Pretzel

{{Short description|Baked pastry shaped into a knot}} {{Other uses|Pretzel (disambiguation)}} {{protection padlock|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Infobox food | name = Pretzel | image = BrezelnSalz02 (cropped).JPG | image_size = 250px | caption = An assortment of pretzels | alternate_name = | region = Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy (South Tyrol), France (Alsace), United States (Pennsylvania) | associated_cuisine = | creator = | course = Snack | type = Bread, pastry | served = | main_ingredient = | variations = | calories = | other = }}

A '''pretzel''' ({{IPAc-en|'|p|r|E|t|s|@l|audio=GT Pretzel.ogg}} {{respell|PRET|səl}}; from {{langx|de|Breze}} or {{lang|de|Brezel}}, {{IPA|de|ˈbʁeːtsl̩|pron|GT Brezel.ogg}} {{IPA|de|ˈbʁɛtsl̩|label=or}}; {{Langx|bar|Brezn}}) is a type of baked pastry made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical form, with the ends of a long strip of dough intertwined and then twisted back onto itself in a particular way (a pretzel loop or pretzel bow). Today, pretzels come in various shapes, textures, and colors, but the original soft pretzel remains one of the most common pretzel types.

Salt is the most common seasoning, or topping, for pretzels, complementing the washing soda or lye treatment that gives pretzels their traditional skin and flavor acquired through the Maillard reaction. Other toppings are mustard, cheeses, sugar, chocolate, cinnamon, sweet glazing, seeds, and nuts.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Jeffrey |date=26 April 2018 |title=How the pretzel went from soft to hard – and other little-known facts about one of the world's favorite snacks |url=https://theconversation.com/how-the-pretzel-went-from-soft-to-hard-and-other-little-known-facts-about-one-of-the-worlds-favorite-snacks-95409 |access-date=26 April 2018 |work=The Conversation}}</ref> Regional specialties like Spundekäs have been designed to go along with pretzels.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wachter |first=Denise Snieguolė |date=2022-07-16 |title=Brotzeit in Rheinhessen: Würziger Spundekäs |url=https://www.stern.de/genuss/rezepte/rezept--brotzeit-rheinhessischer-art-mit-wuerzigem-spundekaes-32534080.html |access-date=2025-05-28 |website=stern.de |language=de}}</ref> Varieties of pretzels include soft pretzels, which should be eaten shortly after preparation, and hard-baked pretzels, which have a long shelf life.<ref name=":0" />

== History == [[File:Hortus Deliciarum 1190.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Pretzel depicted at a banquet of Queen Esther and King Ahasuerus. 12th century ''Hortus deliciarum.'']]

There are numerous accounts regarding the origin of pretzels, as well as the origin of the name; most state that they have Christian backgrounds and were invented by European monks.<ref name="silverman">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q0KyXgBhuZMC&pg=PA30|title=Pennsylvania Snacks|last=Silverman|first=Sharon Hernes|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=2001|page=30|isbn=9780811728744}}</ref> According to some scholars and various sources, the most popular story is that the pretzel was made in 610 AD by an Italian monk when he decided to make a special treat to help motivate his students to keep on learning. He rolled out a few strips of dough and crossed them to try and resemble two hands praying, and after he baked it, the pretzel was born.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-did-the-pretzel-get-its-shape/|title=How did the pretzel get its shape?|website=Wonderopolis.org|date=22 September 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Pretzel.htm|title=History/Pretzel|website=Kitchenproject.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020092343/http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Pretzel.htm|archive-date=20 October 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/tour/pretzel-museum.htm|title=pretzel-museum|website=Ushistory.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/the-pretzel-a-twisted-history|title=hungry-history, twisted history|website=History.com|date=28 March 2023 }}</ref> After they were done baking, he handed them out to his students and said "pretiola" (little rewards).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://omgpretzels.com/ways-to-pretzel/history-and-fun-facts/#:~:text=While%20no%20one%20knows%20for,prayer%2C%20and%20then%20baked%20them | title=History of Pretzels | date=17 April 2023 }}</ref><!-- This is a direct quotation --><ref>What is the story behind the pretzel's special shape? The pretzel represents folded arms across the chest. In that way, it was common to pray during the Middle Ages. According to a scholars, the most popular story is that it was an Italian monk who produced the special pastry in the 7th century. The monk wanted to reward his students with small pieces of bread shaped in the same way as the children's arms when they crossed them during prayer. The pastries were named "pretiolas" - "little rewards". (Translated from Swedish). https://varldenshistoria.se/kultur/gastronomi/varifran-har-kringlan-fatt-sin-form</ref> Another source locates the invention in a monastery in southern France.<ref name="silverman" /><ref name="hartel">{{cite book|last=Hartel|first=AnnaKate|title=Food Bites|publisher=Springer|year=2008|page=111|isbn=978-0-387-75844-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PMOrW3zkirwC&q=history+of+pretzels&pg=PA111}}</ref><ref name="grunes">{{cite book|last=Grunes|first=Barbara|title=The Best Bake Sale Ever Cookbook|publisher=Chronicle Books|year=2007|page=[https://archive.org/details/bestbakesaleever0000grun/page/80 80]|isbn=978-0-8118-5075-9|url=https://archive.org/details/bestbakesaleever0000grun|url-access=registration|quote=history of pretzels.}}</ref> In Germany, there are stories that pretzels were the invention of desperate bakers held hostage by local dignitaries.<ref name="brezelbaecker">{{cite web |author=Michael Gruenert |url=http://www.brezel-baecker.de/brezelgeschichte#kapitel1 |title=Brezelgeschichte, Brezelhistorie, Brezel, Geschichte, Historie |website=Brezel-baecker.de |date=23 August 2009 |access-date=18 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228212249/http://www.brezel-baecker.de/brezelgeschichte#kapitel1 |archive-date=28 December 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS).|date=November 2025}}

The German name "''Brezel''" may derive also from Latin {{Lang|la|bracellus}} (a medieval term for 'bracelet'),<ref>E.g. ''OED'' s.v.: "[G. ''pretzel'', ''bretzel'', in OHG. ''brizzila'' = It. ''bracciello'' Florio) a cracknel; usually taken as ad. med. L. ''bracellus'' a bracelet; also a kind of cake or biscuit (Du Cange)]"</ref> or ''{{Lang|la|bracchiola}}'' ('little arms').

The pretzel has been in use as an emblem of bakers and formerly their guilds in southern German areas since at least the 12th century.<ref name=brezelbaecker/> A 12th-century illustration of the banquet of Queen Esther and King Ahasuerus in the ''Hortus deliciarum'' from the Alsace region (today France) may contain the earliest depiction of a pretzel.

Within the Christian Church, pretzels were regarded as having religious significance for both ingredients and shape. Pretzels made with a simple recipe using only flour and water could be eaten during Lent when Christians were forbidden to eat eggs, lard, or dairy products such as milk and butter (cf. Daniel Fast).<ref>{{cite web|last=SAUNDERS|first=Fr. William|title=Lenten Pretzels|url=http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0535.html|publisher=CERC|access-date=16 May 2012|archive-date=4 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304043337/https://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0535.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> As time passed, pretzels became associated with both Lent and Easter. Pretzels were hidden on Easter morning just as eggs are hidden today,{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} and are particularly associated with Lent, fasting and prayers before Easter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.catholicculture.org/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=543|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095810/http://www.catholicculture.org/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=543|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 September 2007|title=Catholic Culture : Liturgical Year : Pretzels for God: Lent and the Pretzel (Activity)|date=29 September 2007}}</ref>

Like the holes in the hubs of round Finnish flatbread, ruisreikäleipä, which let them be hung on poles suspended just below the kitchen ceiling, the loops in pretzels may have served a practical purpose: bakers could hang them on sticks, for instance, projecting upwards from a central column, as shown in a painting by Job Berckheyde (1630–1693) from around 1681.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worcesterart.org/collection/European/1975.105.html|title=The Baker &#124; Worcester Art Museum : Job Berckheyde, (1630-93), ''The Baker'', c. 1681 (oil on canvas) |website=Worcesterart.org}}</ref>

=== Emblem of the Bakers' Guild === <gallery widths="154" heights="188" class="center"> File:Baeckerzunft goerlitz bismarckstrasse.JPG|The pretzel has been in use as an emblem of bakers, here with two lions, in Görlitz, Germany. File:Hattingen - Steinhagen 17 ies.jpg|Bakery emblem in Hattingen, Germany File:Ravensburg Bäckereischild.jpg|Bakery emblem with a cut<ref name="Ausbund">German: Ausbund</ref> in the pretzel, Ravensburg, Germany File:Ribe - Bäckereizeichen.jpg|Bakery emblem in Ribe, Denmark File:Seattle - Larsen's Bakery 01 (cropped).jpg|Bakery emblem used as a logo at a Danish bakery in Ballard, Seattle </gallery>

== Geography == === Southern German-speaking regions === [[File:Alsace, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg, " marché de Noël " place de Broglie (4840720073).jpg|thumb|Christmas market in Strasbourg; mulled wine and pretzels sold ]] [[File:Weisswursttopf Brezn Senf.jpg|thumbnail|Traditional Weisswurst meal, served with sweet mustard and soft pretzels]]thumb|Sweet pretzel with almonds [[File:Pretzels at a pretzel stand, Rue du Maroquin, Strasbourg, 2025.jpg|thumbnail|Bretzels from Alsace]]

Pretzel baking has most firmly taken root in the region of Franconia and adjoining Upper German-speaking areas, and pretzels have been an integral part of German baking traditions for centuries. Lye pretzels are popular in southern Germany, Alsace, Austria, and German-speaking Switzerland as a variety of bread, a side dish or a snack, and come in many local varieties. Examples for pretzel names in various Upper-German dialects are ''Breze'', ''Brezn'', ''Bretzel'', ''Brezzl'', ''Brezgen'', ''Bretzga'', ''Bretzet'', ''Bretschl'', ''Kringel'', ''Silserli,'' and ''Sülzerli''.<ref name="brezel-baecker.de">{{cite web |author=Michael Gruenert |url=http://www.brezel-baecker.de/brezelgeschichte#kapitel16 |title=Brezelgeschichte, Brezelhistorie, Brezel, Geschichte, Historie |website=Brezel-baecker.de |date=23 August 2009 |access-date=18 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228212249/http://www.brezel-baecker.de/brezelgeschichte#kapitel16 |archive-date=28 December 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Baked for consumption on the same day, they are sold in every bakery and in special booths or stands in downtown streets. Often, they are sliced horizontally, buttered, and sold as ''Butterbrezel'', or come with slices of cold meats or cheese. Butter-filled pretzels are also commonly sold under this name. Sesame, poppy, sunflower, pumpkin, or caraway seeds, melted cheese, and bacon bits are other popular toppings. Some bakeries offer pretzels made of different flours, such as whole wheat, rye or spelt.

In Bavaria, lye pretzels accompany a main dish, such as Weisswurst sausage. The same dough and baking procedure with lye and salt is used to make other kinds of "lye pastry" (''Laugengebäck''): lye rolls, buns, croissants, and even loaves (''Laugenbrötchen'', ''Laugenstangen'', ''Laugencroissants'', ''Laugenbrot'').<ref name="brezelbaecker"/><ref name="brezel-baecker.de"/> Yet, in some parts of Bavaria, especially in lower Bavaria, unglazed "white" pretzels, sprinkled with salt and caraway seeds are still popular. Basically, with the same ingredients, lye pretzels come in numerous local varieties. Sizes are usually similar; the main differences are the thickness of the dough, the content of fat and the degree of baking. Typical Swabian pretzels, for example, have very thin "arms" and a "fat belly" with a split, and a higher fat content. The thicker part makes it easier to slice them for the use of sandwiches. In Bavarian pretzels, the arms are left thicker so they do not bake to a crisp and contain very little fat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meistermarken-ulmerspatz.de/downloads/bbz/Herstellung_Laugengebaeck.pdf |title=230835/Herst.Laugengeb_Inhalt |website=Meistermarken-ulmerspatz.de |access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref> Oversized pretzels are often sold at fairs or beer festivals.

The pretzel shape is used for a variety of sweet pastries made of different types of dough (flaky, brittle, soft, crispy) with a variety of toppings (icing, nuts, seeds, cinnamon). Around Christmas, they can be made of soft gingerbread (''Lebkuchen'') with chocolate coating. In southern Germany and adjoining German-speaking areas, pretzels have retained their original religious meanings and are still used in various traditions and festivals. In some areas, on 1 January, people give each other lightly sweetened yeast pretzels for good luck and good fortune. These "New Year's pretzels" are made in different sizes and can have a width of {{convert|50|cm}} and more. Sometimes children visit their godparents to fetch their New Year's pretzel. On 1 May, love-struck boys used to paint a pretzel on the doors of the adored. On the other hand, an upside-down pretzel would have been a sign of disgrace. Especially Catholic areas, such as Austria, Bavaria, or some parts of Swabia, the "Palm pretzel" is made for Palm Sunday celebrations. Sizes can range from {{Convert|30|cm|ft|abbr=on}} up to {{Convert|1|m|ftin|abbr=on}} and they can weigh up to {{Convert|2.5|kg||abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brezel-weber.de/html/palmbrezel.html |title=Palmbrezel |website=Brezel-weber.de |access-date=18 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114234222/http://www.brezel-weber.de/html/palmbrezel.html |archive-date=14 January 2020 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Michael Gruenert |url=http://www.brezel-baecker.de/brezelgeschichte |title=Brezelgeschichte, Brezelhistorie, Brezel, Geschichte, Historie |website=Brezel-baecker.de |date=23 August 2009 |access-date=18 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228212249/http://www.brezel-baecker.de/brezelgeschichte |archive-date=28 December 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> An old tradition on Palm Sunday dating back to 1533 is the outdoor pretzel market (''Brezgenmarkt'') in the Hungerbrunnen Valley near Heldenfingen.

In the Rhineland region, sweet pretzels are made with pudding-filled loops (pudding pretzels). On Laetare Sunday in Luxembourg, the fourth Sunday in Lent, there is a festival called "Pretzel Sunday". Boys give their girlfriends pretzels or cakes in pretzel form.<ref>Heinrichs, Ann. ''Luxembourg''. New York: Scholastic, Inc, 2005, p. 105. {{ISBN|978-0-516-23681-0}}</ref> The size symbolizes how much he likes her. In return, if a girl wants to increase his attention, she will give him a decorated egg on Easter. The pretzel custom is reversed on Pretzel Sunday during leap years.<ref>Spicer, Dorothy Gladys. ''Festivals of Western Europe''. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1958, pp. 106-7. {{ISBN|978-1-4375-2015-6}}</ref> This custom also still exists in some areas of the Swabian Alb.<ref name=german13>{{cite web |author=Michael Gruenert |url=http://www.brezel-baecker.de/brezelgeschichte#kapitel13 |title=Brezelgeschichte, Brezelhistorie, Brezel, Geschichte, Historie |website=Brezel-baecker.de |date=23 August 2009 |access-date=18 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228212249/http://www.brezel-baecker.de/brezelgeschichte#kapitel13 |archive-date=28 December 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On the same occasion in Rhenish Hesse and the Palatinate, people have parades carrying big pretzels mounted on colourful decorated poles.<ref name=german13/>

During Lent in Biberach, "Lent pretzels" are popular. These are briefly boiled in water before baking and then sprinkled with salt. Schloss Burg is renowned for a 200-year-old specialty, the "Burger pretzel". Its texture and flavour resemble rusk or zwieback. A local story says that the recipe came from a grateful Napoleonic soldier in 1795, whose wounds were treated by a baker's family in the little town of Burg.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.klingenpfad.de/Brezel.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050523034724/http://www.klingenpfad.de/Brezel.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 May 2005|title=Der Klingenpfad Guided Tour|date=23 May 2005}}</ref> The cultural importance of the pretzel for Burg is expressed by a monument in honour of the pretzel bakers, and by an 18&nbsp;km hiking trail nearby called "Pretzel Hiking Trail".<ref>{{cite web|author=gekapanne |url=http://www.gps-tour.info/de/touren/detail.31536.html |title=Wandern: Der Brezel-Wanderweg um Schloß Burg (Tour 31536) - Tourenblatt |website=Gps-tour.info |date=30 July 2008 |access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref>

A variety typical for Upper Franconia is the "anise pretzel". The town of Weidenberg celebrates the "Pretzel weeks" during the carnival season when anise flavored pretzels are served with special dishes such as cooked meat with horseradish or roast. In the city of Lübeck, the 500-year-old guild of boatmen on the Stecknitz Canal call their annual meetings in January ''Kringelhöge'' (Pretzelfun). The elaborate affair, with about 200 participants, is celebrated as a breakfast with beer and includes Mass in the Lübeck Cathedral and a presentation of songs by a children's choir. In earlier times, the children were very poor, coming from an orphanage, and each received a ''Kringel'' (pretzel) as a reward. Hence, the name "Pretzelfun" was adopted, because this gift was considered a highlight. Today, the children come from schools, but they still get the pretzels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rondeshagen.com/Kringelhoege2008.html |title=Kringelhöge 2008 |website=Rondeshagen.com |access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref>

The city of Osnabrück celebrates the anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and organizes an annual hobby horse race for grade-four children. On finishing the race, they are presented with a sweet pretzel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.osnabrueck.de/13076.asp |title=Büro für Friedenskultur &#124; Steckenpferdreiten |website=Osnabrueck.de |access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref> In heraldry, the city seal of Nörten dates from around 1550 and depicts two facing lions holding a pretzel at the center.<ref name="ref-1794860229">{{cite web|url=http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=N%C3%B6rten-Hardenberg|title=Nörten-Hardenberg - Heraldry of the World, Wappen, Gemeindewappen|website=Ngw.nl|access-date=22 February 2014}}</ref>

The lye pretzel is the theme for a number of festivals in Germany. The city of Speyer prides itself to be the "pretzel town", and around the second weekend of July, from Friday to Tuesday, it holds an annual funfair and festival called "''Brezelfest''", which is the largest beer festival in the Upper Rhine region, and attracts around 300,000 visitors. The festival includes a parade with over 100 bands, floats, and clubs participating from the whole region, and 22,000 pretzels are thrown among the crowds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://verkehrsverein-speyer.de/content/view/31/43/ |title=Geschichte |publisher=Verkehrsverein-Speyer |access-date=18 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315110653/http://verkehrsverein-speyer.de/content/view/31/43/ |archive-date=15 March 2010 }}</ref> On the market square of Speyer, there is a fountain with a statue of a boy selling pretzels. The pretzel booths on the main street are permanently installed and were specially designed when the whole downtown area was redone for the 100th anniversary.<ref>{{cite web |author=fresenius |url=http://www.speyer.de/de/tourist/feste/brezel08 |title=Brezelfest |website=Speyer.de |access-date=18 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128034649/http://speyer.de/de/tourist/feste/brezel08 |archive-date=28 November 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.speyer.de/de/tourist/verein/brezelfest?cmd=print |title=Druckversion speyer.de &#124; Das Brezelfest |website=Speyer.de |date=2 October 2001 |access-date=18 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610234415/http://www.speyer.de/de/tourist/verein/brezelfest?cmd=print |archive-date=10 June 2011 }}</ref> One-day pretzel fests and markets in other German towns are in Kirchhellen,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brezelfest.de/ |title=Brezelfest in Kirchhellen |website=Brezelfest.de |access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref> a borough of Bottrop, or in Kornwestheim.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kornwestheimer-kultursommer.de/fotoarchiv/070922brezelfest/web/ |title=5.Kornwestheimer |publisher=Brezelfest mit Blasorchester Egerland & Egerländer-Gmoi Kornwestheim-Ludwigsburg,. Moderation Elvira Saverschek |access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref> In 2003 and 2004, "Peace Pretzels" were baked for a UNICEF charity event and other charity purposes in Munich.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.muenchen.de/unicef |title=UNICEF&nbsp;— Peace Brezn |website=Muenchen.de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070822032421/http://www.muenchen.de/unicef |access-date=18 August 2010|archive-date=22 August 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seggl.de/0305.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719083037/http://www.seggl.de/0305.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 July 2011 |title=peacebrezn.de |website=Seggl.de |access-date=18 August 2010 }}</ref> Instead of the typical pretzel loop, they were made in the similar shape of a peace symbol.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="150px"> File:Kampsbrezel.jpg|Upper Swabian Laugenbrezel, observe the cut<ref name="Ausbund" /> File:Muenchner_Brezn.jpg|Bavarian Brezn File:Fastenbrezel.JPG|Fastenbrezel File:Neujahrsbrezelmittel.JPG|New Year's pretzel in a Stuttgart bakery (Swabia) File:Burger Brezel 01 ies.jpg|Pretzel from Burg (Bergisches Land), typically carried around the neck </gallery>

=== United States === thumbnail|Hard mini pretzels In the late 18th century, southern German and Swiss German immigrants introduced the pretzel to North America. The immigrants became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, and in time, many handmade pretzel bakeries populated the central Pennsylvania countryside, and the pretzel's popularity spread.<ref name="KP">{{cite web |url=http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Pretzel.htm |title=The History of the Pretzel |website=Kitchenproject.com |date=21 July 2008 |access-date=18 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101194638/http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Pretzel.htm |archive-date=1 January 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> thumb|right|Philadelphia-style soft pretzel [[File:Union Square Greenmarket, Manhattan, New York City (4027125807).jpg|thumb|right|A street vendor in Union Square, New York City selling pretzels]]

In the 20th century, soft pretzels became popular in other regions of the United States. Cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York became renowned for their soft pretzels.<ref name="The Pretzel Museum">{{cite web |url=http://www.ushistory.org/tour/tour_pretzel.htm |title=The Pretzel Museum |publisher=Ushistory.org |access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref><ref name="query.nytimes.com">{{cite news|author=Elaine Dann Goldstein|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/13/travel/fare-of-the-country-philadelphia-s-twist-on-the-pretzel.html |title=Fare of the Country; Philadelphia's Twist on the Pretzel |newspaper=The New York Times |date=13 November 1988 |access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref> The key to success was the introduction of the new mass production methods of the industrialized age, which increased the availability and quantity, and the opening up of multiple points of distribution at schools, convenience and grocery stores, and entertainment venues such as movie theaters, arenas, concert halls, and sport stadiums. Prior to that, street vendors used to sell pretzels on street corners in wooden glass-enclosed cases.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/Search.aspx?minx=2636294.21875&maxx=2750294.21875&miny=169693.125&maxy=302693.125&updateDays=0&type=area&keywords=pretzel&withoutLoc=true&sortOrderM=Distance&start=0&limit=24&mstart=0&mlimit=12 |title=Historical Photo Archives of Philadelphia Pretzel Vendors |publisher=Phillyhistory.org |access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref>

In the U.S., pretzels come in many varieties of flavors and coatings, such as yogurt, chocolate, strawberry, mustard, cinnamon sugar, cheese and others, and chocolate-covered hard pretzels are popular around Christmas time and given as gifts. The variety of shapes and sizes became a contest of imagination in the marketing of the pretzels taste. During the 1900s, people in Philadelphia would use the small slender pretzel stick as a common accompaniment to ice cream or would crumble pretzels as a topping. This combination of cold sweet and salty taste was very popular for many years. Eventually, this led to the development of an ice cream cone tasting like a pretzel.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} Mars, Incorporated manufactures M&M's with a small spherical pretzel covered in milk chocolate and candy coated in all of the standard M&M's colors, called "Pretzel M&M's". Soft pretzels are frequently sold in shopping malls, with notable chains including Auntie Anne's and Wetzel's Pretzels/Pretzel Time.

====Pennsylvania==== {{See also|Pretzel Belt}} Southeastern Pennsylvania, with its large population of German background, including the Pennsylvania Dutch, is considered the birthplace of the American pretzel industry, and many pretzel bakers are still located in the area. Pennsylvania produces 80% of the nation's pretzels.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023|reason=This is very widely cited in Google results, but most of these sources are fairly recent and there's very clearly a lot of Circular reporting going on, maybe citogenesis from WP as well. This was added in 2008 without a source https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?diff=231088262&diffmode=source so we need something older! TIP: Try using "before:2008" (without the quotes) in the Google search bar to find pre-2008 web results.}}

{{anchor|sticks}}Hard pretzels originated in the United States, where, in 1850, the Sturgis bakery in Lititz, Pennsylvania, became the first commercial hard pretzel bakery. Snack food hard pretzels are made in the form of loops, braids, letters, little pretzels, or sticks around {{convert|3|mm|in|frac=8}} thick and {{convert|12|cm|in|0}} long; they have become a popular snack in many countries around the world. A thicker variety of sticks can be {{convert|1.5|cm|in|frac=2}} thick; in the U.S. these are called Bavarian pretzels or pretzel rods. Unlike the soft pretzels, these were durable when kept in an airtight environment and marketable in a variety of convenience stores. Large-scale production began in the first half of the 1900s, more so during 1930 to 1950. A prime example was in 1949, when highly innovative American Machine and Foundry Co., of New York City, developed the "pretzel bender": a new automatic crispy-styled baked pretzel-twisting machine that rolled and tied them at the rate of 50 a minute—more than twice as fast as skilled hand twisters could make them—and conveyed them through the baking and salting process.<ref name="ref438875569">{{cite web|url=http://blog.modernmechanix.com/machine-speeds-pretzel-bending/|title=Machine Speeds Pretzel Bending &#124; Modern Mechanix|website=Blog.modernmechanix.com|access-date=22 February 2014|archive-date=3 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203004024/http://blog.modernmechanix.com/machine-speeds-pretzel-bending/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The annual United States pretzel industry is worth over $1.2 billion.<ref>{{cite web |date=1 October 2008 |title=Reuters top ten news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS203569+01-Oct-2008+PRN20081001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925235837/http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS203569+01-Oct-2008+PRN20081001 |archive-date=25 September 2009 |access-date=18 August 2010 |website=Reuters.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pretzels keep pace in snacks market |url=https://www.bakingbusiness.com/articles/46673-pretzels-keep-pace-in-snacks-market?v=preview |access-date=19 July 2019 |website=Bakingbusiness.com |language=en}}</ref> The average American consumes about {{convert|1.5|lb|1}} of pretzels per year.<ref>{{cite web |date=1 October 2008 |title=Lancaster, Pa. Newswire |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS203569+01-Oct-2008+PRN20081001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925235837/http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS203569+01-Oct-2008+PRN20081001 |archive-date=25 September 2009 |access-date=18 August 2010 |website=Reuters.com}}</ref> The privately run Pretzel Museum opened in Philadelphia in 1993, but it is now defunct.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pretzel Museum |url=https://www.ushistory.org/tour/pretzel-museum.htm |access-date=27 March 2020 |website=ushistory.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Pretzel Museum Closed |url=https://www.fieldtrip.com/pa/54133010.htm |access-date=27 March 2020 |website=fieldtrip.com |archive-date=27 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327180722/https://www.fieldtrip.com/pa/54133010.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2003, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell declared April 26 as "National Pretzel Day" to acknowledge the importance of the pretzel to the state's history and economy.<ref name="National Pretzel Day, April 26th">{{cite web |date=24 April 2008 |title=National Pretzel Day, April 26th |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS131368+24-Apr-2008+PRN20080424 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110122437/http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS131368+24-Apr-2008+PRN20080424 |archive-date=10 January 2009 |access-date=18 August 2010 |website=Reuters.com}}</ref> Philly Pretzel Factory stores offer a free pretzel to each customer on this day.<ref name="Free soft pretzels for National Pretzel Day">{{cite web |title=Free soft pretzels for National Pretzel Day |url=http://articles.philly.com/2011-04-26/news/29474852_1_auntie-anne-pretzels-national-dance-week |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501130246/http://articles.philly.com/2011-04-26/news/29474852_1_auntie-anne-pretzels-national-dance-week |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 May 2013 |access-date=10 September 2011 |website=Philly.com}}</ref> In Altoona, Pennsylvania, the Benzel's pretzel company calls them "bretzels", both for the alliteration and as a nod to their German heritage.

The S-shaped soft pretzel, often served with brown mustard, became very popular in Philadelphia and was established as a part of Philadelphia's cuisine for snacking at school, work, or home, and considered by most to be a quick meal. The average Philadelphian today consumes about twelve times as many pretzels as the national average.<ref name="Pretzel Museum">{{cite web |title=Pretzel Museum |url=http://www.ushistory.org/tour/tour_pretzel.htm |access-date=18 August 2010 |website=Ushistory.org}}</ref>

[[File:Christmas tree pretzel - 2020-04-19 - Andy Mabbett - 03.jpg|thumb|A miniature salted pretzel, shaped like a Christmas tree. Sold in England by Aldi in 2019. ]]

;Pennsylvania milestones timeline

; 1800s: Southern German and Swiss German immigrants who became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch introduced soft shaped pretzels with different shapes and pretzel bakery businesses. ; 1861: Sturgis Pretzel House in Lititz, Pennsylvania, becomes the first commercial hard pretzel bakery in the United States.<ref name="Snyders1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.snydersofhanover.com/en/company/history_of_pretzels.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826154217/http://www.snydersofhanover.com/en/company/history_of_pretzels.php|url-status=dead|title=Snyder's History of Pretzels|archive-date=26 August 2007}}</ref> ; 1889: The Anderson Pretzel Factory in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is founded. Today, it calls itself the world's largest, producing 65&nbsp;tons of hard pretzels daily.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rambles.net/tk_pretzels.html |title=The Anderson Pretzel Bakery |website=Rambles.net |access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref> ; 1935: The Reading Pretzel Machinery Company in Reading, Pennsylvania, introduced the first automatic hard pretzel twisting machine.<ref name="KP"/> ; 1963: The largest soft pretzel of its time, weighing 40 pounds and measuring 5&nbsp;feet across, is baked by Joseph Nacchio of the Federal Pretzel Baking Company for the film ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World''.<ref name="KP" /> ; 1978: The first machine-produced stamped cut soft pretzel was innovated at Federal Pretzel Baking Company.<ref name="query.nytimes.com"/> ; 1993: The first Pretzel Museum of soft pretzels is opened in Philadelphia. A seven-minute film, demonstration of championship hand twisting at 57 per minute, and tasting were highlights.<ref name="The Pretzel Museum"/> ; 2003: Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell declares 26 April as National Pretzel Day to acknowledge the importance of the pretzel to the state's history and economy.<ref name="National Pretzel Day, April 26th"/>

==== Other regions ==== Freeport, Illinois, which sits about 100 miles outside of Chicago, is another city known for its rich pretzel history.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mastony |first1=Colleen |last2=Tribune staff reporter |date=2007-06-29 |title=Let's twist again |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-06-29-0706280746-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808225228/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-06-29-0706280746-story.html |archive-date=2022-08-08 |access-date=2023-01-12 |website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> In 1869, a German immigrant named John Billerbeck<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=alicehorner&id=I43869|title=RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: The Horner Family Of Carroll County, Illinois (And Nearly Everyone Else)|website=Wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com}}</ref> established the first Billerbeck Bakery which was known for selling German style pretzels to complement the large number of breweries that existed in Freeport during this time. Prohibition eventually shut down the breweries which led to the decline of pretzel sales in Freeport, but the city never lost its pretzel pride. For more than 100 years, Freeport has been known as "Pretzel City, USA." Their high school athletic mascot is the Pretzel and the football stadium has been appropriately named "Pretzel Field." In 2003, local citizens launched Freeport's first Pretzel Festival which is a large community event where residents get together to celebrate the city's pretzel history. Contestants are chosen to be crowned Pretzel Prince and Princess and a festival mascot by the name of "Pretzel Bill" (stemming from the Billerbeck Bakery name) dresses as a 6-foot tall walking talking pretzel who hands out pretzels from floats and takes photos with the local festival goers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/06/29/lets-twist-again/|title=Let's twist again|newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>

=== Other countries === The looped pretzel is known in other European countries and in other countries around the world.

In Hungary it is called {{lang|hu|perec}}, a softer variant of the German pastry, usually eaten with cheese or salt-syrup baked on it.

Pretzel sticks, known as {{lang|pl|Paluszki}}, are a popular snack in Poland, often consumed alongside beer.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zboralska |first1=Marta |title=Vittles 3.4: The Ultimate Guide to the Polski Sklep |url=https://www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/vittles-34 |website=Vittles |date=1 April 2020}}</ref>

In Romania, the pretzel is known as a variety of ''covrigi;'' it is a very common street food.<ref>{{Cite web |last=romaniainsider |date=2014-04-16 |title=The ultimate guide to street food in Bucharest |url=https://www.romania-insider.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-street-food-in-bucharest |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=Romania Insider |language=en}}</ref>

In Sweden it is called {{lang|sv|kringlor}}, a small pretzel often covered with chocolate. <gallery widths="154" heights="188" perrow="6"> File:Viipurinrinkeli22.jpg|Viipurinrinkeli, a pretzel from Vyborg, Russia File:Saltsticks.JPG|Party food in Japan, pretzel sticks called Glico Pretz File:Obwarzanki salesman in Krakow.jpg|A street vendor in Kraków, Poland, selling pretzels, as well as ''{{lang|pl|obwarzanki krakowskie}}'' and bagels File:Absolute bretzel 01.jpg|Pretzels in Strasbourg File:Covrigi-brasonveni.jpg|Brașov pretzels with poppy seeds and salt File:Swedish "kringlor" (pretzels).jpg|Swedish home-baked sweet pretzels known as ''kringlor'', some with chocolate File:Salzburg pretzel dec2024.jpg|Pretzels served with Camembert-beer cheese and fresh red onion in Salzburg, Austria tavern </gallery>

== In popular culture == The pretzel is well known in popular culture for its unique twisted shape, and celebrated as a beloved snack food.

Landscape architecture and sculpture memorialized the strong identity that the city of Philadelphia had with pretzel cuisine of local bakers and popularity in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Recreation Department renamed in 2004 a facility formerly identified as Manayunk Park, located on the 4300 block of Silverwood Street as "Pretzel Park".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-30 |title=An Evolution of Manayunk, PA, from Inception to Modern Day |url=https://justiceguardians.com/the-history-of-manayunk-pennsylvania/ |access-date=2022-07-05 |website=justiceguardians.com/ |language=en-US |archive-date=5 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705225406/https://justiceguardians.com/the-history-of-manayunk-pennsylvania/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The re-designed park includes pretzel-like looped pathways and a public art statue in the shape of a pretzel sculpted by Warren C. Holzman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philart.net/art.php?id=539 |title= Pretzel Statue |publisher=Philly Public Art |access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manayunkcouncil.org/Pretzel/ |title=Manayunk Council Local Park History |website=Manayunkcouncil.org |access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref> The municipal government of the City of Freeport, Illinois, also known as "Pretzel City USA", have also adopted a pretzel logo as their trademark.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ci.freeport.il.us/visitors/ |title=City of Freeport, Illinois, Visiting Freeport |publisher=Ci.freeport.il.us |access-date=18 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304172648/http://www.ci.freeport.il.us/visitors/ |archive-date=4 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The pretzel dance move was part of swing dancing in the 1920s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdyAKw1tDUY | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506173520/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdyAKw1tDUY&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2012-05-06 | url-status=dead|title=Basic Swing: Pretzel Dance Move Tutorial |publisher=YouTube |access-date=20 February 2012}}</ref>

The "pretzel" bikini bathing suit design, a variant of the sling swimsuit, emerged in the early 1990s, produced by Spandex. It is a haltered maillot that crisscrosses the front and fastens to the waistline. Made from Lycra, these bikinis became most popular on the beaches of Europe, including Saint-Tropez, Marbella, Mykonos, and Ibiza.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bikiniscience.com/costumes/maillot_SS/pretzel_S/pretzel.html |title=Images of spandex pretzel design Bikini |website=Bikiniscience.com |access-date=18 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816162747/http://www.bikiniscience.com/costumes/maillot_SS/pretzel_S/pretzel.html |archive-date=16 August 2010 }}</ref>

A circulating internet video shows a press conference of US president George W. Bush from January 2002, in which he recalls choking on a pretzel: "When you're eating pretzels, chew before you swallow. Listen to your mother."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXCr9OCNHgk| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211109/oXCr9OCNHgk| archive-date=2021-11-09 | url-status=live|title=Bush press conference| date=13 March 2008|access-date=7 February 2012|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In SNK's ''Fatal Fury'' series (and the succeeding ''The King of Fighters'' series), one of Geese Howard's Super Special Moves called "Raging Storm" requires an intricate motion input of down-back, half-circle backward, and down-forward—a motion that, in total, resembles the shape of a pretzel, and has resulted in the fighting game community naming it the "pretzel motion".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://glossary.infil.net/?t=Pretzel%20Motion|title=The Fighting Game Glossary: Pretzel Motion|access-date=26 September 2025|website=glossary.infil.net}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px"> File:Clara Peeters - Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels.jpg|Clara Peeters, ''Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels'', 1685 File:Bakker Arent Oostwaard en zijn vrouw Catharina Keizerswaard Rijksmuseum SK-A-390.jpeg|Jan Steen's ''Baker Arent Oostwaard and His Wife Catherina Keizerswaar'' (1658) features pretzels, Rijksmuseum. </gallery>

== See also == {{Portal|Food}} * Allerheiligenstriezel * Bagel * Bublik * Covrigi * Cracker * Kalach (food) * List of pretzel companies * Pocky * Pretzel sticks * Simit * Taralli * Twist bread {{Clear}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/dining/26pretzel.html | title = Making Soft Pretzels the Old-Fashioned Way | work = The New York Times | first = Julia | last = Moskin | date = 25 May 2010 | access-date = 18 August 2010 }} * [https://books.google.com/books?id=OSQDAAAAMBAJ&dq=popular+science+August+1949&pg=RA1-PA138 "Machine Speeds Pretzel Bending"], August 1949, ''Popular Science'' photo article on automation of making pretzels

{{Baked goods with religious iconography}} {{Ring and knot-shaped breads}} {{Street food}} {{Authority control}}

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