|
Pretzel
History
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|
The
tasty
baked
snack
food
that
we
know
as
pretzels
had
its
origin
in
southern
Europe
about
610
AD.
The
first
pretzels
were
soft
pretzels.
These
dough
treats
were
given
to
the
children
as
rewards
for
learning
their
prayers.
The
familiar
shape
of
a
twisted
pretzel
represents
arms
crossed
over
the
chest
in
prayer.
Pretiola
(as
they
were
called
back
then)
means
"little
rewards"
in
Latin.
|
| Eventually
soft
pretzels
came
to
America
via
Germany,
Austria
and
Switzerland.
The
first
American
commercial
pretzel
bakery
was
founded
by
Julius
Sturgis
in
Lititz,
PA
in
1861.
At
that
time
the
crispy
(hard)
pretzel
was
developed
by
Julius. |
| Julius
Sturgis
died
in
1897,
but
his
descendants
continued
the
pretzel
baking
tradition.
In
1946
Marriott
D.
"Tom"
Sturgis,
grandson
of
Julius,
founded
the
Tom
Sturgis
Pretzel
Company
after
spending
years
learning
pretzel
baking
from
family
members.
In
time
Marriott’s
son,
Tom
joined
the
company
and
now
Tom’s
son,
Bruce
has
taken
a
place
at
Tom
Sturgis
Pretzels.
Five
generations
of
pretzel
baking
has
made
the
Sturgis
family
the
"First
Family
of
Pretzels". |
| Pretzels
were
originally
made
by
hand
from
start
to
finish.
As
technology
progressed,
parts
of
the
procedure
were
mechanized.
Through
all
these
changes
(from
hand
twisting
at
a
top
speed
of
40
pretzels
per
minute
to
extrusion
of
thousands
of
pretzels
per
minute)
pretzels
remain
a
favorite,
healthy
snack
food
for
young
and
old. |
| Although
pretzel
machinery
has
changed
a
great
deal
over
the
years,
Tom
Sturgis
Pretzels
still
bakes
some
of
our
pretzels
on
a
soapstone
hearth
surface
which
produces
the
highest
quality
pretzels
available. |