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Show Pretzel Honored After90 Years Industry Has Many Interesting Twists WASHINGTON, D. C. Pretzels-shiny Pretzels-shiny brown and lightly dusted with salt have come a long way in the last 2,000 years or so. It is true that some pretzels in recent years have fallen among evil companions but the twisted cracker or biscuit also has been the solace of children and the accessory ac-cessory to good companionship. The pretzel, moreover, is in the news these days because it is celebrating cele-brating the 90th anniversary of its commercial arrival in America. Pretzel making began in the Pennsylvania Dutch country and some of the best pretzels still come from Lititz and Reading. Automatic machines turn them out by the hundreds of millions, but to the true fancier the tastiest pretzels are still handmade. Around Lititz, Pennsylvania, the twisting and baking of pretzels is the specialty of skilled women. They take pencillike pencil-like strips of pretzel dough flour, yeast and water and with deft hand motions tie the dough into conventional pretzel knots. The knotted dough is placed on pans or racks to rise and "set"; then the burgeoning pretzels are boiled for less than a minute in a potash or bicarbonate of soda solution. solu-tion. This treatment gives them their gloss and makes pretzels practically indestrucible. B a k 1 n j time is five to eight minutes. |