Welcome to our series featuring Food Holidays: October 2022: National Pretzel Month. Did you David and my sister love Pretzel you purchase in the Mall or at events. While Charlie and I don’t care for them that much. How about you?
We’ve already celebrated National Soft Pretzel Month in April. Which was delicious. Let’s not forget October hen we pay tribute to our twisty snack friend during National Pretzel Month. Soft, crunchy, looped, straight, or as a Bread, Pretzels have captured the imagination of the Western world and have a long history and large influence. Snack away and enjoy the Pretzel!
National Pretzel Month Activities
- Visit your local Bakery for chewy Pretzels, or your local grocer for the hard Pretzel Sticks. Or you can order Artisanal Soft Pretzels from a place like Sigmunds in New York, topped with everything from Truffle Oil to Herbs and Seeds.
- Here’s where you can get creative create a Cheese-Stuffed Pizza Pretzel? Or a S’mores Pretzel? Or Spinach, Artichoke and Bacon Pretzel? The recipes are out there. Just don’t forget the dipping sauce.
- Try subbing in homemade soft Pretzels for Bread during a dinner party. Or get your family together for a potluck Pretzel-and-Beer party and have a best-made Pretzel contest. Where there are Pretzels, twisty good times aren’t far off.
5 Twisted Facts About Pretzels
- The Pretzel has been used as an emblem of bakers in Southern Germany since at least the 12th Century.
- Pennsylvania is the American Pretzel-making capital, producing 80% of U.S.-made Pretzels.
- The average American eats about one-and-a-half pounds of Pretzels every year, and the US Pretzel industry is worth over $550 million annually.
- The world’s oldest Pretzel fragments unearthed during an excavation in Regensburg near the Danube River date back over 200 years.
- It’s believed that Mississippi’s Andrew Dunn holds the world’s record for number of Pretzel Sticks held in the mouth, with a total of 110.
Why We Love National Pretzel Month
- Pretzels have religious significance among Catholics. Plus, their lineage runs through the settling of Swiss German immigrants in Pennsylvania.
- Pretzels are versatile from large soft Pretzels with all kinds of sweet or savory toppings or fillings. Small Pretzels coated with everything from Chocolate to Peanut Butter. Pretzel Sticks ready to dip. Pretzels are one of the most adaptable snacks out there.
- Whether it’s the city of Freeport, Illinois calling itself “Pretzel City USA,” or the City of Philadelphia renaming a facility “Pretzel Park,” it’s obvious that this crunchy/chewy snack food has a popularity that’s truly, singular.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
