SUPERPRETZEL® Celebrates National Soft Pretzel Month

PENNSAUKEN, N.J., April 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Pretzel lovers of the world may now commence the celebration! April is National Soft Pretzel Month, an opportunity to pay homage to this tasty ballpark fan favorite, movie theater companion and trusty "go-to" for snack-lovers nationwide.

With a long history dating back to 610 AD, pretzels have been a part of America's snacking culture for thousands of years. With this doughy heritage top of mind, SUPERPRETZEL, the nation's #1 soft pretzel, offers up some fun pretzel trivia, available in infographic form.

Here are some of the fun facts:

1. Pretzels made their way to America in the 1700s with German immigrants who were later known as the Pennsylvania Dutch.
2. Historically, pretzels have been known for good fortune. In the early 1800s, German children tied pretzels on a string around their necks at the beginning of a new year for prosperity, health and good fortune.
3. Helen Hoff, the world champion pretzel twister, can twist 57 pretzels per minute.
4. The largest pretzel in the world was 842 pounds, 26.8 feet long and 10.2 feet wide.
5. The commonly spoken wedding phrase "tie the knot" got its start when an actual pretzel was used to tie the knot between two prominent families in the 17^th century. The pretzel's loops stood for everlasting love, and the couple would wish upon a pretzel and each break off a piece like is often done today with a wishbone. Then the couple would eat the pretzel for good luck.
6. Pretzels without salt are called baldies.
7. J&J Snack Foods Corp., parent company for SUPERPRETZEL, is the largest manufacturer of soft pretzels in the world.
8. In one year, SUPERPRETZEL rolls out 1 billion soft pretzels. All of these soft pretzels side by side would wrap around the world three times.
9. The yearly demand for SUPERPRETZELS in the U.S. calls for a hefty serving of 50 million pounds of flour.
10. In 600 A.D., to reward children for learning their prayers, the monks of southern France and northern Italy shaped dough scraps into treats resembling arms folded in prayer. The monks called them Pretiola, Latin for little reward.

"For us, National Soft Pretzel Month is truly a celebration of not only the pretzel and its history, but the people, past and present, who have twisted and shaped the legacy of the pretzel in American culture." said Gerry Schreiber, Chief Executive Officer & President of J&J Snack Foods.

About J&J Snack Foods Corporation
J&J Snack Foods Corp.  is a leader and innovator in the snack food industry, providing nutritional and affordable branded niche snack foods and beverages to foodservice and retail supermarket outlets.  Manufactured and distributed nationwide, our principal products include SUPERPRETZEL, BAVARIAN BAKERY and other soft pretzels, ICEE and SLUSH PUPPIE frozen beverages, LUIGI'S, MINUTE MAID* frozen juice bars and ices, WHOLE FRUIT sorbet and frozen fruit bars, MARY B'S biscuits and dumplings, DADDY RAY'S fig and fruit bars, TIO PEPE'S and CALIFORNIA CHURROS churros, PATIO Burritos and other handheld sandwiches, THE FUNNEL CAKE FACTORY funnel cakes, and several cookie brands within COUNTRY HOME BAKERS.  For more information, please visit us at www.jjsnack.com.

*Minute Maid is a registered trademark of The Coca Cola Company

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SOURCE J&J Snack Foods Corp.