Pretzels

The original pretzel is the soft kind sold from carts in Philadelphia and New York City. It was probably developed as a Lenten bread in the early Middle Ages in Italy, with the characteristic shape representing arms folded in prayer in the medieval manner. The breads were named by monks either bracellae (“little arms”) or pretiola (“little reward”), which were transmuted into German bretzel or pretzel. Like modern pretzels (and bagels), they were briefly boiled, then baked for a caramelized brown crust, which was usually heavily salted but might also be spiced or sweetened. Pretzels are pictured in Renaissance paintings and may appear on an illustrated manuscript of Virgil’s poems from 400 CE, a pagan manuscript, which would contradict the monastery-origin story of the pretzel shape.