Welcome to the latest installment of Tastykake Face-Off, where Philadelphia’s hometown hero snack product goes up against the competition in a fight for top snack bragging rights. The winner will be carefully selected via analysis of several key criteria discussed below. Today’s match is all about the filling: Tastykake’s Jelly Krimpets versus Kellogg’s Strawberry Pop-Tarts. The Krimpets have been waiting in the wings for their big chance to enter the ring, but how will they fare against a breakfast and vending machine staple? Let’s see…

1) Packaging: As usual, the Tastykake is packaged in a snug plastic wrapper. The clear “viewing window” in the middle clearly shows the three Krimpets inside. The top-left part of the wrapper is blue and features the Tastykake logo. But whereas most Tastykakes’ bottom-right portions are blue, the Jelly Krimpets’ package is an attractive shade of cerise, perhaps in recognition of the jelly filling. In this cerise area are the words “JELLY KRIMPETS,” below which, in a smaller font, is written, “Filled Sponge Cakes.” The Pop-Tarts’ plastic wrapper has a medium blue background with a large picture of two Pop-Tarts in the middle, broken open to show off their strawberry filling. The red Kellogg’s logo appears in the top-right. “pop-tarts” is written in a large (but lower case) typeface layered over the pictured tarts, with an adorable circle substituting for the hyphen. Below this, in different fonts, the package proclaims “toaster pastries” and “Frosted Strawberry.” A picture of a strawberry with a hazy white border is to the left of this, containing the phrase “Made with Real Fruit,” and more strawberries are in the bottom right corner. In the top-right corner is a yellow oval informing consumers that the Pop-Tarts are a “good source of 7 vitamins and minerals.” The bottom-left corner says “2 TOASTER PASTRIES.” This round definitely goes to the Krimpets. The unique cerise packaging is subtle, but it effectively stands out from other Tastykake products on the store shelf. The Pop-Tarts suffer from the same sort of info- and design- overload that plagued last week’s contender, the NuGo bar.

2) Price: The Krimpets sell for $1.39; the Pop-Tarts cost only 99 cents. While some might argue that there are three Krimpets and only two Pop-Tarts, the Krimpets are a total of 85 grams, outweighed by the Pop-Tarts at 104 grams. The Pop-Tarts take this round.

3) Appearance: The Pop-Tarts look exactly like the way they are pictured on the wrapper: A tan-colored pastry with a layer of white frosting containing engrained multicolored sprinkles, much like a Funfetti cupcake. The strawberry filling inside looks moist and jam-like. The Krimpets’ golden sponge cake and traditional wavy silhouettes are quite appetizing. You can see the holes on the top where the jelly filling is injected, and the jelly is oozing out ever-so-slightly: This is a very good sign. When broken open, it becomes apparent that the jelly saturates a large portion of the inside of each Krimpet. The Krimpets sweep this round on the strength of their oozing jelly.

4) Taste: The Krimpets are quite sweet due to their filling. The sponge cake is light and fluffy without being dry, and it is smart enough to stand back and let the jelly take center stage. The Pop-Tarts have the advantage of being able to be served either toasted or non-toasted. For this challenge, we ate it non-toasted with the rationale that when on the road or at the office, it can be hard to find a toaster, as portable toasters aren’t slated to be invented until the 21st century. The Pop-Tarts’ thin pasty has a slight crunch but comes across as rather dry and plain; it fulfills a role similar to the Krimpets’ sponge cake: A canvas against which the filling can shine. Their thin size makes them less satisfying to bite into than the Krimpets. The icing adds some additional crunch to the texture. The Pop-Tarts are good, but the Krimpets just have that je ne sais quoi that makes them more rewarding to eat.

5) Nutrition: The Pop-Tarts rank higher in fat (10 grams) and saturated fat (3.5 grams) than the Tastykake (6 grams / 2 grams). Both products are high in sugar, but the Pop-Tarts have no cholesterol compared to the Krimpets’ 75 milligrams (24% of your RDA). The yellow oval on the Pop-Tarts’ package was right: They have been fortified to contain 20% of your RDA of vitamin A, Iron, thiamin, riboflavin, folic acid, niacin, and vitamin B6. The claims of “real fruit” were somewhat misleading though: The nutrition area of the wrapper contains the disclaimer, “filling made with equal to 10% fruit.” Thanks to the vitamin fortification, the Pop-Tarts might be a somewhat better choice if you are going to be using them as a meal substitute, but otherwise, the products seem roughly equal. This round’s a draw.

Victory: Tastykake. Krimpets are one of Tastykake’s signature products, and it’s little wonder why: They are simple but delicious. The Pop-Tarts are good, but their thin size and bland pastry are just not in the same league as the Krimpets’ sponge cake. The Krimpets’ jelly oozing out of the top of each cake seals the deal, and Tastykake takes home the victory today.