Runza

{{Short description|Filled bread pocket}} {{for|the restaurant|Runza (restaurant)}} {{Infobox food | name = Runza | caption = A runza | image = Runza 01.jpg | image_size = 200px | country = United States | region = Nebraska | course = Main | main_ingredient = Bread, Ground beef, Cabbage, Seasonings, Onion | variations = Cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese & mushrooms, Italian style, jalapeños, vegetarian<ref>{{cite web |url=https://omaha.com/dining/have-you-tried-the-new-veggie-runzas-we-did/article_74855797-2ab2-5a92-8697-91bc9da83f96.html |title=Have you tried the new veggie Runzas? We did |last=Coffey |first=Kevin |date=18 Oct 2019 |publisher=Omaha World-Herald |access-date=16 Nov 2020 }}</ref> | calories = 530 (Standard/"Original")<ref name="runza_nutrition">{{cite web |date=December 2011 |url=http://www.runza.com/resources/dyn/files/705253z77840cef/_fn/NutritionWeb.pdf |title=Runza Nutrition Information |website=Runza.com |access-date=December 27, 2016}}</ref> | other = }}

A '''runza''' (also called a '''krautburger''', or '''kraut pirok''') is a yeast dough bread pocket with a filling consisting of ground beef, cabbage or sauerkraut, onions, and seasonings.<ref name="rollcall">{{cite news |first=Warren |last=Rojas |date=March 26, 2014 |url=http://www.rollcall.com/2014/03/26/nebraskans-know-theres-no-substitute-for-runza-noshtalgia/ |title=Nebraskans Know There's No Substitute for Runza |newspaper=Roll Call |location=Washington D.C. |access-date=December 27, 2016}}</ref><ref name="chicago_tribune">{{cite news |first=John |last=Bordsen |date=December 27, 2016 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/2016/12/27/sandwich-that-stems-from-eastern-europe-powers-great-plains-chain/ |title=Sandwich That Stems from Eastern Europe Powers Great Plains Chain |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |access-date=December 27, 2016}}</ref><ref name="wapo_runza_recipe">{{cite news |first1=Kay |last1=Billingsley |first2=Tim |last2=Carman |date=April 29, 2016 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/nebraska-runzas-way-washington/15266/ |title=Nebraska Runzas, by Way of Washington |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=December 27, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/34892/krautburger/ |title= Krautburger |last=Pearce |first=Marlene |publisher=Allrecipes.com |access-date=16 Nov 2020 }}</ref> Runzas can be baked into various shapes such as a half-moon, a rectangle, a round (bun), a square, or a triangle. The runzas sold by the Runza restaurant chain are rectangular while many of the bierocks sold in Kansas are round buns.<ref name="kansas_bierock">{{cite news |url=https://www.kansas.com/entertainment/restaurants/dining-with-denise-neil/article176082361.html |title=Where to get bierocks, the official food of Kansas in the fall |last=Neil |first=Denise |quote=Some bake them in a round shape. Some make them rectangular. |newspaper=The Wichita Eagle}}</ref>

The runza is a regional cuisine of Nebraska, with some commentators calling it "as Nebraskan as Cornhusker football."<ref name="food_wine">{{cite web |url=https://www.foodandwine.com/travel/restaurants/only-nebraskans-know-runza |last=Landsel |first=David |title=Only Nebraskans Know The Runza |publisher=Food & Wine}}</ref> It is served by the Nebraska Society of Washington, D.C.,<ref name="taste_of_ne">{{cite web |url=http://nebraskasociety.org/events/2016-taste-of-nebraska/ |title=2016 Taste of Nebraska |publisher=Nebraska Society of Washington, D.C. |access-date=2018-11-01 |archive-date=2018-11-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105211331/http://nebraskasociety.org/events/2016-taste-of-nebraska/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the Nebraska Society of New York<ref name="owh_ny">{{cite news |title=Manhattan to Taste Nebraska Foods |newspaper=Omaha World-Herald |date=15 May 1987 |last=MacMillan |first=Kyle |quote=What do you do when you live 1,252 miles from Nebraska and you suddenly have a craving for a Runza or a slice of Valentino's pizza? You order them flown in, of course. That's exactly what the Nebraska Society of New York plans to do for its Nebraska food extravaganza in New York City Sunday.}}</ref> at their Taste of Nebraska events and was chosen to represent the state at Flavored Nation, an event serving iconic dishes from all fifty states.<ref name="flavored_nation">{{cite web |url=https://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/the-runza-will-represent-nebraska-at-new-national-food-event/article_7e1da5e9-f82f-5b50-b1ca-1fb18cc60107.html |title=The Runza will represent Nebraska at new national food event |last=O'Connor |first=Michael |publisher=Omaha World-Herald |date=28 August 2017}}</ref>

==History== The runza sandwich originated from the ''pirog'', an Eastern European baked good<ref name="chicago_tribune" /><ref name="owh_runza_history">{{cite news |url=https://www.omaha.com/living/the-better-half/runza-the-story-of-one-of-nebraska-s-most-treasured/article_6e0b5a51-b017-5a23-b5cd-92f2c06a5d88.html |last=Baker Hansen |first=Sarah |newspaper=Omaha World-Herald |title=Runza: The story of one of Nebraska's most treasured foods |date=1 April 2017}}</ref> or more specifically from its small version, known as ''pirozhok'' (literally "little ''pirog''"). In the 18th century, Volga Germans (ethnic Germans who settled in the Volga River valley in the Russian Empire at the invitation of Catherine the Great because of their skill in farming<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Encyclopedia of the Great Plains {{!}} GERMAN RUSSIANS |url=http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.ea.012 |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=plainshumanities.unl.edu}}</ref>), adapted the ''pirog'' /''pirozhok'' to create the bierock, a yeast pastry sandwich with similar savory ingredients.<ref name="chicago_tribune" /><ref name="owh_runza_history" /> When the political climate turned against the Volga Germans as part of Russification<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Happened to the Volga German Colonies in Russia - DailyHistory.org |url=https://www.dailyhistory.org/What_Happened_to_the_Volga_German_Colonies_in_Russia |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=www.dailyhistory.org}}</ref> including the threat of conscription into the Russian army beginning in 1871,<ref name=":0" /> many emigrated to the United States, creating communities across the Great Plains.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nebraska |url=https://www.volgagermans.org/who-are-volga-germans/history/immigration/united-states/nebraska |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=Welcome to the Volga German Website |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Volga German History {{!}} GRHC |url=https://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/research-history/germans-russia/volga-german-history |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=library.ndsu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Strangers in a Strange Land: The History of Volga Germans in Colorado |url=https://www.historycolorado.org/story/2021/03/11/strangers-strange-land-history-volga-germans-colorado |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=www.historycolorado.org}}</ref> These immigrants, including the Brening family that settled near Sutton, Nebraska, brought their bierock recipes with them.<ref name="owh_runza_history" /> Sarah "Sally" Everett (''née'' Brening), originally of Sutton, is credited with adapting her family's bierock recipe into the runza and also inventing the name for the sandwich.<ref name="chicago_tribune" /><ref name="owh_runza_history" /><ref name="rollcall" /><ref name="adelnews">{{cite news |url=http://www.adelnews.com/zz/lifestyle/20180411/runza-sandwich-where-else-but-nebraska |title=The runza sandwich: Where else but Nebraska? |last=Rosengarten |first=David |date=11 April 2018 |newspaper=Dallas County News}}</ref><ref name="owh_1978_interview">{{cite news |title=Runza: Original Name for Old Recipe |newspaper=Omaha World-Herald |date=15 July 1978 |pages=15–16 |last=McMorris |first=Robert}}</ref> In 1949, Everett went into business selling runzas with her brother Alex<ref name="alex_obit">{{cite news |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1992/06/12/alex-brening/ |title=Alex Brening |date=12 June 1992 |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel}}</ref> in Lincoln, founding the Runza restaurant chain.<ref name="adelnews" /><ref name="rollcall" /><ref name="chicago_tribune" />

=== Etymology === Many sources agree that Sally Everett invented the name "runza"<ref name="adelnews" /><ref name="rollcall" /><ref name="owh_runza_history" /> although it is likely she adapted it from an existing name for the sandwich; either the {{lang|de|krautrunz}},<ref name="adelnews" /> an older, different German name for the bierock, or the Low German {{lang|nds|runsa}},<ref name="owh_runza_history" /> meaning "belly", alluding to the gently rounded shape of the pouch pastry. The modern German ''Ranzen'', also meaning satchel, derives from {{lang|nds|runsa}}. The word "runza" is registered as a trademark in the United States, held by the Runza restaurant chain.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.runza.com/franchising/support |title=How We Support Our Franchises |website=Runza.com |access-date=December 27, 2016}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

== External links == * [http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1618,158167-248201,00.html A runza recipe] * [http://thisfoodthing.com/index.php/2007/08/08/original-runza-recipe/ Original Runza Recipe] * [http://www.kitchengifts.com/runza.html Runza recipe with picture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907044531/http://www.kitchengifts.com/runza.html |date=2019-09-07 }}

Category:American sandwiches Category:German-American cuisine Category:German-Russian culture in the United States Category:Culture of Nebraska Category:Stuffed dishes