Hard and crunchy, soft and doughy, twisted or stick, pretzels are one of America's favorite snacks.

Pretzel authorities (yes, there are such people) debate whether the first pretzel was made in Italy or France.  One authority claims that pretzels have been around since 610 A.D.  It's believed that a monk first made a pretzel and twisted it in the shape of children's arms at prayer.  Others believe the three holes made by the familiar shape represent the Holy Trinity.  Pretzels were thought to bring luck, prosperity and spiritual wholeness. 

"Tying the knot" as in a wedding supposedly got its meaning when two prominent familes came together through marriage.  The three loops stood for everlasting love. 

Whether either theory is based on historical fact or lore, it adds another dimension to the pretzel's legend.

It is a fact that Pennsylvania is the center of pretzel production and history in the United States.  Pennsylvania Dutch country is heavily populated by people of German heritage.  When they immigrated to America, they brought their recipes from the old country with them.  It was in 1850 that Julius Sturgis opened the first commercial pretzel bakery in the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch country in the small town of Lititz, PA.

As a child growing up in the Pennsylvania Dutch country, I remember my mother and I going to the cities to shop.  There were always street vendors selling freshly baked soft pretzels on the busy sidewalks.  The wonderful aroma of those fresh pretzels lingers with me today.  In malls across the U.S., you can buy soft pretzels with a multitude of coatings and made in much more sanitary conditions.  I've indulged in those but nothing beats the hot, salty pretzels made on the sidewalks of my youth.

I also remember being told that pretzels were a local commodity until World War II when care packages were sent to our troops.  Pretzels traveled well and were always included.  The recipients shared their goodies with their buddies who were from different parts of the U.S. and so the taste and hunger for pretzels spread.  Fact or fiction?  I don't know. 

 Pretzels have become more sophisticated as time has gone by.  There are flavored pretzels to please every palate.  The variety that can be bought today proves that the popularity of pretzels has not waned.

Gourmet grocery stores offer an overwhelming array of flavors for the discriminating buyer.  Craft fairs usually have a confection vendor who has included pretzels dipped in milk chocolate or white chocolate.  Some display for sale a braided stick dipped in chocolate and drizzled with a darker chocolate or decorated with candies.  Pretzels and their coatings are limited only by the producer's imagination it seems.