National Pretzel Day

April 26th is National Pretzel Day.  Pretzels have been around a really long time, but did you know they have religious significance?  A popular legend says pretzels were invented by an Italian priest in 610 AD as a reward for good children who learned their prayers.  Strips of dough were baked to look like arms crossing the chest, called 'pretiola' or little rewards.  And pretzels made with only flour and water could be eaten during Lent. They were once associated with strict fasting and prayers before Easter. Not beer and football.

This illustration from the 1100's shows a king and queen with a pretzel on the table. According to Wikipedia, this is the first depiction of a pretzel in art.  I don't know what the king is pointing at, but she's ready to grab the pretzel.

I remember when pretzels came in big cans that are now antiques on Ebay.  I love pretzels (I know, mostly empty calories and sodium) but if there's a bag in the house, I can't keep my mitts out until they're gone.  Maybe it's genetic?  German immigrants (the Pennsylvania Dutch) introduced the pretzel to America and delicious handmade pretzel bakeries made them extremely popular.  In Philadelphia, a few miles from where we lived, pretzels are considered not just a "little snack" but cuisine. The average Philadelphian eats 12 times the national average. We don't think of pretzels as Italian, but the large number of Italian immigrant bakers in Philadelphia played a role in their popularity there.

Real German pretzels are soft and bread-like.  According to region and local tradition, they come in every imaginable shape but they're always consumed on the same day they're baked. Hard pretzels originated in 1850 at the Sturgis Pretzel House in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Unlike soft pretzels, these could be stored in an airtight container and snacked on at will.  As I well know.

If you're from eastern Pennsylvania and claim you've never eaten a fried baloney sandwich or pretzel sticks with ice cream, you're lying. That combination of sweet and salty is especially addictive if you grew up on it. At least that's my excuse.  Happy Pretzel Day!