Pennsylvania Dutch Country: National Pretzel Day everyday

More than 8 million people visit Pennsylvania Dutch Country every year to experience the quaint downtown areas, the antique wonderlands and possibly to recount their travels to such villages named Intercourse, Blue Bell and Bird in Hand.

Of particular interest to me are the inhabitants of this region. They make up the Lancaster community of approximately 25,000 Plain people or the Amish. This population shuns Edison’s inventions and tries to lead the simple life of their ancestors who came to this region in the 1700s. Their attire is hardly that of a Jennifer Lopez or Lady Gaga and is recognized for its modesty and somberness of color. The mode of travel is by horse and buggy. Teams of horses and mules are used by the Amish to cultivate the land and use their crops as the main source of their income.

In addition to the Amish, Lancaster is known as the home of the pretzel. So for Lancaster County to go out of its way to celebrate National Pretzel Day (actually on April 26 but continues) is only fitting since it was started in 1983 by former U.S. Congressman Bob Walker, who hails from the Lancaster town of East Petersburg. Congressman Walker’s passion for pretzels is a natural as pretzel making is and always has been central to Lancaster’s culinary heritage every day of the year.

The first commercial pretzel bakery in the United States was established in Litiz in 1861 by Julius Sturgis. Today the Sturgis Pretzel Bakery is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. I toured the bakery with my family and learned how the Sturgis family still uses the same recipe and took part in a pretzel-making lesson. Not only did we get to taste the fruits of our effort but we all got certificates for becoming “official” pretzel bakers.

Following our visit to the Sturgis Bakery, our next stop was the Intercourse Pretzel Factory where we got a free 10-minute tour and learned how to hand twist pretzels. Then there’s the Hammond Pretzel Bakery in Lancaster where the Hammond family has been hand-making pretzels since its founding in 1931. For those who are health conscious, you might want to visit the Keystone Pretzel Bakery in Litiz for their infamous oat bran pretzels called oatzels!

The well-known Herr Foods, began as potato chip factory, was also founded in Lancaster in 1946 by James Herr. The factory eventually moved over the border to Chester County and didn’t start producing pretzels until 1981. When they did, they soon became known as one of America’s favorite snacks. You can see how they did by taking one their free-guided tours.

Auntie Anne’s Pretzels also makes Lancaster County its home. Auntie Anne’s rolls more than 500,000 pretzels every two days at its sites around the world and in June 2006 sold its one billionth pretzel. This year, they celebrated National Pretzel Day and National Dance Week together the 21st century way with a live tweet chat on April 26 with Alex Wong from “So you Think You Can Dance.”

To explore all the fun pretzel places to visit in Lancaster, you can view videos on you tube at www.youtube.com/golancasterpa. After you’ve had your fill of pretzels, visiting Lancaster wouldn’t be complete if you missed tours of replicas of Amish homes and farms can be arranged through the Convention and Visitors Bureau or your travel professional who can book a tour for non-drivers with anyone of these local tour operators: Collette, Bliss, Parker, Gerber, Great Escapes, and Hampton Jitney. With greater interest in green energy, you can’t miss seeing the windmills above the barns generating power the old fashioned way.

Not to be missed is Lancaster’s Central Market; the oldest continuously operating farmers market in the United States where you can enjoy a hand rolled and tied pretzel and the famous shoe-fly pie. A walk in downtown Lancaster on cobblestone streets was another visit to the past as was going through the estate of President James Buchanan and seeing how a former president lived in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Then, there is Gettysburg battlefield considered the turning point of the Civil War and the Landis Valley Museum, which was built in recognition of the Pennsylvania German settlers in the 19th century. I did get to see some open hearth cooking and realized again how wonderful a microwave was for today’s fast cooking.

When you do visit Lancaster, I do recommend taking in the vibrant downtown city life with galleries, great dining, specialty shops and live music. You can arrange your visit by visiting www.discoverlancasterpas.com or your local travel professional.

Copyright by Marcia Abramson

E-mail: mascribe@aol.com