• A bakery product made of bread dough, in the form of a loop with a knot, or braided, sprinkled with salt or various seeds, the pretzel has a long history, dating back hundreds of years.
Legend has it that the story of the bagel began in 610 AD, in a monastery in the south of France or in the north of Italy. work "History of Scientific Discoveries",written by Bryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans, claims that the bakery product was invented in 610 by monks, being used as a reward for children learning the prayers.
The Catholic Church played a leading role in the early history of the pretzel, as in the 7th century the pontificate dictated ruleswhich governed fasting and abstinence more strictly than today. Pretzels, made from a simple mixture of water, flour and salt, were an ideal food to eat during Lent, when all types of meat, dairy and eggs were forbidden.
Be supposed to bagel it was first created by monks from scraps of bread dough, the strips being woven into the shape of the crossed arms of a child in prayer.
Some say they were originally appointed "bracelets", the Latin term for "small arms", from which the Germans later derived the word "pretzel". According to others, the first bagels were named "precious", that is "small rewards", given by the monks when their young students recited their prayers correctly.
Growing popularity in the Middle Ages
Whatever they were called, the popularity of these treatises spread rapidly throughout Europe during the Middle Ages. Moreover, believers believed that the shape of the pretzel represents the Holy Trinity, the three spaces representing the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Seen as one symbol of good luck, prosperity, and spiritual fulfillment, bagels were also commonly distributed to the poor as a way to provide them with both spiritual and literal sustenance.
In the illustrated encyclopedia of the XNUMXth century "Hortus deliciarum" the pretzel appears in the scene of the feast of Queen Esther and King Ahasuerus. Thus, among other chosen dishes, the first illustration of the bakery product in history appears on their table.
Another early depiction of them was included in 1440 on a prayer book page "Book of Hours" of Catherine of Cleves (1417–1476) which depicted Saint Bartholomew surrounded by pretzels, as they had come to symbolize good luck at the time.
The shape of the pretzels also has a practical purpose. Like the holes in the middle of Swedish flatbreads, which allowed them to be hung on strings, the loops of pretzels allowed them to be hung on sticks, as illustrated in the painter Job Berckheyde's painting, TheBaker, made around 1681.
Legends and symbolism
The importance of the bakery product caused it to be used as the emblem of bakers and later of their guilds in the southern areas of Germany, a situation that was preserved until the XNUMXth century.
But the legend of the pretzel doesn't stop there! In the 17th century, the interlocking loops of the pretzel even came to symbolize undying love. It is said that in 1614 in Switzerland, royal couples used a pretzel in wedding ceremonies to seal the bond of marriage, and this custom may have been the origin of the expression "tying the knot"(tying the knot). In 17th century Germany, children wore pretzel necklaces on New Year's Day as a symbol of good luck and prosperity for the coming year.
The pretzel is becoming popular throughout continent European. In the Czech Republic, the pretzel is known as "preclick", in Finland as well "viipurinrinkeli", in Bulgaria "pretzels."”, and in Slovakia it is called "preclick". The Spanish, the French, and the Italians call them "pretzel", "pretzel" or "pretzel", Norwegians and Danes call it "pretzels, the Poles tell him "precell", in Hungarian and Croatian it is called "pair", and in Serbian it is called "pair".
Bagels cross the ocean
When and how did bagels arrive in America? Some sources say that the twisted bakery product came to America on the Mayflower and was used by the Pilgrims to trade with the Native Americans they encountered in the New World. And German immigrants certainly brought bagels with them when they began settling in Pennsylvania around 1710.
Another romanticized history of the pretzel tells how, in Pennsylvania in 1850, Julius Sturgis, an area baker, was approached by a man on the street asking for a job and something to eat. According to the story, Julius didn't have a job for that man, but he still gave him a nice dinner.
In exchange for his kindness, Julius receives from the stranger a recipe for hard pretzels, different from what he had been baking until then. The baker tries this recipe first in the family, then to market them in his bakery. The crunchy snacks kept longer in an airtight container, allowing them to be sold further away from the bakery and stay on the shelves for longer. They prove a hit and become such a popular snack that in 1861, Sturgis opens the first bagel shop in the town of Lititz, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Eventually, dry pretzels became more popular than the traditional pretzel variety. As American pretzel production grew, the crunchy snacks were made in various shapes and sizes, including sticks, braids, or letters, and in 1949 the first automatic pretzel machine was installed to meet a growing market. Today, Pennsylvania remains America's pretzel-making capital, as 80 percent of pretzels made in the US come from the Keystone State.
The pretzel in the Romanian space
Even if it is considered that, in Romania, the pretzel entered the Turkish chain, probably together with the rest of the benefits brought by the Ottoman empire, the simigii from the capital of the past centuries were mostly Greek, who enjoyed immense popularity.
These peddlers of pastries and bakery products are also described in "The History of a Pie" of Costache Negruzzi: "You remember our childhood - gone never to return! - what a pleasant impression the shout: coooovrigi! gugoseeeele! How we all ran, children and old, and the greatest and the least; with what impatience I was waiting for the pie maker to put down the plate from his head, and how quickly I was making fun of him!".
Walking simigs had special baskets woven from reeds, into the edges of which sticks were stuck on which pretzels of all kinds were strung. The inside of the basket was reserved for pies. To keep them warm, they were placed in a brass tray on a brazier with a brazier. The writings of the time mention that a piece of pie the size of the palm was sold for 5 pares, large pretzels, with or without sesame, were sold for 10 money, and small ones for 5 pares a piece, or two pieces.
Buzău pretzels – the emblematic Romanian pretzels
It seems that the recipe for the famous pretzels was brought by Greek merchants who had opened taverns in Buzau, around 1800. Pretzels were used to whet customers' appetites for the alcoholic beverages being served. Unlike conventional pretzels, Buzău pretzels are not made from a regular bread dough. The locals are really proud of the fact that those who know how to prepare and bake these pretzels, do just that.
But Buzău pretzels are made according to a simple recipe, just water, flour, yeast, a little sugar and a little salt. After the fall of communism in Romania, the number of small simigeria in the Buzău area increased, and Buzău pretzels became, in the meantime, a registered trademark.
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
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