Ha ha ha.
So, this leaves us wondering…
How did they know that safety would not be an issue but the quality would degrade if they didn’t do any testing past the magic 8?
Seriously, now… Does “in a circle” mean like spokes of a wheel, or like circling covered wagons?
Is Tracy a man or a woman?
Luckily, Tracy said “Please let us know if we can help you again.” I believe that we do again need some help. Is another reply in order here, or do we just save it for inclusion with our test results?
Who doesn’t like Totino’s® Pizza Rolls® Pizza Snacks? More importantly, who eats only six at a time? Maybe for a small snack… or maybe I just eat too much. I don’t have them often, but when I do… I most assuredly want more than six.
I realize that I could cook more than six at once and figure out the timing on my own… but that wouldn’t be any fun now, would it? I decided to write to the maker’s of Totino’s, who (previously unbeknownst to me) happen to be Pillsbury. I clicked around until I found their webform, and submitted this…
Hello Friends,
I write to you today regarding Totino’s Pizza Rolls. These little snacks are awesome, my friends. I love to eat them as a snack while I’m watching my favorite TV shows or Penguins hockey.
My problem though, is that I’m fat… and I need more than the 6 at a time that’s listed on the package in the cooking suggestions.
Certainly your portly Pillsbury mascot could appreciate my situation? I’d like to suggest that the bags & boxes also include cooking recommendations for 12 at a time… or more.
Usually 12 can satisfy my snack cravings, although sometimes I go for 18. Maybe you could include instructions for 13, a baker’s dozen as they say?
In the mean time, before you’re able to print new cooking instructions on the bags & boxes… can you just send me a chart of larger quantities and suggested cooking times?
Thank you for your time, I can’t wait to hear from you. (I can appreciate how valuable time is… like when I try to cook two batches of 6 rolls during the commercials!)
Inquisitively,
-Eric
Which I thought was a little goofy, but not over-the-top. Apparently this is a request that’s made often. The answer seems well practiced…
from Corporate.Response@genmills.com to world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com date Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 2:01 PM subject Your Response From “Pillsbury” – 2010/02/12-0715 XTB mailed-by genmills.com
Hello Mr. Aixelsyd:
Thank you for contacting Pillsbury with your inquiry.
Unfortunately, the most that we have tested for in our kitchen is 8 pizza rolls in the microwave, in which you would place on a microwave safe plate in a circle and cook on high for 45 seconds (noting that microwave oven temperatures can vary). If you are intersted in baking more, I would highly suggest following the directions for the oven. Please be assured that your comments and suggestions will be shared with our product specialists.
We hope you find this information helpful. Please let us know if we can help you again.
Thank you,
Tracy Boyd
Customer Care Specialist
I’m going to have to write back, and get goofier. My inquiry was taken absolutely seriously. I really can’t believe that there are food scientists or chefs out there that have a job that involves putting things in microwaves… and they haven’t gone past 8 at a time? Ridiculous. You know that you’d try to at least do a whole bag at once… if not two or three. Look… I can’t even control my use of italics. Can you imagine if I had a microwave and some goo-filled little exploding pods at my disposal? Microwaves are cheap enough these days. I’ll take donations… I’ll need a microwave and more Totino’s Pizza Rolls than you can count, and the trials will begin. For more fun, I’ll need someone to help & video.
World (and Lunar) Domination 