We've Been Eating Pretzels All Wrong: A History of The Pretzel.
The pretzel's early history can be traced back to the Catholic Church.The rules for fast and abstaining during Lent were dictated by the church in the seventh century.During Lent, when all types of meat, dairy and eggs were not allowed, pretzels were an ideal food to eat.
The first pretzels were soft and squishy.Some say they were originally called "bracellae," the Latin term for "little arms," from which Germans later derived the word "bretzel." According to others, the earliest pretzels were dubbed "pretiolas," meaning little rewards, and handed out by the monks when their youngThe popularity of these treats spread across Europe during the Middle Ages.As a symbol of good luck, prosperity and spiritual fulfillment, pretzels were often distributed to the poor as a way of providing them with both spiritual and physical sustenance.
In 1510, the Ottoman Turks attempted to invade Vienna, Austria, by digging tunnels underneath the city's walls.A group of monks in the basement of a monastery were baking pretzels to alert the rest of the city to the Turkish attack.The pretzel bakers were given a coat of arms by the Austrian emperor.
By the 17th century, the pretzel had become a symbol of love.In 1614 in Switzerland, royal couples used a pretzel in their wedding ceremonies to seal the bond of matrimony, and this custom may have been the origin of the phrase "tying the knot."
When did pretzels arrive in America?The doughy knots may have been used by the Pilgrims to trade with the Native Americans they met in the New World.pretzels were brought with German immigrants when they settled in Pennsylvania around 1710.The first commercial pretzel bakery was founded in the town of Lititz.
The first hard pretzels were the first to be baked rather than left in the oven too long.The snacks were sold further away from the bakery and were able to stay on the shelves longer.Hard pretzels would eventually become even more popular than soft pretzels.