Street-corner snack · Figure-eight twist
Philly Soft Pretzel
Photo: Vinchenzo8 / Wikimedia Commons · CC0
The figure-eight shape was a factory decision: it emerged in 1933 at the Reading Pretzel Machinery Company because it fit the conveyor belt better.
A chewy, salt-flecked soft pretzel sold warm by street vendors and pretzel bakeries, usually eaten on the go with a squirt of mustard.
Why it's made this way: A street vendor was selling soft pretzels in Philadelphia by the 1820s, and pretzel carts and corner pretzel bakeries have been part of city life ever since.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3422 dishes from 118 countries.
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